ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 14, 1996 TAG: 9610140115
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
A number of religious conservatives are planning to stay home Election Day rather than vote for Bob Dole, according to Martin Mawyer, president of the Christian Action Network.
Dole is not addressing the concerns of ``pro-family conservatives'' who consider themselves born-again Christians, Mawyer wrote in an opinion piece in Sunday's editions of The Washington Post. That is one reason Dole's lagging behind President Clinton in polls, he said.
Dole's only chance for recovering the votes of the disenchanted Christian right is to change his message - from concentrating on his 15 percent tax cut plan to emphasizing issues of morality and values, Mawyer said.
``When a candidate ignores our issues, we ignore him,'' said Mawyer, who founded the Forest, Va.-based group that claims a membership of 250,000. ``He seems not to have noticed that our schools have begun to teach our children that homosexuality is normal, natural and healthy.''
Christina Martin, a spokeswoman for Dole, said the campaign believes Christian voters know what's at stake and will turn out for Dole.
``Pro-life, pro-family conservatives will be active on Election Day because there is only one candidate out there who favors such liberal ideas as nine-month abortions, as gays in the military, as condoms for school kids, and that is Bill Clinton,'' she said.
``Bob Dole is the candidate who is standing for strong moral values.''
Members of the Christian Coalition, which boasts several million members, also have expressed concerns about Dole.
Last month, Dole directly appealed for support from the Christian Coalition after founder Pat Robertson said it would take a ``miracle'' for Dole to win, especially if he doesn't change his campaign emphasis.
``It's not the economy, stupid. It's morality, stupid. And that's where the issue's going to be decided in this campaign,'' Robertson said.
According to Mawyer's criticism, Dole has spent little time talking about the Supreme Court, which Mawyer said has eroded states' rights.
``The high court has found, tucked in a secret drawer of the Constitution, a right to kill unborn children,'' Mawyer said. ``Dole has an anti-abortion voting record but he doesn't seem very proud of it since he never mentioned it in 90 minutes of debate with Bill Clinton, who is more supportive of abortion than any president in U.S. history.''
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENTby CNB