THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407200146
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: BY H. Cliff Page
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
With the nomination of Oliver North as the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate and the political free-for-all that has ensued, Republican Party Chairman Pat McSweeney's recent and continued call for adherence to party rules strains the very sinews of political hypocrisy.
McSweeney and his sycophants plead the cause of rules - but only at their own convenience and interpretation.
The Republican Party held national power over a 70-year period, the longest political continuation in American history, losing its grasp only briefly in periodic interludes. That power was maintained by adhering to progressive ideas, fiscal conservatism, free enterprise and the belief in a strict interpretation of the Constitution.
Since World War II, the bane of the Republican Party has been its right wing. Political parties lose elections when they steer away from their main platforms or fail to maintain equilibrium at the center. Recently, the Democratic Party learned to appreciate that lesson. President Clinton publicly downplayed or distanced himself from the extremes of his party, appealed to the center of the political spectrum, and was elected.
Former Democrat Ronald Reagan, as a populist candidate, charmed dissatisfied moderate Democrats. As chairman of the Republican National Committee, Lee Atwater called for ``the big tent'' and was interested in expanding participation in the party, especially to its most natural ally: the black community.
The evangelical Christian right was attracted to the party and its conservative philosophy. Today, many of the intolerant values of the Christian right and corollary agendas of off-shoot groups like the ``home school movement'' fall outside the acceptable support of mainstream Republicans.
Pat McSweeney has accused Sen. John Warner, former Gov. Linwood Holton and Marshall Coleman of splitting the Virginia Republican Party, disloyalty and not abiding by party rules. On the contrary, it is McSweeney, disciple of Pat Robertson and the Christian Coalition, who has caused the split and near dissolution of the Virginia Republican Party. It is McSweeney who encouraged ``home school'' attorney Mike Farris to run for lieutenant governor, Oliver North to run for the U.S. Senate and now encourages Liberty University graduate, the Rev. George Sweet, to run for the House of Representatives.
While Republican ideals may be attracted to these individuals, some of their ideas and agendas are not at all palatable to the mainline of the Republican Party. The credibility of such candidates to Virginia voters overall can best be shown in the pitiful support Michael Farris received at the polls.
Contrary to being a nonpartisan or unifying leader, Pat McSweeney, through manipulative methods, promotes his own plan. In his position as chairman, he is an ongoing threat to the survival of the Virginia Republican Party. At the Republican State Convention, he packed his and Oliver North's supporters onto the rules committee and forced the issue of a ``pledge'' from delegates (something previously not demanded) and blatantly targeted the Jim Miller delegates. This ``pledge'' issue was an extension of the tactic orchestrated by the North campaign in its pre-convention phone surveys to deter Miller delegate participation.
In the past, McSweeney has admonished district chairmen for interference in unit political affairs; yet he directly and repeatedly interfered in the unit affairs of the Portsmouth City Committee. At Portsmouth's mass meeting in March, while the state party plan and the unit bylaws were being abused and violated, McSweeney smugly stood at the back of the entire proceeding, silently witnessing, while a group whom he supported took control by jack-boot methods. After the Portsmouth City Committee ruled their mass meeting invalid, he continued to interfere in their unit affairs, through letters of support for his allies and intimidation for his opponents.
When Portsmouth appealed to the State Central Committee because his interference had resulted in their appointed representative not being seated in the 3rd District, he declared the appeal out of order and cut off Portsmouth's presentation. Thus, the Central Committee never fully heard nor understood the issues because McSweeney was able to stifle debate to his advantage. His understanding of democratic fair play is strictly Machiavellian. The rules he plays by are his own.
Pat McSweeney doesn't seem to understand that a party's nominees should reflect the party values, and that those nominees should be individuals that the party can generally feel comfortable supporting and uniting behind. Calling yourself a Republican doesn't mean that Republicans will accept your credentials. Lee Atwater did everything in his power to denounce David Duke when he declared himself a Republican. Oliver North, a divisive character, polarized constituencies. While McSweeney attacks and labels disloyal those individuals who have been the backbone of the Virginia Republican Party for threatening to run as or support independents, he fails to realize that a vast number of Virginia Republicans do not accept Oliver North as a good Republican and are willing to express their independent-mindedness at the polls for the good of the party. MEMO: H. Cliff Page, of Primrose Street, Portsmouth, is a member of the
Portsmouth Republican Party. by CNB