THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 16, 1994 TAG: 9408160356
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Most Democratic U.S. senators campaigning for re-election are running as far and as fast as possible from President Clinton.
Not Charles S. Robb of Virginia.
So far, Robb has stood firm in his support for Clinton, whose battered public approval ratings took a one-two punch last week from setbacks in crime legislation and health care reform.
``Sen. Robb has said he would not run from the president, and he hasn't,'' campaign manager Susan Platt said Monday.
Political analysts say Robb's strategy, while ill-advised for any other Southern Democrat, makes sense in Virginia's four-way free-for-all of a Senate contest.
``If he can lock up the Clinton base, he is well on his way to winning,'' said William Schneider, a national political analyst atthe American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
The idea is that Robb could win without having to assemble the broad coalition that has carried him to three statewide election victories since 1977. In a four-way race, Robb could win a plurality of the vote with a strong showing among the state's core Democratic base. Public opinion polls show that Clinton's approval rating in Virginia is just under 40 percent.
The danger for Robb is that he could find it hard to disentangle himself from the White House if Clinton continues to stumble.
``Clinton could melt down a great deal if he cannot salvage the crime bill - and he's not out of the woods there - and he cannot salvage something for health care,'' said Mark Rozell, a political scientist with Mary Washington College.
``That,'' said Robert D. Holsworth, a political scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University, ``has always been the gamble of Robb's initial strategy.''
Clinton's popularity is so suspect that so far no Democrat has used the president's image in campaign commercials, according to Doug Bailey, publisher of The Hotline, a political newsletter in Washington. The only place Clinton's likeness has appeared, Bailey said, has been in GOP commercials that demonize the president.
Even Clinton's own pollster has advised congressional candidates to emphasize their independence.
Thirteen of the 16 Democrats in the Senate who are seeking re-election this November have taken that advice, Schneider said. The three exceptions: Sen. Ted Kennedy, an unabashed liberal from Massachusetts; Sen. Harris Wofford, a Pennsylvania legislator who has staked his reputation on health care reform; and Robb.
Robb has refused to waver in his support for the president, despite being labeled a ``Clinton clone'' by his three challengers, Republican Oliver L. North, and independents L. Douglas Wilder and J. Marshall Coleman.
``I'm pleased to be supportive of the president. I make no apologies for that whatsoever,'' Robb said June 28 in a nationally televised debate on CNN's ``Larry King Live.''
Robb has wed his campaign to a strategy that is fundamentally different to his approach to previous elections. In 1981, Robb became the savior of the Virginia Democratic Party when he put together a coalition that appealed to business leaders and rural conservatives.
In this campaign, Robb has focused his attention on core Democratic groups such as organized labor, teachers unions, abortion rights advocates and gay rights advocates. He has alienated many voters in rural areas with his support for a ban on certain assault weapons, for increased deficit reduction through a 50-cent tax on gasoline and for allowing gays in the military.
``He moved to the left pretty early,'' said Stu Rothenberg, editor of a newsletter on congressional campaigns. ``I think he's decided that he can hold onto that core Democratic vote that makes up about one-third of the electorate in Virginia. I think it's a very reasonable strategy.''
Robb's supporters say he is willing to remain independent of Clinton and national Democrats on key issues, as evidenced by his demands for deeper deficit reduction and his support for U.S. military action in the Persian Gulf war.
``He has been willing to buck the establishment an any given issue,'' said Platt, Robb's campaign manager. ``He has his own record, and he's proud of it. This is what he is going to run on, not someone else's record.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Sen. Charles S. Robb
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE VIRGINIA CANDIDATES
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