THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 11, 1995 TAG: 9507110017
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Do some conservatives have a death wish? The Republican Party should be consolidating its gains and aiming for a generation of dominance. Instead, some conservative elements threaten to fragment the party in pursuit of ideological purity. That way madness lies.
Consider the present situation. A weak Democratic president faces an uphill fight for re-election. For the first time in 40 years, Republicans control both houses of Congress. The public has turned increasingly conservative and welcomes attempts to downsize government and shrink the deficit.
Seemingly, all Republicans have to do is do better than the Democrats at pursuing those goals for the next year and they can solidify their grip on Congress and capture the presidency.
Yet that's not good enough for some. Activist Howard Phillips went on record last week urging conservative Christians to bolt the Republican Party and back an independent in 1996 unless Republicans embrace an uncompromising pro-life slate. Other Republicans want to boycott the ticket if the putative nominee, Bob Dole, should pick a pro-choice running mate like Pete Wilson. But if Wilson could deliver California, Clinton would be denied a second term.
Such litmus tests as abortion frequently alienate more voters than they attract. And insisting on the most conservative candidate can backfire. In Virginia, any Republican other than Oliver North almost surely would have defeated Chuck Robb for Senate in 1994, but the party insisted on going to extremes and lost. Similarly, many thought President Bush too moderate in 1992, but by abandoning him they wound up with Clinton.
It's often said that the best is the enemy of the good. Too often, for conservatives the pursuit of Utopian perfection has been the enemy of slow, steady progress toward the goals they seek. By insisting on all or nothing at this moment in history, conservative Republicans might achieve a real revolution but they are more likely to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Like it or not, to achieve electoral victories a party must attract a percentage of moderate swing voters. When Democrats pandered to true believers on the left with candidates like McGovern and Mondale or challenged a sitting president with a Ted Kennedy insurrection, they lost. Republicans would be unwise to commit the same error.
Yet demands for extreme positions, an uncompromising stand on abortion, a too-wounding assault on middle-class entitlements or too-enthusiastic support of tax plans favoring the prosperous could tip the balance.
Instead of division, now's the time for unity. Instead of ideological zealotry, now's the time for pragmatic progress. Otherwise, the Republicans could wind up with the revolution on the rocks and the country with four more years of divided government. by CNB