THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 30, 1996 TAG: 9603300267
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Democratic presidential candidate Lyndon La-Rouche came to town Friday to simultaneously complain about his campaign being ignored by the national media and to praise President Clinton's economic policies.
``He does actually have principles,'' said LaRouche, 73, running his fifth presidential campaign. ``But when it comes to an election, he sometimes puts his principles to one side.''
LaRouche praised the economic statements and policies of Labor Secretary Robert Reich, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and other Democrats. And he said one of his main reasons for running is to draw attention to those ideas, which he considers similar to his own.
``This campaign involves something much more important than a mere presidential election,'' LaRouche said. ``Those of us carrying the ball in the Democratic Party represent a fight for the very life of this nation.''
LaRouche, a resident of Loudoun County, Va., is a controversial figure in national politics. He is a prolific and obviously well-educated writer whose magazine, Executive Intelligence Review, frequently discusses international economics, health and industrial production.
Yet he was convicted on federal fraud charges - he still maintains they were trumped up - and spent five years in prison until his release in 1994.
He also has drawn attention for his claims of a connection between former President George Bush and Queen Elizabeth, among others, and the international drug trade. At one point, LaRouche argued that health officials must clean up mosquito infestations to combat AIDS, although there has been no evidence that mosquitoes transmit the disease.
He often speaks of international conspiracies and says the FBI tried to use Communist agents to have him assassinated.
LaRouche said Friday the media have focused exclusively on these themes and ignored his economic theories.
He maintains that the U.S. must rebuild its infrastructure and industrial production, and that the current income gap between the rich and the poor is a deadly threat to the nation.
He has recently been buying half-hour blocks on national television in prime time to talk about his ideas. LaRouche said another TV message is coming out on CBS April 18.
This month, WAVY television chose not to air his half-hour program locally. LaRouche said that is typical of media attitudes toward him.
LaRouche picked up 7 percent of the vote in California's Democratic primary - about 162,000 votes - and has won 10 to 12 percent of the vote in other states. Yet because of the low turnout for Clinton's essentially uncontested campaign for the nomination, those totals have not always equaled many votes. In Delaware, LaRouche got about 10 percent of the Democratic votes, but that only came to 1,046 ballots cast for him.
``What was the national print and television media coverage of my campaign?'' LaRouche said. ``Zilch.'' ILLUSTRATION: B\W photo
Lyndon LaRouche says, ``Those of us carrying the ball in the
Democratic Party represent a fight for the very life of this
nation.''
KEYWORDS: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CANDIDATE by CNB