THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606020057
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE AND ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: SALEM LENGTH: 105 lines
With the Marine Corps Hymn blaring, Oliver L. North made a dramatic return to state politics Saturday and urged Republican leaders to dump U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, the party's senior elected official.
North blamed Warner for a series of slights that added up, he said, to an ``unconscionable'' betrayal of the party and urged the election of former federal budget director James C. Miller III in the June 11 Republican primary.
``Whose side are you on?'' North thundered, repeating the theme of his speech accepting the party's U.S. Senate nomination two years ago. ``Are you on the side of those who put their personal political fortunes ahead of all of us? Or are you on the side of those who have labored to build a party based on the conservative values and virtuous principles of our forebears?''
North spoke at the Republican State Convention where, hours later, Miller won 76 percent of the delegates in a straw poll of their preference for the Senate.
Although the day's events were cathartic for Republican leaders - many of whom have been angry at Warner for opposing North's 1994 U.S. Senate bid - their impact on next Tuesday's election is uncertain.
Warner is seeking a fourth term. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Mark Warner in the general election in November. The Warners are not related.
Several Miller supporters said the endorsement will rally North's legion of conservative loyalists to turn out for Miller at the polls. There was also hope that North could help the cash-strapped campaign raise money. North, who amassed a record $20 million in contributions for his 1994 Senate campaign - said he is sending out a fund-raising letter on Miller's behalf.
But there is also risk for Miller. The primary is open to all voters, and some Republicans fret that North's emergence could become a rallying cry for Democrats and independents to enter the fray and vote for Warner.
``It might hurt, if you think about it,'' said Jack Neely, a Portsmouth delegate. ``A majority of Virginians didn't vote for him two years ago.''
North said he considered that possibility before deciding lastweek to come out strongly for Miller. He said he decided to speak out after being urged to do so by Patrick McSweeney, who stepped down as state party chairman Saturday and was replaced by Del. Randy Forbes of Chesapeake.
Warner, who did not attend the convention, spent the day campaigning in Blacksburg, Staunton and Charlottesville. In 1994, he questioned North's honesty and said North - who figured prominently in the Iran-Contra controversy - was unfit for office. Many Republicans hold those actions and Warner's support of an independent candidate responsible for North's narrow defeat to Democrat Charles S. Robb.
``This convention can be summed up as Jim Miller's feel-good day,'' said John Hishta, Warner's campaign manager. ``Tomorrow, he'll have to wake up to reality. That reality is getting his message out to the public.''
In Charlottesville, Warner picked up the endorsement of former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, who told the crowd that the race will define Republicans nationally. Without mentioning Miller by name, Eagleburger said Warner's conservative opponents are intolerant. Both Eagleburger and Miller worked in the Reagan administration.
Warner hosted a hospitality suite at the state convention but did not speak to the delegates. Just as most of the festivities got rolling Saturday, Warner left for his campaign stops in western Virginia.
``I've always followed the advice that you don't go where you're not invited,'' Warner said.
North portrayed Warner as a remote Washington insider ``who has lined his pockets with hundreds of thousands of dollars from special interest groups.'' He was referring to Warner's acceptance of $215,000 in campaign contributions this year from political action committees.
He described Warner as an enemy in the cultural war that many conservative and evangelical Republicans are fighting on social issues. He cited Warner's sometimes-inconsistent voting record on abortion and his 1987 vote against the ill-fated nomination of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court.
``These two sides engaged in this competition are engaged in a struggle of dramatically different visions about the future of our country and the role our government should play,'' he said.
With a spirit reminiscent of his failed bid for office in 1994, much of the crowd greeted North with unrestrained enthusiasm - particularly when he pledged to seek statewide office again sometime in the future.
``With the people who are here right now, I think that if Ollie North had said he wanted the nomination himself they would have given it to him,'' said David Hummel, chairman of the 2nd Congressional District in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. ``He's still that popular.''
Some Warner supporters in the convention crowd were dismayed by the pounding North gave the senator before his own party.
Sally Gregg, of Richmond, said, ``All this makes me so mad that all I want to do is get home and work harder for the senator.'' MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oliver L. North celebrates his endorsement of James C. Miller III at
the GOP state convention on Saturday. Republicans well recall how
Miller's opponent, Sen. John W. Warner, refused to support North in
his 1994 Senate race.
Graphic
Research by WARREN FISKE, graphic by JOHN EARLE/The Virginian-Pilot
DOES JOHN WARNER VOTE LIKE A REPUBLICAN?
SOURCE: Congressional Quarterly
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: PRIMARY ELECTIONS REPUBLICAN PARTY
VIRGINIA U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATES
ENDORSEMENTS by CNB