THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606080015
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 80 lines
Over the years, I've heard more than one version of this political tale.
Back when the hero was in elementary school (or junior-high or high school), he/she ran for class president (or secretary or treasurer). Following Dad's advice to be a good sport, the budding politician voted for the other guy. At which point, the election was lost, usually by one vote.
The unspoken moral of the story, besides the fact that dads are from Venus and political rivals are from Mars, is the brutal first lesson of politics. To advance your cause, you may have to put self-interest ahead of manners.
Which brings us to Tuesday's Republican primary and the latest quandary in the sportsmanship debate. The question the primary poses is this: Should Democrats and independents do what Virginia's permissive election laws allow, namely vote in the GOP primary?
Purists say that only card-carrying Republicans should pick the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate. Of course, in Virginia there are no card-carrying Republicans, but more about that later.
Pragmatists say several things. One group starts from the premise that incumbent John W. Warner nobly saved Virginia and the nation from the specter of Oliver North in the U.S. Senate. Two years ago, Warner refused to back his party's nominee, North, whom, he believed, had deceived Congress over the Iran-Contra affair. Warner fielded an independent opponent to North. The result, many political analysts say, was the re-election of Democrat Chuck Robb.
Now, angry Republican activists are bent on revenge. To preserve Warner's place in the Senate and reward him for political courage, grateful Democrats and independents should vote Tuesday, says pragmatic theory No. 1.
The second, more Machiavellian view is that Democrats should do what is in the political interest of Democrats. That is to vote for the weaker of the Republican candidates in hopes that it will boost the prospects of their nominee, Northern Virginia businessman Mark Warner, in the November election. In this case, theory No. 2 would mean voting for Warner's opponent, former Reagan Budget Director Jim Miller. As a relative novice to the campaign trail and an arch conservative on matters from economics to abortion, Miller is probably the more vulnerable of the Republican pair.
While Democrats picking a Republican nominee to suit themselves would seem to be the height of poor sportsmanship and an insult to the democratic process, it is perfectly legal in Virginia. Unlike voters in many other states, the Virginia electorate does not have to register by party. In short, it's permissible for Republicans to vote in Democratic contests and vice versa.
This is, in fact, a system created by design. In the days when Harry Byrd Sr. was the boss of Virginia politics, an era that ended in the 1960s, the state's Democratic elite wanted Virginia voters to be unencumbered by party tags. Byrd and his lieutenants voted Democratic in state and local elections, Republican in federal elections. The lines were intentionally blurred.
The most blatant exercise in self-preservation came in the 1949 Democratic primary when a split among conservative Democrats threatened to make Francis Pickens Miller the party's nominee for governor. Miller, who'd be regarded today as a moderate, was anathema to Byrdites because of his open views on race and labor unions. He was branded a liberal threat to Virginia's future.
Major Henry A. Wise, a Taft Republican, saved the day for the Byrd Machine when he publicly urged all right-thinking Republicans to forgo the GOP primary for governor and support the Byrd candidate in the Democratic primary. Many did. Miller was defeated, and Byrd prevailed.
As two-party competition has stiffened in Virginia, nominating primaries have become less popular. Over the past quarter century, there've been five in races for governor or U.S. Senate. Each time there has been an upset, losers have claimed that the other party entered the primary to elect their opponent. There's no consensus on whether that occurred, however, and most of the evidence is anecdotal.
All that's certain is that relatively few voters make the selection in statewide primaries. The recent high mark was in 1989 when 15 percent of registered voters participated in the GOP primary for governor.
With turnout that low, there's room for independents and Democrats to turn the tide.
In my view, Democrats should stay home Tuesday. Independents should feel free to vote. Their input can broaden the party's ranks and send the nominee into the general election with a stronger base of support.
But there is no absolute right or wrong in the manners vs. self-interest debate.
As long as Virginia's election laws stand, it's an individual choice. MEMO: Ms. Edds is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. by CNB