DATE: Thursday, October 9, 1997             TAG: 9710090524

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: DECISION '97

SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:  109 lines

NATIONAL VOTERS GROUP ORGANIZES IN VIRGINIA TO FIGHT AGAINST GILMORE, COALITION

One of the nation's strongest critics of the Christian Coalition announced Wednesday that it is organizing in Virginia to combat the influence of religious conservatives in this fall's gubernatorial race.

Leaders of People For the American Way, a nonprofit voter education group founded by television producer Norman Lear, said they have registered their organization as a political committee in Virginia.

The action clears the way for the group to contact about 50,000 Virginia voters by phone and letter to advance its contention that Republican James S. Gilmore III is the ``hand-picked candidate of the religious right,'' according to Carole Shields, president of the Washington-based group.

Shields said it is the first time the group has gotten involved in a gubernatorial election - although it has tried to influence local school board elections in a handful of states. She said the organization is considering a possible endorsement of Democrat Donald S. Beyer Jr.

``The Christian Coalition brags about a measure of control over 30 state Republican parties,'' Shields said during a morning news conference at the Capitol. ``Now they're trying to hand pick Virginia's next governor. We think Virginians ought to be informed of this, since the Christian Coalition is not always frank about revealing its agenda.''

Shields acknowledged that her group's actions will be miniscule compared to the some 1 million voter guides the Christian Coalition plans to distribute in churches the Sunday before the election. But she said her group is making a statement by registering as a political committee. The tax-exempt coalition has refused to do so, even though the Federal Election Commission contends in a pending lawsuit that the coalition is little more than an arm of the Republican Party.

The announcement is the latest in a blizzard of efforts by Democrats and interest groups to make the coalition and its founder - religious broadcaster Pat Robertson - the focus of the gubernatorial race.

In a television commercial now being aired, Beyer notes that Robertson has contributed $100,000 to Gilmore's campaigns since 1993. In return for the money, Beyer says, Gilmore is ``pushing Robertson's education agenda'' of offering taxpayer support to private schools.

And during a rancorous debate Monday night, Beyer assailed Gilmore as little more than a Robertson pawn promoting an agenda of abortion restrictions and socially conservative reforms of public education.

``If you want Pat Robertson's agenda, then Jim Gilmore is your candidate,'' Beyer said.

Gilmore, in response, has accused Beyer of ``being dishonest with voters'' by misstating Gilmore's positions and trying to create fear that the Republican would pursue a religion-based political agenda.

``It's the same thing Democrats do every election,'' he said. ``It's no different than what they tried to do to John Warner, Oliver North and Mike Farris,'' he added, naming Republican statewide candidates in recent years who also have contended with charges that they are influenced by the religious right.

Robertson - with high disapproval ratings among Virginia voters - makes a compelling target, according John Green, a political scientist from the University of Akron, who specializes in the Christian conservative movement.

``There are two reasons,'' Green said. ``One is that many people don't like religious leaders meddling in politics. There's a strong feeling that there ought to be a separation between church and state. The second reason is that Robertson himself has said a lot of controversial things about the end of the world and international problems that seem strange to a lot of people.''

Gilmore said he would not try to change abortion laws if elected governor. Although he is personally opposed to abortion after the first 8 to 12 weeks of pregnancy, Gilmore said his opinion is unimportant because the right to an abortion has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Republican said he would not seek vouchers - the use of public tax dollars to pay for private school tuitions. But he adds that he would be willing to sign such a bill if the General Assembly could create a system of vouchers that did not drain money from public schools.

Critics say there are inconsistencies and loopholes in Gilmore's statements that allow him to appear to be saying one thing to the public and another to religious conservatives.

In speeches, for example, Gilmore has said he would not actively seek laws requiring parental consent before minors could have abortions. He has added that he would sign such a bill, however.

But in a fund-raising letter last month to social and religious conservatives, Gilmore wrote: ``I will fight, as governor, to implement parental consent laws.''

Gilmore denied any inconsistency, saying if legislation made it to his desk, he would fight to encourage public support of parental consent.

Shields, of People For, questioned Gilmore's sincerity about not creating vouchers unless they did not take money from public schools. ``If he's talking about new money, the question we would ask is why wouldn't you invest it in public schools with all of their needs?''

Shields also noted that Gilmore has supported religious conservatives by backing the state Board of Education's decision not to mandate sex education and endorsing a parental rights amendment that critics say could limit the ability of school boards to control education policies.

``Jim Gilmore is in sync with the religious right on every major issue,'' she said.

But Mark Rozell, a political scientist at American University, said tying Gilmore to the religious right will be a tough sell. He noted that Gilmore advanced his career by focusing on his law-and-order skills as a prosecutor rather than rise through the religious right. Gilmore's agreements with Robertson, Rozell said, appear to be based more on their shared conservative political beliefs than on theology.

Gilmore says he has a wide range of Republican supporters and is no more beholden to Robertson then he is to moderates - such as Colin Powell - who have given money to his campaign.

Arne Owens, a spokesman for the Christian Coalition, goes a step further. ``We're very disturbed about these implied and actual attacks on people of faith for taking a role in the electoral process,'' he said. ``We consider it religious bigotry and it's got to stop.'' KEYWORDS: ELECTION VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE VIRGINIA

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