DATE: Sunday, November 9, 1997              TAG: 9711070024

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J5   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Opinion

SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   79 lines

SURVIVING THE AVALANCHE DEMOCRATS: 10 SIMPLE STEPS TO RECOVERY

A post-election message to distraught Democrats wandering Capitol Hill with the vacant stares of avalanche survivors: Buck up. The sun still rises.

Even after Tuesday's wipeout, your prospects certainly don't look any more bleak than Gov. George F. Allen's did in the spring of 1993 when he faced an incumbent who controlled all the money, all the polls and the entire state power structure. He won. You can too.

But first, the party needs to do an enormous amount of soul-searching. Consider it an opportunity. Here's some advice on getting started.

1. If you've forgotten or never knew, decide what you believe. And - unless you're talking individual rights - it can't be ``the government that governs best governs least.'' The Republicans already took that one.

This is critical. The party's nominees for governor in 1993 and 1997 have been fine people. But a clear sense of line-in-the-sand, no-retreat philosophical underpinnings has been conspicuously absent.

2. Recognize that ``You're the underdog, stupid.'' Start acting like it. That means you have to be bolder, think smarter and hustle faster than the Republicans. Even then, you may not win. But it's a sure thing that you won't if you don't.

3. Generate some new ideas, based on turn-of-the-century realities. (Turn of the next century, that is.) This would seem to be obvious; judging from recent Democratic campaigns, it isn't.

For example, Democrat Don Beyer's plan to raise teacher salaries to the national average was Chuck Robb's plan when he ran for governor in 1981. It sounded fresh then. It had a ``been-there-done-that'' ring in 1997.

But if Beyer had coupled the ``carrot'' with a fully fleshed-out plan for elevating good teachers and culling out bad ones, it might have resonated with a public deep into accountability.

4. Puh-leez. Lay off Pat Robertson and abortion rights. You cannot, to use a phrase coined by a former governor on another matter, keep ``chewing on that old rag'' year after year after year.

If the Supreme Court changes the lay of the land on abortion or if Robertson influences a Republican governor to act outrageously, then go for it. Until then, it's like trotting out the same spook Halloween after Halloween.

Scared the first time. Bored the second. Irritated the third.

5. In keeping with the last suggestion, rely less on national consultants and more on home-grown ones. Boyd Marcus, who ran Gov.-elect James S. Gilmore III's campaign, had the advantage of knowing and understanding the state over the long haul. It showed.

6. Find a way of building some enthusiasm and competition into the nominating process. Former party Chairman Paul Goldman is touting a return to primary elections. There are some disadvantages in terms of cost and airing your dirty linen in public. But the recent alternative - deadly dull conventions where the torch is passed to an heir apparent - isn't working.

7. Elevate 3rd District Rep. Robert C. Scott's role in state party affairs. Your African-American base needs energizing, and Scott is a good person to light the fuse. If former Gov. Doug Wilder is determined to go elsewhere, let him go.

8. Take heart from the fact that the public still thinks Democrats are stronger than Republicans on education issues, and from your demographic advantage among women. You can gain a toehold if you concentrate (creatively) on what young, working families care about most: their children.

Solid messages on taxes and crime are fine. But you're treading on Republican turf. You center a campaign there at your own peril.

9. Don't appear obstructionist. Rather than waste time explaining Tuesday's losses on the basis of out-of-state GOP money or a teeny turnout or fuzzy planning, accept the outcome. Virginians voted for a reduction in the personal property tax on cars and trucks. Help them get one. But put your own stamp on it, if you can. And make sure voters understand the tradeoffs in education and roads and other services.

10. Finally, come to terms with the fact that Republicans may do it right. If Governor-elect Gilmore governs from the center with compassion and common sense, celebrate Virginia's good fortune and enjoy the time with your families.

But if you suspect that, down the road, intraparty GOP feuds will surface or stagnation will set in or services will slip, then be ready. The odds are good that Democrats will one day find there's life after Tuesday's death. MEMO: Ms. Edds is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot.

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