Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 17, 1990 TAG: 9005170460
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY L. GARLAND
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
With legislative redistricting set for early next year, it is critical for the future health of the Virginia Republican Party that it be in the strongest possible position to claim a majority of the new seats created. And the areas of the state gaining seats are precisely those in which the GOP has demonstrated the ability to win.
As Gov. Douglas Wilder is likely to remain personally unassailable and resistant to calls for tax increases, the GOP will need an issue of compelling statewide interest to galvanize marginal voters. There is only one that I can think of, and that's a firm commitment to remove the state's 4.5 percent sales tax on food.
It would be wrong to conclude that the average voter has followed Huffman's vicissitudes or much cares about them. And most of those who have will quickly forget. But there is an image of disarray that will linger in the minds of the press and those who follow politics closely to see which way the cat is going to jump.
The cat-watchers are a chief source of campaign funds, and not in the business of making charitable contributions. They want winners, which is something that political parties must sooner or later deliver if they are to have a function beyond being a place where some people like to hang out.
And this touches upon one of the party's main problems. Too many of its so-called leaders are more interested in being major players inside the party than they are in making contributions to the success of the party's candidates in the real world of elective politics.
William H. Hurd is a case in point. As treasurer of the state Republican Party, he might be assumed to have responsibility to see that its books were in order, its checks properly entered and honored, its bank statements carefully checked, etc. But such tasks as these, apparently, were too mundane for an expert on ideological purity of Hurd's order of genius. He would prefer to function as strategist, arbiter and confidant of candidates.
If Hurd would not or could not attend to the books, then that task would surely fall to the party's executive director, Joe Elton. The first lesson of management is that you manage from the checkbook, or cash flow. If an item as large as taxes withheld from wages or due from the employer - amounting to almost $200,000 - can be overlooked for many months, somebody has to take the fall.
It is unfortunate that Huffman is having to carry the can. His personal exertions on behalf of the Republican Party - at great personal expense - have been tremendous, if of scant avail on the balance sheet of important races won. But as a busy lawyer residing far from Richmond, he could not be expected to supervise personally the day-to-day operations at party headquarters. Those he trusted to the task let him down. In trying to shield Hurd and Elton, however, he has compromised his own position, and should now give way to a new broom and a clean sweep.
That Huffman's dedicated service would now be tarnished is a fact deeply regretted by all who know him. But there is an issue here even larger than the internal fiscal mess now revealed and badly handled: When a political party has lost as much as the Virginia Republican Party has lost since 1980, it is imperative to contemplate new methods and enlist new faces.
With his personal ties to the religious right, Huffman has been able, after a fashion, to harmonize among factions. But that is like commending the captain of the Titanic for the excellence of the ship's catering arrangements. Ideology has its place, but the time is now for a leader who will place pragmatism above ideology, and for one with a demonstrated understanding of real electoral politics.
Should Huffman leave now, it would be the GOP's State Central Committee that will choose his successor. This is the body that rebuffed the legitimate request of Republican members of the General Assembly for a larger say in the party's internal governance. If it would now turn to state Sen. Robert Russell of Chesterfield - who is thought to be angling for the job - it would be better that Huffman stay on.
While Russell has appeared to thrive in the jungle of GOP internal politics in Chesterfield County, the last thing the party needs at this hour is a schemer.
But there is ample talent among past or present Republican members of the General Assembly. And winning legislative seats and thereby grooming fresh talent for congressional and statewide races down the road is the party's most pressing challenge.
The names of former state Sen. Wiley Mitchell of Alexandria and Del. Frank Hargrove of Hanover County come immediately to mind. While Mitchell is a man of high competence and considerable charisma, he is now in Norfolk serving as a chief litigator for the Norfolk Southern Corp. and might not have the time. And his well-deserved reputation for moderate Republicanism might be too much for the party's fire-breathers.
But Hargrove would be an excellent compromise: a man of proven political skills, respected in the General Assembly and a highly successful businessman. His close proximity to Richmond and independent means would give him the time needed to closely supervise the affairs of the party and focus its attention on winning elections.
by CNB