Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 20, 1993 TAG: 9308200163
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
"If Mike loses, Republican candidates will be told that being pro-life is strike one, a conservative is strike two and a Christian is strike three," Robertson wrote in an Aug. 11 fund-raising letter.
The letter sparked Democratic charges Thursday that Farris, an evangelical Christian and former Moral Majority organizer, is a front man for Robertson and the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Lynchburg in this fall's election.
"I think it's very troubling," said Gail Nardi, a spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, a Democrat who is seeking re-election. "Obviously, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have a master plan for Virginia. They're spending millions of dollars to make one of their lieutenants our lieutenant governor."
Ralph Reed, executive director of the Christian Coalition, the political arm of Robertson's organization, said Nardi's statement suggests an anti-Christian bias.
"I have never heard Don Beyer attack an African-American leader, a union leader or any other leader urging people to get involved in a campaign," he said. "I certainly hope this is not evidence that Don Beyer has a problem with people of religious faith getting involved in the political arena."
Democrats have been seeking to link Robertson and Farris since June, when Farris won the GOP nomination on the strength of evangelical support. Farris, while acknowledging that he admires Robertson, said that he has never sought political advice from the religious leader.
In the four-page letter, which was mailed to an undisclosed number of voters by the Farris campaign, Robertson praised Farris for his strong views opposing abortion, public debt and new taxes and his involvement in defending Christian parents who educate their children at home.
"Now the radical left is going after Mike Farris," Robertson said. "They know that he will stand up to their extremist agenda . . . and policies that undermine the traditional family. . . .
"The radical left is targeting him because they want to silence Christians and other people of faith who are seeking a voice in government."
Robertson said "the stakes are high" because a Farris defeat would be interpreted as evidence that Christian right candidates are too conservative to win state and national elections. "All of us will be out if the liberals can say in the future, `You will lose just like Mike Farris lost in the Virginia if you stick to your views.' "
Farris, making his first run for elective office, is considered a longshot against Beyer. A July 15 campaign finance report showed him with a war chest of only $16,000 while the Beyer campaign had $342,000 in the bank.
Robertson said Farris needs to raise $130,000 by the end of August to wage a successful campaign. He said the Republican needs a total of $1.75 million before the Nov. 2 election.
Farris said he expects Robertson to raise only a small portion of the money. "If it results in $15,000 or $20,000 coming in, I'll consider it a successful fund-raising effort," he said.
Farris said he is not concerned that Robertson's support could hamper his efforts to woo crucial independent voters. "I've already taken a whole bunch of flak for being a conservative Christian," he said. "What's new?"
Reed expressed outrage that Robertson's support of Farris would attract attention from Democrats and reporters. "Pat Robertson is a former Republican presidential candidate," he said. "He's clearly respected as an elder statesman of the party. It's perfectly proper that he would endorse a Republican candidate from his home state."
Reed said Robertson held a fund-raiser at his home this summer for GOP gubernatorial nominee George Allen and has offered support to James Gilmore, the GOP candidate for attorney general.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB