Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 16, 1994 TAG: 9401160087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
On the big screen were pictures of thousands of heavy-coated Republicans huddled in the cold, bracing against the wind and otherwise paying the ultimate price for their victory in last November's elections.
Inside, it was warm. There was a nice buffet, mixed drinks, comfortable seats and plenty of coffee. And for the 650 Democratic loyalists who gathered Saturday at a downtown hotel to watch a Republican governor take the inaugural oath for the first time in 16 years, that was consolation enough.
"There are very few perks with this job," said Mark Warner, the state Democratic chairman. "This is one of them. I get to stay inside where it's warm."
In Virginia, where Democrats lose statewide elections about as often as Perry Mason loses a case, attending an also-ran luncheon was a new experience for many of the activists. In addition to the governor, the Republicans also elected an attorney general. Democrats could only comfort themselves with the re-election of Lt. Gov. Don Beyer.
The luncheon got off to a tame start. Democrats were philosophical about their defeat and optimistic about the future.
"Four years ago, we elected all three [statewide officers] and four years from now we'll elect all three again," said Jay Myerson, a Fairfax attorney. "And I can promise you, it will be a warmer day for Virginia when we swear them in."
Georgia Short, an executive with Virginia Power who was once an aide to former Democratic Gov. Gerald Baliles, said: "Most of us who have worked in politics a long time have experienced defeat and the important thing is to learn from it.
"I feel some real disappointment," she added. "Those of us who have worked in government hate to see the things we worked for fall apart."
Several blacks marveled at how empty they felt compared to the inauguration four years ago, when Douglas Wilder became the nation's first elected black governor.
"Four years ago, I had a lump in my throat because of all the history we were making," said James Dyke, Wilder's secretary of education. "Today, I've got a lump in my throat, but for different reasons."
The mood began heating up when Oliver North, the expected GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate, appeared on the screen. The crowd booed and hissed. They were silent when Gov. George Allen and Atty. Gen. Jim Gilmore took their oaths of office. They cheered only when Beyer was sworn in.
The room erupted in laughter when Allen conspicuously wiped a kiss from his wife, Susan, off his lips. Then the mood grew downright hot as Allen, in his inaugural speech, railed against a state government that has been "whittling away freedoms . . . stifling initiative under the heavy, grimy boot of excessive taxation and spending," and "has lost touch with the people."
Janet Payne, a Fredericksburg Democrat, could hardly contain her anger. "The speech was an insult to the dignity of the office," she said. "Allen was in a campaign mode with a pit bull attitude."
Payne was especially upset by Allen's constant references to Thomas Jefferson. "I'm sick and tired of it," she said. "The idea that he would even consider himself anywhere near Jefferson is blasphemy."
Added Scott Bates, former Secretary of the Commonwealth under Wilder: "George Allen just doesn't believe government can help people and eventually George Allen and his people will burn out because they have such a negative view."
Del. Clifton Woodrum, D-Roanoke, wondered how Allen, 41, would square the speech with the promise to work with Democrats. "Youth is entitled to its hyperbole, and when he is willing to stop his campaign, we will be willing to sit down with him and discuss the future of the Commonwealth," he said.
But Woodrum denied that he is irate with the new governor. "The important thing is not to get angry when someone throws a tantrum," he said.
by CNB