
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 9, 1994                   TAG: 9402090205
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

NOT A PARTY

With the entrenched Democratic organization calling all the shots, there was little reason to be a Republican in Harry Byrd's Virginia. The primary election contests within the Democratic Party were tantamount to election ... The November election was, in the words of one prominent political reporter, only a 'constitutional formality.' ... Throughout most of Virginia, there simply were no people who called themselves 'Republicans.'" - Frank B. Atkinson, writing in his 1992 book, "The Dynamic Dominion."

TODAY, QUITE a few Virginians proudly call themselves Republicans. For one, Gov. George Allen, for whom Frank Atkinson is now special counsel. A record number of state legislators also bear the label.

Today, believe it or not, many Virginia Democrats even proudly associate with the national party, which was anathema in Harry Byrd's day.

But if Republicans and Democrats are no longer pariahs, state election laws still won't let them come out of the closet. Virginia, it seems, is the only state in the nation not requiring all statewide and legislative candidates to be listed on the ballot with party designations. That is an insult to the parties, and to the many Virginians who've worked for years to build the strong, competitive two-party system the state enjoys today.

Let's fix the ballot. Tell voters who's what. The Byrd era's over. It's time Virginia recovered from its political identity crisis.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB