ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702170081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
THE FAMILY FOUNDATION does a lot more than pray for outcomes in the legislative process these days.
They come most days the legislature meets and take back seats in the galleries and committee rooms. There, unnoticed, they pray.
The call themselves ``the intercessors.'' They are a group of women from across Virginia who travel to the capitol to summon divine intervention for socially conservative programs they deem necessary to protect the sanctity of families.
``They pray for our organization, they pray for the governor, they pray for the legislators, they pray for you,'' explained Walter Barbee, the imposing president and creator of the Family Foundation, which sponsors the intercessors and has quietly become the most influential Christian conservative lobby in state government.
``They pray people will open their eyes and get involved in the process,'' Barbee said. ``We believe in the power of prayer.''
Barbee, 63, a retired American Airlines pilot, also believes in the power of computers, fax machines and telephones. Networking from the basement of his stately home in Northern Virginia near the Potomac River, Barbee has put together a mailing list of 40,000 Virginians who are ready to pressure legislators at the drop of a fax.
Like the intercessors, the Family Foundation long seemed to move on angels' feet around the capitol - scarcely noticeable but always present. That's changed in recent years as the group has found socially conservative allies in Gov. George Allen and an ever-expanding cast of Republican legislators.
In many states, subsidiaries of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition play a major role in lobbying legislatures. That's not true in Virginia, the national headquarters of the Chesapeake-based coalition.
The foundation, which works closely with the coalition, "takes the lead on lobbying the General Assembly," said Anne Kincaid, a longtime consultant to the foundation. ``That's because we have lobbyists on site and have been in existence longer than the coalition."
Jack Knapp, executive director of the Association of Independent Baptists, agreed. ``The foundation has the largest pro-family grass-roots base in the state,'' he said.
Over the past three years, the tax-exempt foundation has increasingly asserted itself - often behind the scenes - in some of the toughest social policy battles before the legislature. It doesn't win all or even half of its fights, causing some to question the group's overall clout.
But with Republicans closer than ever to gaining majorities in both houses of the General Assembly, the foundation is playing an increasingly influential role in policy and debate.
The group supported Allen's two-year refusal to accept federal Goals 2000 money for public schools, making Virginia the only state to boycott the program. Barbee privately counseled the governor and sent research that supported the governor's much-disputed opinion that Virginia would cede control of its schools to Washington by accepting the $23 million grant.
Under heavy election-year fire from Democrats, Allen last month finally accepted the money. Barbee, whose trust of the federal government is as small as a microbe, is one of the few Republicans not breathing easier. ``We need to see the small print to see if we will escape the onerous demands,'' he said.
The foundation supported unsuccessful efforts this year for a state constitutional amendment affirming the rights of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children - an endeavor Democrats predicted would open public schools to nuisance lawsuits. After the group urged its members to lobby for the amendment, more than 500 supporters overwhelmed a public hearing last month.
The organization is bound by a conviction that the American family is being torn apart by high taxes and bureaucratic policies that limit the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children. Although the group is perhaps best known for its stands against abortion and gambling, Barbee estimates the foundation spends 70 percent of its energy promoting conservative, back-to-basic education standards.
The tax-exempt organization favors use of public funds to underwrite tuitions at private schools. It backs the creation of charter schools - publicly funded academies that would be exempt from many state and local regulations. It opposes expanding rules for day care centers and gay rights.
A friend in Allen
As if to announce its coming of age, the foundation held its first-ever gala dinner in December in Richmond. That night, the governor was the guest of honor. Allen, on hand to receive the group's ``Courage in Leadership Award,'' urged some 500 formally attired diners to ``never become discouraged, because I believe our views are correct.''
Also at the dinner were all six of this year's probable Republican candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, and representatives of several national evangelical groups, including Ralph Reed, executive director of the Christian Coalition. Helping to underwrite the event was a blend of traditional Main Street business and legal interests such as Richard Sharp, chairman of Circuit City Inc.; and the Richmond-based mega-law firm McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe.
Mobilizing members to hearings and Republican leaders to fund-raisers lets the foundation flex its developing muscles. But Barbee said the group aims higher. ``We want to be a think tank. We need a Virginia Heritage Foundation, a conservative state think tank on economic and educational issues.''
In that effort, late last year the foundation published a 127-page ``Virginia Education Report Card'' written by a Stafford County teacher as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Virginia.
The study concludes that school systems that consistently perform best on standard tests are often not the richest ones. Instead, they teach reading by phonics, emphasize basic subjects, and group students by academic ability.
Barbee hopes conservative candidates will use the report as an intellectual base this fall to counter arguments that school funding must grow significantly. ``A computer in every classroom is a nice slogan,'' he said, ``but it won't teach children how to read.''
``The report was a real turning point for the Family Foundation,'' said state Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake, the group's point man in the upper chamber. ``It's a very detailed and credible study.''
But Dick Pulley, a lobbyist with the Virginia Education Association, said the study fails to recognize a basic point. ``Without ample money, you can't hire the best teachers that are essential to learning,'' he said.
As does Pulley, many lobbyists and legislators who have clashed with the foundation grudgingly respect the group's speed in pulling supporters to a rally in Richmond or mustering hundreds of phone calls to a lawmaker teetering on a crucial vote.
But that doesn't mean the group is widely admired outside of deeply conservative circles.
``They are a tenacious, well-organized and terribly misguided group of people,'' said Charles Davis III, a Richmond lobbyist who represents casinos. ``They have a few hard-core beliefs that may sound good. But I think they really want to dictate lifestyles to all people of Virginia. They don't understand that people who disagree with them also have families and family values.''
Or, in the words of Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk, who unsuccessfully sought a referendum on whether to allow riverboat gambling: ``This is an ultra-right-wing group that says it's part of the Christian right but is neither Christian nor right.
``Their agenda, in my opinion, threatens the health and education of children,'' Jones added. "They clearly stand in favor of charter schools and vouchers. Those are euphemisms for their desire to recast the public schools in their own image.''
Moderate Republican lawmakers who sometimes stray from their party on social issues complain about strong-arm tactics. The foundation names teetering legislators and their office numbers on its daily telephone hot line message that can be accessed with a toll-free call from most of the state.
As Sen. Malfourd ``Bo'' Trumbo, R-Fincastle, can attest, a mention on the hot line can reap lots of phone calls. When he was listed as wavering on the parental rights amendment, his office fielded 80 calls in one weekend. Trumbo wound up voting for the amendment, but said the calls didn't make the difference. ``It really doesn't influence me when practically all of the callers aren't from my district,'' he said.
Sen. Jane Woods, R-Fairfax County, who ultimately became the only Senate Republican to oppose the amendment and cast the deciding vote that killed it, 21-19, had a similar experience. ``Some of those people were making threats and really need to learn manners,'' she said.
``You can tell when a telephone campaign is being waged because most of the people say the exact same thing. I don't particularly pay attention when that happens.''
Del. Harry Purkey, R-Virginia Beach, was livid last week after the Family Foundation's lobbyist sent him a note on the floor of House of Delegates asking him to change his vote on an amendment to a bill restricting teen-agers' rights to abortions.
``I resent being lobbied when the House is in session and we're casting votes,'' he said.
Barbee has little sympathy for lawmakers. He acknowledges that high-pressure phone campaigns may not win many new votes. ``But what else do you have?'' he asked. ``You're trying to get legislators to know how the citizenry feels about something.''
``I can understand if I'm a legislator, I don't want to get all these phone calls,'' he said. ``But as Harry Truman said, `If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.' It's part of their job."
In the mainstream?
The foundation keeps its burners hot by staying in constant contact and exchanging information with a host of prominent national evangelical research and lobbying groups, most notably James Dobson's Focus on the Family.
The foundation runs out of a small office in Fairfax with a staff of six and an annual budget of just over $200,000. ``We pay starvation wages,'' Barbee said. The group's executive director, George Tryfiates, came from English First, a national group that opposes teaching school in foreign languages. The foundation's lobbyist, Robin DeJarnette, came from the anti-abortion Virginia Society for Human Life.
Barbee is sensitive to any suggestion that his conservative group does not represent mainstream thought. This year, for example, his group commissioned its first poll to suggest that most Virginians support their views on parental rights.
``If I'm out in left field, why do the polls back me?'' Barbee asked. ``Why does George Allen have a 65 percent approval rating? Let's talk about mainstream and let the public decide.''
His veneration for Allen began in 1993 when Barbee interviewed the then-candidate for governor and found they agreed on just about everything. He personally endorsed Allen over two opponents seeking the GOP nomination.
After winning office, Allen showed his appreciation by naming Barbee to a commission seeking to streamline government and hiring Kincaid as his director of constituent services. During a recent interview, Allen said there was no special significance to his relationship with the foundation. ``I talk to them as I talk to many groups,'' he said.
Barbee proffers deep respect for the governor. ``He's the only politician I can ever remember who tried to keep all the promises of his campaign,'' he said. ``He's got a lot of courage. He stands on principle.''
Barbee acknowledges that his group has become more effective under Allen and the rising Republican tide in the General Assembly.
``Last year we tracked 40 or 45 bills, and our views prevailed about one-third of the time,'' he said. ``If you had only that to go by, you might say it's a pretty dismal record. But when we got started a few years ago, we used to go 0 for 100.''
LENGTH: Long : 202 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: 1. What is the Family Foundation? color. 2. What theby CNBFamily Foundation thinks. KEYWORDS: MGR GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997