THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609150047
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 101 lines
Any doubts about the Christian Coalition's clout in the Republican Party may have been dispelled Saturday when Bob Dole joined his running mate, Jack Kemp, at the group's annual meeting.
Dole's surprise appearance came two hours after Pat Robertson, the founder of the coalition, told the delegates that it would take ``a miracle from Almighty God'' for Dole to win the presidency and that Dole would win only if he made moral issues the core of his campaign.
``It's not the economy, stupid - it's morality, stupid, and that's where the issue's going to be decided in this campaign,'' Robertson said.
Dole's appearance left coalition members marveling at their influence.
``This is almost unheard of, to have the two principal players on a presidential ticket come here at the same time,'' said Mike Russell, spokesman for the Chesapeake-based coalition. ``It sends a strong message to our constituency that we count.''
Kemp had been slated for several weeks to address about 3,000 coalition members from across the nation attending the group's annual ``Road to Victory'' conference.
Dole initially declined an invitation to speak, citing other campaign obligations. But he decided to appear after he came under a barrage of criticism from coalition followers and after a personal appeal from the group's executive director, Ralph Reed Jr.
At 10 a.m., he called coalition organizers to say he was on his way. Ninety minutes later, he received a standing ovation.
``I was just passing by and saw the cars here,'' Dole joked to the crowd assembled at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
The two Republicans stressed a variety of social issues that are important to Christian conservatives this fall. They criticized President Clinton's recent veto of a bill banning late-term ``partial-birth'' abortions.
``When I get the partial-birth abortion bill, I'll sign it,'' Dole said, receiving a standing ovation. He urged coalition members to pressure their congress members ``so we can override this terrible veto.''
Dole also pledged to give parents greater choice in choosing schools for their children and vouchers for private education.
``I want competition, I want choice,'' Dole said. ``All of our schools must do better.''
He blamed the Clinton administration for recent statistics showing that drug use has increased among teens. ``The day Bob Dole becomes president we're going to declare a war on drugs, and we're gonna win that war,'' he said.
Kemp, a longtime favorite of conservative Christians, tried to fuse Republican policies with religious principles during a well-received 25-minute speech.
``The root cause of crime is not poverty as the liberals suggest,'' he said. ``The root cause of crime is wrong moral choices. The solution lies in teaching proper morals and virtues to our children.''
On welfare, Kemp said: ``Compassion is not measured by how many people are dependent on welfare. Real compassion is measured by how many people we free from dependency on welfare.''
And on abortion, Kemp said: ``It is impossible to speak about compassion while we allow partial-birth abortions to occur in this nation.''
Russell, the coalition spokesman, acknowledged that the joint appearance could suggest Dole and Kemp may be having trouble locking up the traditionally conservative evangelical vote.
``Suffice to say, Clinton is doing better than expected among religious voters,'' Russell said.
Before Dole took the stage, Robertson reminded the audience that evangelical conservatives had provided the margin of victory for George Bush in the 1988 presidential election and that Dole needed similar help in 1996.
``I want to say this as clearly as I can,'' he said. ``This campaign for the presidency is far behind. Twenty-three points is about as insurmountable an obstacle as I can think of.
``In my personal opinion,'' he continued, ``there's got to be a miracle from Almighty God to pull it out, and it could happen.''
Poll results this week in the Los Angeles Times showed Dole's support lagging among white fundamentalist Christians. The poll showed him leading Clinton 55 percent to 32 percent among those voters, far less than the 75 percent to 80 percent that normally aligns with Republican candidates.
The same poll showed Clinton apparently held a slight lead overall among people who say they attend church at least three times a month - 46 percent to 44 percent.
During his keynote speech at a banquet Saturday night, Robertson lamented the erosion of traditional family values over the last 40 years and urged coalition members to stay committed to their conservative social agenda regardless of how this year's elections turn out.
``If we win the big one in 1996, great,'' he said. ``If some of the races get lost, so be it. We're going to keep fighting until we can say to our children and grandchildren, we gave it our best shot.''
Coalition members said Dole's appearance will help rally support for the GOP ticket. ``I thought it was very important,'' said Carl Kube of Silver Spring, Md., a retired computer salesman. ``People need to know he's in tune with our principles, and if he didn't come it would have just appeared that he was walking away from the agenda of the Christian Coalition.''
Catherine Griffin, a homemaker from Mechanicsville, Va., added: ``This was the cream in the coffee. Bob Dole said everything I want to hear.'' MEMO: The New York Times and The Associated Press contributed to this
report. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
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KEYWORDS: CHRISTIAN COALITION PRESIDENTIAL RACE 1996
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