THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996 TAG: 9611010031
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 84 lines
For almost two decades, John Warner has been a principled and energetic advocate for Virginia in the halls and committee rooms of the nation's Capitol. That performance has earned him an endorsement for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.
Seldom do the interests of a senator and a region dovetail more naturally than do those of John Warner and Hampton Roads. The bulk of his career, Warner recently told an interviewer, has been devoted to national defense and related security matters. Those concerns are the region's lifeblood.
More than one-fourth of the 1.5 million residents of Hampton Roads live in families with active-duty, retired or civilian military employees. Spin-off employment touches many more. As the second-ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, John Warner is uniquely positioned to protect Virginia's military interests and to fight for the state's servicemen and servicewomen. To throw away that seniority in a body where tenure matters would be folly.
Examples abound of successful efforts by Warner in Virginia's behalf. Most recently, he spearheaded a compromise that will allow Newport News Shipbuilding to construct two of the first four vessels in a new generation of attack submarines. Over time, that victory could mean billions of dollars and thousands of jobs for Hampton Roads.
And while he was far from alone in working to protect the state during recent base closings, Warner took a leading role. It is no accident that Virginia is the only state with a significant military presence to gain, not lose, defense jobs last year.
Gratitude for bringing-home-the-bacon is not the only reason to vote for John Warner, however.
Philosopically, he is a good match for the state. His environmental record leaves something to be desired. And he has, at times, been a bit too enthusiastic in his zeal for expensive weaponry. But Warner has largely provided a dependable, Main Street Republican vote on budgetary matters and a thoughtful conservatism on social issues.
According to the National Journal, over the last 15 years he has voted conservative on economic issues 80 percent of the time; on foreign policy, 72 percent of the time, and on social policy, 68 percent of the time. His willingness to break with partisan convention when he feels the party errs is worth applauding.
He drew the ire of fellow-Republicans in 1987, for instance, by voting against the nomination of arch-conservative Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court. He differs from many in his party by opposing the dismantling of the Departments of Education and Commerce. He has a mixed voting record on such hot-button issues as abortion and gun control.
In the present campaign, he wisely has distanced himself from the supply-side, 15 percent income tax cut supported by GOP standard bearer Bob Dole. Although Warner lent his vote to supply-side initiatives during the Reagan administration, he is appropriately more cautious today.
Warner's most independent action is well-known to Virginians and accounts in no small measure for the hefty support that he enjoys in public-opinion polls. Dismayed by Oliver North's misleading representations to Congress regarding the Iran-Contra affair, Warner concluded that the 1994 GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate was unworthy of high office.
Warner acted accordingly. His decision to oppose North by recruiting an independent candidate may well have deprived North of office. In an era when too many politicians are guided by polls and powerful financial interests, Warner put his own career in jeopardy on a matter of principle. That earned Warner the respect of many Virginians - Democrats, Republicans and independents.
Mark Warner, the multimillionaire cellular-phone magnate who is opposing John Warner, has infused his campaign with energy and cash. The Democratic Warner is a likeable person with proven organizational skills. He has alerted Virginians to some of the cracks in John Warner's voting record. He has focused on Virginia's changing needs in a high-tech future, a worthy focus for a campaign. And, for the most part, he has avoided sounding too shrill in his pursuit.
The main exception is his recent hammering of John Warner over an ill-conceived ad in which Mark Warner's head appeared on a doctored photograph of Chuck Robb's body. John Warner, who acted correctly in firing his adman, deserves to be chastised for the incident. But it is hardly the ultimate test of the senator's character, as Mark Warner has implied.
More importantly, Mark Warner simply has not made a sufficient case for his own election. As a man who is attempting to start at the top politically, the Democratic nominee has failed to prove that he could handle the job better than a tested and proven public servant.
Virginians should vote Tuesday to send John, not Mark, Warner back to Washington.
KEYWORDS: ENDORSEMENT U.S. SENATE RACE by CNB