DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709140081

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: ATLANTA                           LENGTH:   70 lines

GINGRICH SEEKS TO REBUILD TIES AT COALITION MEETING, GETS A POLITE RESPONSE

Trying to mend ties to his Christian conservative base, House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Saturday condemned abortion, religious persecution and trial lawyers playing ``litigation lottery'' with tobacco lawsuits.

He was a featured speaker at the Christian Coalition's ``Road to Victory'' conference, which also drew five other Republicans considering a bid for the presidency - Rep. John Kasich of Ohio, Lamar Alexander, Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes and Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri.

The House speaker, once the darling of the conservative movement, promised to again pass the ban on so-called partial-birth abortions and dare President Clinton to veto it again.

``I hope . . . the president will reverse his position and recognize how morally wrong it is,'' Gingrich said, drawing polite applause from 2,000 staunch anti-abortion activists.

Other speakers spoke with more outrage and emotion - and received more rousing receptions.

Forbes, whose fuzzy stance on abortion hurt his 1996 presidential bid, told the anti-abortion crowd: ``Remember, life begins at conception and ends at natural death.''

Keyes, a failed 1996 candidate, shouted to the audience, ``Stop killing the babies.''

Ashcroft, a former Missouri governor, didn't mince words for abortion-rights Republicans. ``To the so-called leaders who say abortion is too politically divisive, I say let me be clear: Confronting our cultural crisis is the true test of our courage and the true measure of our leadership,'' he said in remarks prepared for delivery.

Gingrich faced a skeptical audience. Two dozen interviews with these staunch Christian conservatives revealed that while Gingrich is still respected - if not loved - for engineering the Republican takeover of Washington, he has disappointed them.

They said Gingrich too often talks about Washington process instead of moral values, seeks consensus with President Clinton and drags Republicans into lopsided fights - such as his opposition to the disaster relief bill.

``Basically, he's held in high esteem,'' said Bill Beckman, a golf club maker from Lake Mills, Wisc. ``It's just that we sometimes want to say, `Come on, Newt, take off the silk gloves and put on the boxing gloves.' ''

Sitting across from Beckman, Cheri Reinke of Douglasville, Ga., said of her fellow Georgian: ``I think he's kind of taken a step back. I'm very disappointed. He came on strong but he hasn't managed to do what he said he would do.''

Coalition founder Pat Robertson set the tone Friday night, when he told an opening-night crowd that the Republican Congress is ``fixated on process'' and has ``lost their direction.''

Randy Tate, the organization's new executive director, also had harsh words for the GOP leadership. ``They are not addressing the issues that are important to our folks.''

It is not easy to put a finger on what bothers Christian Coalition members about Gingrich. He supports most of their legislative package - banning partial-birth abortions, allowing federal money to pay for private school tuition and a fight against religious persecution.

But there's a sense that he has not been zealous enough in fighting Clinton or successful enough at articulating conservative values.

``They don't just want to be given crumbs off the table and taken for granted,'' Tate said. ``I do feel in some instances we have been taken for granted.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

House Speaker Newt Gingrich told the Christian Coalition's

conference in Atlanta on Saturday that he still supports a ban on

partial-birth abortion.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu