Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

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GOP candidates flock to Christian Coalition conference

October 1, 1999
Web posted at: 5:04 p.m. EDT (2104 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Christian Coalition belied its image Friday as a group losing political power, as a long and powerful list of conservative politicians came to speak before the coalition's annual conference in Washington.

Pat Buchanan, the three-time Republican presidential candidate now considering a move to the Reform Party, was singled out for criticism by the coalition's founder, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

Robertson sternly warned Buchanan that Christian conservatives will desert him if he ditches the GOP. Reform Party supporters are "180 degrees out in terms of social issues. They don't share any of the views that Pat Buchanan claimed to espouse so vociferously," Robertson told a news conference Friday. "I can't see him taking many Christian conservatives with him -- not to the Reform Party."

Earlier, as he addressing the 3,500 members gathered at a downtown Washington hotel, Robertson made a veiled plea to Buchanan. "The time will come when we have to choose between two candidates for president of the United States," Robertson said. "Hopefully it's not going to be three."

Key members of Congress and virtually every GOP presidential candidate spoke to the group Friday or will appear Saturday. Many of the speakers returned to familiar themes of the coalition: Abortion bans, federal funds for private schools, criticism of the portrayal of violence and sex in the media, tough talk on crime and the influence of religion on public life.

But others also gave broader speeches on economic development and the future of the Republican Party.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the GOP front-runner, chose his words carefully and stuck to a largely stock campaign address. He has come under fire from some coalition members for previously saying he would not adopt an anti-abortion "litmus test" for Supreme Court nominees.

Bush specifically mentioned Texas' parental notification law for abortions involving minors.

"Laws like this both respect families and protect life, and these are some of the highest and most compassionate goals of government," he said.

The Texas governor also sprinkled the word "compassion" throughout his address, and at one point declared, "Every child, born or unborn, must be protected by law and welcomed to life."

Of the eight Republicans running for president in 2000, seven -- Elizabeth Dole, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, Bush, Steve Forbes, Buchanan, Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes -- were on the Christian Coalition program. But Buchanan's staff said Friday he would not speak at the conference. Arizona Sen. John McCain turned down the invitation to appear.

Dole stuck with a stump speech on education and national defense, but heavily laced with talk of her own religious upbringing. "My commitment is to strive to lean on the lord with my whole heart, reading his word daily and earnestly seeking his will in my life," Dole said.

"I learned from the best -- President Reagan -- that you have to lead with the convictions of your heart, not with the latest polling data," she said.

GOP candidate and cultural conservative Gary Bauer followed Bush to the podium and arguably received a warmer reception. He talked at length about appointing federal judges, having made it clear that any judicial appointees in a Bauer administration must be anti-abortion.

"I will not sacrifice one baby for political gain," he said.

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, also a Republican presidential candidate, used religious oratory more than most of Friday's speakers, referring at length to the organization's strength.

"God is missing from the hearts and minds of far too many people in society today. He is missing from our schools, and our homes, and our communities," said Hatch.

Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire, once a GOP presidential candidate but now running as an independent, pointed to his narrow 1998 re-election victory, in which news organizations used exit polling to declare him the loser. "That does prove one thing: Even the news media is not as powerful as God," he said.