Political Play Of The Week

By Bill Schneider

WASHINGTON (March 22) -- In Illinois, politics isn't supposed to be about movements. It's supposed to be about clout. Tough, deal-making Democrats versus moderate, pragmatic Republicans. In Illinois this week, the guys with clout got clobbered. Who beat them? A guy with a message.

He's Al Salvi, a 35-year-old state legislator, a maverick and a movement conservative with a message -- anti-abortion, anti-gun control and anti-tax.

Illinois has never been hospitable to mavericks, movements or messages. In Illinois, you go along if you want to get along. But Salvi did not go along with the anointment of Lt. Gov. Bob Kustra as the Republican Senate candidate. He took Kustra on, and in a smashing upset in Tuesday's primary, Salvi beat him.

Kustra had a big lead and some impressive endorsements, including that of Jim Edgar, Illinois' popular Republican governor. But he had no message and no strategy.

Salvi also ran smart. He didn't run on the hot-button social issues -- abortion and gun control. Instead, he ran hard on the anti-tax message. It worked. Salvi carried the big suburban Chicago vote that usually goes with the party establishment. The result? An embarrassed governor and lientenant governor, who said the wrong people voted.

Now here's a puzzle. Salvi's a staunch conservative who lines up with Pat Buchanan on the issues. Yet in Tuesday's primary, Buchanan got only 23 percent of the vote. Salvi got 48 percent, more than twice Buchanan's percentage.

The reason is that Salvi is not harsh and divisive like Buchanan. He had a strong, positive message on families. He speaks the language of compassion and tolerance.

"Conservatives don't have to have a tough edge to them," he said. "We care about the future of the country, we care about children, we care about the environment, we care about education."

In the end, most Buchanan voters voted for Salvi. But most Salvi voters did not vote for Buchanan. They voted for Bob Dole. Salvi showed conservatives how to win: Run on an issue the voters care about -- taxes. And lose the nasty edge a lot of conservatives seem to have these days. It was smart, it was successful and it was the political play of the week.

Salvi proved the same thing Ronald Reagan proved: Nice conservatives win.

Democrats are licking their chops over Salvi's nomination. The National Democratic Campaign Committee sent out a fax proclaiming, "Disaster -- Extremist Winds GOP Nod in Illinois."

The Democrats are making the same mistake the Illinois Republican establishment did. They're running against Salvi as if he were Pat Buchanan. Look at the vote, fellas. He's not.

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