A Blow Against Political Correctness, GOP-Style

By Bill Schneider/CNN

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 14) -- You know how there's been a furor over political correctness against liberals who insist that everyone use correct language, think correct thoughts and take correct positions?

Well, this week the voters struck a resounding blow against political correctness. Not political correctness of the left. Political correctness of the right.

To hardcore conservatives, Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia is not politically correct. He takes moderate positions on abortion and gun control. He voted against the confirmation of Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. He opposes term limits. Worst of all, Warner has refused to support radical right nominees of his own party, like Oliver North In 1994. Warner calls it standing on principle. Enraged conservatives call it treason.

Jim Miller, who challenged Warner in the Republican primary this year, said: "Republicans do not see him as a solid conservative, and many Republicans are quite angry with him for his disloyalty to the party."

Warner had to be punished. So a coalition of Christian conservatives, gun owners and term limits activists set out to deny him renomination in his own party. They rallied behind an unlikely standard-bearer -- Miller, a former Reagan Administration official who had run against North for the GOP nomination in 1994. Conservatives used Miller to get revenge on Warner.

North himself spoke up. "I urge every single one of you, for the next ten days, to go out and find every single person you know who voted for me in 1994, and urge them to go to the polls on June 11 and vote for Jim Miller for the United States Senate," North said.

In Virginia, as in many states, hard-core conservatives can dominate Republican conventions. That's how they nominated North and former Moral Majority official Mike Farris for lieutenant governor in 1993.

Parris, North, and Miller

Warner refused to support either of them. And they both lost the general election. This year, Warner outsmarted his enemies. He insisted that the party hold a primary, not a convention. Mainstream voters don't attend conventions. But would they show up for a primary?

Warner tried to impress them by winning endorsements from establishment heroes -- Colin Powell, among them.

Warner encouraged mainstream voters to turn out in his ads, too. "Remember, Virginia, not voting on Tuesday is a vote for Jim Miller," one ad said.

Tuesday's results were stunning, a 65-35 percent landslide for Warner. Warner didn't just beat Miller; he wiped the floor with him. Warner won everywhere, even in solidly Republican areas. North's gambit backfired. The Republican mainstream turned out to vote -- against him. Conservatives argued it was not really a defeat for them.

Miller said it wasn't a rejection of the religious right or Christian Coalition, but more a reflection of the strong advantage that an incumbent has.

Yes, but this represents the third defeat in a row for the right wing in Virginia. They couldn't win general elections in 1993 and 1994. This time, they couldn't win a primary. There's a message in this defeat: mainstream Republicans resent having political correctness imposed upon them by the right.

In the aftermath, Warner said, "I hope those who consider themselves pundits and analysts and whatever they may be, judge these voters who responded today with the same fairness that they judged me. That's all I ask...Fairness."

O.K., Senator, you won, fair and square. And you get...the political Play of the Week.

The Virginia contest was a microcosm of the tensions roiling the national Republican Party. The same thing is happening nationally: Bob Dole is scoring points by defying those who demand conservative PC positions.

This story originally appeared on CNN's "Inside Politics."

A Blow Against Political Correctness, GOP-Style

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