Bolt from Above

LIKE thunder from heaven, the religious right of the Republican party will make itself heard again today when they turn out to vote for Marion G. (Pat) Robertson. After his strong second-place finish in lowa last week, the former TV evangelist--who has said his faith diverted a hurricane in Virginia and claimed that he could cure the hemorrhoids of his followers--has turned topsy-turvy the GOP presidential race.

While Bush and Dole, Kemp and Du Pont have viciously attacked each other in debates and TV commercials, the Republican hopefuls have shied away from criticizing Robertson. His strong showings in Hawaii, Michigan, and lowa have convinced the other candidates that Robertson and the white, fundamentalist nonvoters he has recruited into the Republican fold are a force to be reckoned with. This hands-off policy toward Robertson has prevented an honest evaluation of his record, and his success has nudged the other candidates farther toward the right.

But the hopefuls must ask themselves how far they are willing to go. On close examination, Robertson's views are far beyond the prevailing currents of mainstream political thought, making Du Pont look like an FDR liberal.

In the area of foreign affairs and economics, the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network and the 700 Club program shows little expertise. At a debate Sunday night he claimed that the Soviets had placed 25 nuclear missiles in Cuba and in previous statements he has promised to send aid to Polish rebels and to make future wars short because "we could have won Vietnam in a week or two." To solve the budget deficit, Robertson favors a "year of jubilee" in which all debts would be forgiven and has proposed selling the U.S. Post Office to raise revenue.

Robertson's ridiculous policies make him unfit to hold the nation's highest office, but his personal comments make him even more so. A few years ago Robertson said that "Christians and Jews are the only ones qualified" to hold public office in the United States. He has written that wives should "be willing to submit" to husbands and said that women merely "house babies." The TV evangelist has not denied he would quarantine AIDS victims; in 1980 he prophesized the end of the world two years later, and a few years ago wrote that there was a strong possibility the Antichrist walks among us even now.

Clearly these statements do not reflect the views of a man sane enough to guide this nation at one of its most critical times. However, Robertson's three strong primary finishes show that a substantial number of conservative voters have picked up Robertson's banner--making him a dangerous factor in the Republican convention and possibly even a presidential nominee. This is a serious threat--one that would destroy many of the things America stands for--and should be treated more seriously than it is now. If New Hampshire voters fail to stop Robertson now, Americans in the rest of the primary states better not wait until a bolt from above does.