Time for Bush to Bid Buchanan Adieu

Governor George W. Bush should be helping Pat Buchanan out of the Republican Party rather than begging him to stay in it. In recent years, Republican primaries have witnessed candidates sprinting to the right to win the Republican nomination and then trying to move towards the center before the presidential election.

Because of his abnormally large lead so early in the primaries, Bush does not need to go towards the right and can offer the moderate republican image from the beginning of the race. In 1996, Bob Dole was stuck in a close race for the republican nomination with Pat Buchanan. Buchanan won the New Hampshire primary, in some respects forcing the Republican Party to adopt an extremely conservative platform.

Dole tried to counter his Republican opponent and soften his appearance by having pro-choice speakers at the Republican Convention, including New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman. But as Dole's defeat in the general election shows, Republican candidates cannot shuffle to the right early in their campaigns and then try to drift towards the center without offering the public confusing and hypocritical views of themselves. This time, Bush's lead in the polls allows him to run a cohesive campaign during which he can show the public a consistent and moderate image from the beginning of the campaign.

Bush has tried to accomplish this goal in several ways. First he stated that he would not have an anti-abortion litmus test for any Supreme Court Justice appointments. In a speech before the Christian Coalition, where many candidates for the Republican nomination had the opportunity to speak, he carefully avoided issues of abortion, school prayer, and gay rights. The other Republican candidates who spoke at the event, Elizabeth Dole and Gary L. Bauer, both spoke more forcefully on conservative issues. Dole told the audience that organized school prayer should be allowed in public schools while Bauer said that he would not appoint a Supreme Court Justice who did not oppose abortion.

Bush has not allowed his opponents' hard-line stances draw him away from his precious middle ground. However, Bush's recent attempts to keep Pat Buchanan in the Republican Party make people question how moderate he really is. He is also letting a great opportunity slip away.

Let's examine what the Republican Party would be losing if they let Pat Buchanan leave through a few of his most recent and salient points that have put him in the newspapers. He has claimed that "non-Jewish whites.... get the shaft" at Harvard where Jews and Asians represent disproportionate percentages of the student body compared to national levels. In his recently published book "A Republic, Not an Empire," Buchanan questions America's involvement in World War II. It makes you wonder, what are the Republican Party and Bush so afraid of losing?

The Republican Party is also referred to as the conservative party and this is another reason why Buchanan does not belong in its midst. The word conservative should connote a certain skepticism about the efficiency of government and its ability to solve social problems. Many of Buchanan's views are more fundamentalist than conservative--he seems to have incredible faith in the government's ability to implement its programs.

Reagan, the most recent icon for conservative government, advocated freedom. Buchanan opposes free trade and wants the government to close our borders. He speaks for a small percentage of the white right that the Republican Party should not worry about losing. Elections are won in the middle, not on the intolerant fringes of political belief.

If Bush lets Buchanan go without fuss or regret, he will show America that he truly is a moderate republican. He does not have to worry about alienating the Republican voters either. Buchanan's supporters, as much as they admire their candidate, are not going to risk losing a third consecutive presidential election by wasting their vote with a candidate who has no chance of winning. Any vote for Buchanan by a conservative in America will have the same effect as a vote for the democratic candidate.

In fact, if Buchanan truly cared about conservative issues and helping to implement some of his policies, he would not try to fracture his party by attacking a candidate as strong as Bush.

Right now, Buchanan is considering whether or not he wants to skip over to the Reform Party. This maneuver would place him, incongruously enough, in the same party as Jesse Ventura and Lenora Fulani who is associated with Louis Farrakhan.

If Buchanan truly wants to make himself a side show and a farce in the general election, the Republican Party, having both their own interests in mind and Buchanan's obvious need for attention, should let him go.

Bush should follow the lead of Senator McCain, another candidate for the Republican nomination, and bid Buchanan good luck with the Reform Party.

Benjamin M. Grossman is a first-year student in Holworthy Hall.