Subject: Special Report on the GOP Convention (Day 2)
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 09:18:22 -0400

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE CHRISTIAN COALITION 
AT THE GOP NATIONAL CONVENTION 
(Special Report from The "c.c.watch" Electronic News Service)

Tuesday, August 13, 1996---Day 2

This convention's surface is bubbling with trouble, in spite of the official
Republican message of  inclusion, diversity and unity. Pro-life delegates are
being held in check, but not without incident. Some delegates started to boo
Colin Powell last night, only to be drowned out by cheering. Tonight, Phyllis
Schlafly admitted that she had had to counsel some people not to walk out on
Susan Molinari. Regardless, some pro-lifers waved their white western-style
hats at Molinari, while others just sat on their hands. Focus on the Family's
RNC Special Bulletin #3 -- which arrived by fax only moments ago -- reported
on "A Remarkable -- and Unsettling -- First Day of the Convention." Religious
conservatives spent a lot of effort/money, came, and shaped the GOP platform
in their own image. But they aren't being recognized by the GOP bosses. And
they are not happy campers.

Pat Robertson and the Christian Coalition are in the forefront of keeping the
many pro-life delegates under control and putting a happy face on electing
Bob Dole president in November. It's whatever will work, dummy!

Today's Newswatch portion of the 700 Club once again went overtime and spent
27 minutes glorifying the GOP convention and the party itself  -- featuring
studio interviews with Ben Wattenburg and Haley Barbour. A substantial piece
talked about the GOP Platform and the "Fact Sheet" for today was "Republicans
& Minorities: Rebuilding the Party of Lincoln."

On his Monday night meeting with Jack Kemp, Pat Robertson had this to say:
"He asked for a meeting. And, uh, we went up, I must have spent 40 minutes
with him. It was a very, very important, one-on-one, man-to-man meeting. Of
course his lovely wife Joanne was there for a short period of time. She's
been a friend for many years. So it was an extraordinary meeting, the
substance of which I am not at liberty to discuss. But, uh, I was quite
gratified when it was finished. It was very important... I was extremely
encouraged by the, the meeting we had."

That was 10 am EST. By the time Robertson got with Larry King at 6 p.m. EST
the meeting had become "spiritual," too -- presumably a la Billy Graham. It
was now "just me and him." And by 10:10 p.m. EST and Robertson's tete a tete
with Maria Shriver on the convention floor, the meeting had become
"personal." Robertson reported that: "Some very important things got
settled...On a personal level there are some things I can't discuss." Other
issues revolved around the 1988 Michigan primary, when both Kemp and
Robertson were running for president. Each time Robertson emphasized that
Kemp had sought the meeting. 

On the 700 Club, Robertson also emphasized that Kemp was aware of the strain
of running on a national ticket: "[In] a rough and tumble political campaign,
it can get dirty. ..I know what it's like, of, of, of how things can go." The
now publicly denied Newsweek magazine article talked about the possibility
that Keep's past might have been a problem for Robertson: "The deal remained
shaky until the very end. Before Dole could make the final call, there was a
major problem to be dealt with, NEWSWEEK has learned. His name was Pat
Robertson, chairman of the Christian Coalition. There's a river of bad blood
between Kemp and Robertson, who both ran in 1988 for the GOP nomination that
George Bush eventually won. The Kemp and Robertson forces fought bitterly,
and Robertson's allies had even raised questions about Keep's personal life.
Robertson and his top lieutenant, Ralph Reed, had been assured two weeks ago
that Kemp was not on the list. So Dole, sources tell NEWSWEEK, didn't pick up
the phone to call Kemp in Dallas until a flurry of pacifying calls were made
to Christian Coalition leaders." (August 19, 1996)

PS--Who was that rabbi who gave the so-called "benediction" after Susan
Molinari's keynote speech? GOP delegates and officials looked baffled and
bemused. And with good reason. It was Rabbi Daniel Lapin of Mercer Island, WA
-- founder of the ultra-conservative Toward Tradition and the Christian
Coalition's token rabbi every year at its "Road to Victory" (RTV) convention.
Rabbi Lapin will not be invited to another GOP convention anytime soon. And
he probably won't be at this year's RTV either -- as the confab is scheduled
for September 13-14 and the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days. 

QUOTE of the Day: "[A major prime time speech] is not nearly as important as
having a major role in a political party."--Ralph Reed, MSNBC late night
report 
****************************************************************************

EXCERPT FROM A "C.C.WATCH" CLASSIC--

Subj.:	When Pat Robertson Ran for President (Part III)
Date:	96-03-11 19:13:48 EST

On March 8,1988, then presidential candidate Pat Robertson won the Washington
state caucuses, his only Super Tuesday victory.  That win was attributed to
Bush supporters staying home when they heard about their candidate's sweep of
the Southern primaries. (San Jose Mercury News, 3/9/87) A few days earlier
Robertson had shaken the Bush campaign by winning the Alaska caucuses. After
a raucous debate on February 28th, Bush strategist Lee Atwater accused Pat
Robertson and Bob Dole of working together against George Bush (SJ Mercury
News, 2/29/87). 

Robertson's run for president was marked by a number of interesting, if not
bizarre, happenings...Perhaps the most telling incident of all was the
dismissal of the $35 million libel suit brought by Pat Robertson in 1986
against former Congressman Pete McCloskey for claiming that Robertson had
avoided combat duty in Korea. McCloskey--himself a highly-decorated Marine
who served with Robertson and was seriously wounded in Korea--claimed that
Robertson's father, a US Senator from VA, had intervened on his behalf.
Robertson was allegedly taken off a Korea-bound troop ship and spent several
months in Japan while his shipmates went on to mostly be killed or injured in
combat. 

During the length of the suit, many witnesses came forth to substantiate
McCloskey's claims. One said in a 78-page deposition that when Robertson
finally served some time in Masan, Korea, he messed around with prostitutes
and was constantly chasing after a young Korean girl that cleaned the
barracks; that charge came after Robertson had already responded to other
news reports by admitting that his first son had been conceived out of
wedlock (AP 12/4/87). Robertson claimed that the allegations were "an attack
by liberals to discredit me." (LA Times, 10/28/87). But he did admit in a
pre-trial deposition of his own that he had hired a reporter to interview
McCloskey  because he "wanted to see what Mr. McCloskey had been saying
around the country about me, and I was getting these reports. I wanted to
have a first-hand, logical account of it on video tape." (AP, 4/2/87) 

In any case, a federal judge dismissed the suit on March 7, 1988, the day
before Super Tuesday, at Robertson's request. Robertson accepted the decision
claiming that the trial scheduled to begin the next day and projected to last
3-weeks would be a distraction to his presidential campaign. He also claimed
that he would not have to pay court costs and could sue McCloskey after the
campaign. But the case was dismissed "with prejudice," making McCloskey the
legal victor. And Robertson in fact was ordered to pay $28,000 of McCloskey's
court costs and was prohibited from suing McCloskey again over the Korea
story (AP, 3/7/88). On March 29th, McCloskey told the National Press Club
that Robertson dropped the suit because he could not win. The former
Congressman  claimed that he had 21 former Marines set to testify on his side
and also letters from Robertson's father that supported his case (AP,
3/30/87).
_________________________________________________

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