European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 23, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes monday. June 23.1986 columns David Broder to arms to arms the christians Are coming evangelist Marion g. Pal Robertson upstaged vice president George Bush and rep. Jack Kemp. . In a curious Competition o recruit precinct delegates for the Michigan Republican convention. Robertson turned out More supporters than his rivals had expected and perhaps when inc conflicting claims have been weighed More than they Wen Able to recruit themselves. What this Means for the future of presidential politics is a matter of debate. Bui it came after other Christian Candi dates had scored upsets to gain Republican nominations in a pair of Indiana House districts and a fundamentalist Baptist minister had drawn 43pcrccnt of the vote in inc Oregon gop primary against Senate finance committee chairman Bob Packwood. The pattern was enough to Send murmur if not a Shack wave through Washington. Suddenly everyone was proclaiming or warning the christians Are coming that s right they Are. And that fact has some Large and less Han obvious consequences. The immediate stakes in Michigan were minimal hardly More than bragging rights. Those delegates who were recruited by the filing deadline will if unchallenged or successful in Ana gust primary be voting members of the 1988 convention that will choose Michigan s 77 National delegates. They have from now until the Winter of 1988 to decide which candidate la support. Robertson is unlikely to be Hie Man. Like others who want to Rescue America from what they define As moral or mortal dangers his Appeal is probably greater among the political activists than in the general Public. Remember sen. Alan Cranston a Calif. His Zeal to save America from nuclear War fired up the democratic activists in 1983 and won him some Early Straw vote victories. But As the universe of voters expanded in the William Safire 1984 primaries his support proved to be quite limited. So it May be with Robertson who sees the world threatened by abortion and pornography not radioactive blasts. Bui to leave it Al that is in miss the larger Point in a half dozen Lutes this Spring fundamentalists have demonstrated thai the surge of evangelical christians into politics which began in the late 1970s, is still gathering Momen Tum and has not yet reached its Peak. This should come As no Surprise. As students of american religion like James Wall of Christian Century mag Azine and William Miller of the univer sity of Virginia have pointed out we have a Long history of Church based political movements. In earlier generations similar infusions of Energy and people came from the religious advocates of emancipation prohibition and civil rights among other causes. Previous cycles of religious activism have lasted longer than the seven or eight years this one has been around. Our Church Mili Tants will probably be More evident in 1988, with Robertson in the Lead. After out shining the Field of Republican presidential hopefuls at a gathering of Southern gop activists in Nashville in March and now apparently out Organ izing Bush and Kemp in Michigan the Host of the 700 club and head of the Christian broadcasting network is very Likely to jump in As a candidate for the 1988 nomination. Again the pattern is familiar. The Church based Black civil rights move ment became an expanding political Force in inc decade after passage of the voting rights act. In 1976, Blacks played a vital role in a nomination and election of Jimmy Carter. Eight years later in 1984, they produced a presiden tial candidate of their own in the Rev. Jesse l. Jackson. Eight years after White Christian fundamentalists played a vital role in the nomination and election of Ronald Rea Gan that constituency will be ready for a candidate of its t in in Robertson. Will he prove to be As divisive a figure in inc go As Jackson was among democrats in 1984? perhaps but i doubt it. When i interviewed Robertson for the first time after his Nashville speech i was struck by his political sophistication. My feeling was perfectly expressed the other Day by Edward j. Rollins the Man Ager of inc 1984 Reagan Campaign who has spent a Good Deal of time talking with Robertson. Pal Robertson a plugins said is a politician whose profession happens to be  Rolins like other gop pros thinks Robertson can strongly influence the re publican nomination even if he is unlikely to win it. Just As Jackson pressure Walter f. Mondale to lean leftward in tilling out his ticket and framing Hij plat form so Robertson can pull the Republican nominee to Lac right. He can affect the race in other ways As Well. By exposing Early the weakness of Bush and Kemp he May encourage still More republicans to run especially sen. Paul Laxdall of Nevada. Although his personal history and habits Are evermore exotic by fundamentalist standards than Reagan s Hollywood background Laxalt comes close to Matching the presi Dent s following among the Christian activists. They cherish his consistent sup port for their special issues As they do his longtime intimacy and partnership with Reagan. It would be ironic if Robertson helped open inc Way for a onetime car son City gambling House owner to be the Republican nominee. But Jot bet against it. C we High court nominee liked respected feared a warm Pacific current flows Down the West coast of South America thai affect everything from our weather to the Price of fish. It is known and feared Asel Nino. A warm Man with a Brilliant Legal mind is floating toward the top of american Taw and one reason for his rapid Rise is unhappily his Espousal of greater govern ment secrecy and lighter restrictions on Freedom of speech. He is known liked respected and feared As Antonin Nino Scalia. All too few predictions made in ibis space become reality but some readers will recall a Finger pointed Here a year ago about the Way one Jurist was ingratiating himself with the men who would decide who would fut the next supreme court vacancy. Antonin Scalia. Has shown himself to be the worst enemy of free the Freedom of informal Ion act without which we would know far less about the unethical acts of White House aides. Worse he has held that a reputation for hard hitting investigative stories should be held against a newspaper in determining whether it can be put out of business in a libel Mit. Taking Scala i docility doctrine to it logical conclusion Luila ined Apple polishing and a reputation for the Dutiful printing of handout would be the presi t Best pro Lection. Soon after the appearance of my lift Harangue about the Rise of Al Nino 1 nut into a pragmatic ideologue who Nils to the right of the Center of Power. He claimed that the support of the secrecy and libel let was not he was sensitive to bin caught out at his Loose use of fulsome in an opinion. But since i brought the subject tip he thought my suggestion that he Wai running for Justice with his Media decision i Wai Low blow. Not 10, i countered at the end of the column to prove what libel defender would Call actual Charity 1 had specified thai hit motive were not to be impugned. He honestly believed that reputation if uglier value thaa free speech and it we coincidental that Luch a warped belief helped Hia chances for supreme court appointment. _. Primarily what made Scalia a hot Prospect for the us speech in America today went this Rule Matioda � reme court it More important that he s an italian when recommendations for the supreme court Are a to in with nine  by de Meese with a covering memo from Pat Buchanan the posture of being the fiercest opponent of the first amendment does not Hurt a judges dunces fulsome by  Al Nino is in. The Vanguard of the Bench s trendy Media washers and the opinion is at least defensible thai Agnew ism with a scholarly face had much to do with Scalia s selection by Reagan last week. Scalia s activism for restraint has already led to a cockamamie theory of what he Calls institutional privacy preventing taxpayers and stockholders am finding out what bureaucrats and exec Crausare doing in their name. He  As Tunnel vision Zeal the breakthrough to accountability in that was curiously reassuring. Because the democrats had nominated mrs. Ferro Zaccaro for vice president last time and might Well choose new York gov. Cuomo next time the selection of the first ital Ian american supreme court Justice by the president who chose the first woman Justice at least made Politi Cal sense. The motive of ethnic balance was a couple of notches nobler Jhan the encouragement of suppression of free speech. Later the same Day at the troubled american enter prise Institute right Wing think tank Are losing their creative zip. As the Liberal tanks did in the 60s 1spotted Scalia introduced myself and wondered if lie caught my blast. He noted that i had come up to him not the other Way around. He was t complaining although that was the first time he had been savaged in print and the end said the Jurist column Down to the end deponent Ayesh not it i Good to see William Rehn Quail elevated Lochiel and the Long Range judgment of Legal Ulen by attorneys general John Mitchell and Richard Klein Riensi confirmed. And perhaps time and tenure will temper the Tunnel vision Zeal and secretive current in Al Nino. But All comment Here is surely a waste of Lime. Besides thee and me who the hell reads a column Down to the end the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Ere in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United slain govern ment