Raw Meat for the Right

Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) is back in the good graces of real American conservatives--the sort who swear by the truths written in Human Events, who hail Barry Goldwater as the godfather of their movement and whose fondest dreams would be fulfilled if only there was some way to elect--or anoint--Ronald Reagan to a third term. Kemp did this by attacking Secretary of State George P. Shultz during an address to last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference.

Kemp’s call for Shultz to resign won him the biggest cheers from the coalition of major conservative groups--except, of course, those reserved for President Reagan himself. Kemp got himself in the conservative doghouse a few weeks ago by defending the Social Security system in a speech to the American Assn. of Retired Persons. Such straying from conservative orthodoxy was tantamount to heresy.

This is just one illustration of the ideological guidelines that the movement has established in groping for the logical successor of the conservative mantle now worn by the President. The President, of course, does not always live up to these truths himself, but his trespasses are forgiven, or blamed on others like Shultz. No such deviations will be allowed any worthy successor.

During their conference, the conservatives generally dictated that hard-line foreign-policy issues will constitute their major litmus tests for the 1988 Republican primary campaign. The demands include loyalty to South Africa’s current regime, deployment of the Strategic Defense Initiative as soon as possible, and open backing of anti-communist groups such as the Nicaraguan contras . Former Delaware Gov. Pierre du Pont IV immediately flunked one of the tests by supporting sanctions against the South African government. He was roundly booed.

The dilemma for the conservatives is clear. Reagan was so popular because he could appeal to a broad constituency while appeasing the emotions of the far right. But those who follow will have no such latitude. Conservative activists might have a chance of winning the GOP nomination for one of their own. But that could mean surrendering the general election to the Democrats.

One GOP observer said that Kemp made a radical bid for conservative support “by throwing raw meat to the Republican right.” But the conservatives still fail to understand that while Reagan occasionally threw them raw meat to keep them at bay, his electoral success lay in promising Americans a full plate of cooked meat and potatoes. There is no sign that voters have regressed to more primitive tastes.