Dole Urges Rivals to Fold Their Tents

Terming himself his party’s nominee-in-waiting, Bob Dole urged Republicans on Friday to consolidate their energy for the impending campaign against President Clinton--but Dole’s two major rivals and the chairman of the GOP National Committee said the Senate majority leader was jumping the gun.

“How long do they want to aid Bill Clinton?” Dole harrumphed here about his remaining Republican challengers as he pressed his case that they should end their candidacies. “That’s essentially what they want to do. I think it’s pretty clear now that I’m going to get the nomination.”

Thus, a “fairness” debate engulfed the Republican Party.

With nearly two-thirds of the nominating delegates yet to be chosen--and 362 at stake in primaries in Florida, Texas and five other states Tuesday--is it fair for Dole to insist that the race is over? Can he rightly suggest that views to the contrary offer comfort to the Democrats?

Conversely, is it fair for Patrick J. Buchanan to continue to incite party restlessness in his followers after 15 consecutive primary losses? Or is it fair for self-proclaimed tax reformer Steve Forbes to stay in the race--all the while losing and, in the process, perhaps stigmatizing the appeal of the flat tax as a GOP issue?

Dole’s runaway command of the GOP contest became even more apparent Friday with an adjustment in the results of the previous day’s New York primary. A retabulation in Manhattan deprived Forbes of the one delegate he initially thought he won--making the final tally 93 delegates for Dole and none for the others.

Dole’s delegate lead is overwhelming--he has 383, with 996 needed for the nomination. Forbes has 72 and Buchanan holds 62.

But Dole, even in apparent victory, has plenty to worry about. One concern is money. He is approaching the spending ceiling for primary candidates who accept federal matching funds and, presuming he is the nominee, he will not receive a new infusion of cash until August. Clinton, meanwhile, has been able to save most of his allotment of primary money for use between now and this summer’s nominating conventions.

Dole, discussing the reluctance of his GOP rivals to leave the race, said as he campaigned in Florida: “Forbes has money and Buchanan has rhetoric, and I don’t know how long they’ll last. But that’s up to them. I can’t make decisions for other candidates. My view is to focus on President Clinton. He’s got a head start. He’s out there [and] got $25 million to spend.”

Dole cited his concern that the remaining GOP candidates would gang up on him while he wants to target Clinton as his reason for skipping a nationally televised debate Friday night in Dallas. The result was an amicable session featuring Buchanan, Forbes and former State Department official Alan Keyes. Seated comfortably in armchairs, the trio mostly hammered away at their pet issues.

Buchanan, however, frequently called attention to Dole’s absence, saying he wished the front-runner was present to defend his views on trade, taxes and social issues.

In Washington, Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour said it was too early to demand that all presidential candidates rally around Dole.

“I think it’s premature for us to say that this is over, that there has been a clear decision,” Barbour told a news conference. “Certainly there has been a fairly obvious trend, and if it continues much longer, then it will be clear who the Republican voters of the United States have chosen. And after that we will start to treat [Dole] like the nominee.”

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In Texas, Friday’s long-distance arguments over the duration of the GOP campaign--whether to continue it or consolidate behind Dole--reached a point of sublime symbolism.

Publishing heir Forbes campaigned at the Alamo and at a bridge in Austin with the name “Waterloo.” At the Alamo in 1836 and at Europe’s Waterloo in 1815, storied battles ended. Forbes, though, chose not to yield to history.

“The purpose of staying in is to go all the way,” the novice politician said. “Things don’t happen unless you have leadership.”

His campaign chairman, Bill Dal Col, however, conceded that “we will reassess every step of the way.”

“Clearly the momentum at this point, by all perceptions, is with Sen. Dole. Our job is to shift that,” Dal Col said.

Former television commentator Buchanan on Friday moved his campaign toward what he hoped would be friendly territory--Louisiana, a state where he first made a strong showing in caucuses in February and where voters will join in Tuesday’s round of primaries.

Appearing tired and drawing only a tiny crowd at the Baton Rouge airport, Buchanan said his followers, particularly those who share his adamant opposition to abortion, must rise or risk being left out by party regulars.

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“They want to get [the abortion issue] out of the way so it doesn’t inhibit what they think are their chances to get back into power,” Buchanan said. “I would really urge the right-to-life movement, right now if you really care about this cause as I think you know I do, to join and unite behind me now.”

Buchanan argued that Dole’s potential choice of a running mate would be crucial. He said it would be a “sellout of the religious conservatives” if Dole picked a pro-choice moderate such as former Gen. Colin L. Powell or New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, or even a conservative such as California Gov. Pete Wilson, who opposes federal funding of abortions but otherwise would allow a woman to make her own choice.

After Tuesday’s primaries, the campaign moves toward the Midwest for a four-state vote March 19.

So far, all regions of the nation have had a say in the GOP nominating process except the West Coast. Oregon votes on Tuesday and California on March 26, along with Washington state.

In Washington, only half the delegates, 18, will be at stake, however. The other 18 are to be decided when results are tabulated next week from some 7,000 neighborhood caucuses held earlier this week among the party’s activists.

While Dole’s efforts to persuade Forbes and Buchanan to step down remained futile, he did pick up the endorsement of also-ran candidate Morry Taylor. The tire magnate, who received virtually no support despite spending millions of his own dollars in Iowa and New Hampshire, officially left the race Friday.

Fulwood reported from Tampa, Sipchen from Austin. Also contributing to this story were Times staff writers Elizabeth Shogren in Baton Rouge; Janet Hook in Washington, D.C., and John Balzar in Los Angeles.