Dueling Presidential Campaigns Make Local Stops

More than 1,000 impassioned supporters of commentator Pat Buchanan cheered their approval Thursday night as he vowed to take his candidacy all the way to the Republican convention in San Diego, despite reports he may consider a third-party candidacy.

With Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole the presumptive GOP nominee, Buchanan is reportedly being encouraged by advisors to run for president as an independent.

As Buchanan stumped the state Thursday going into the final days before Tuesday’s California primary, he would no longer flatly deny he’s considering such an option--as he has in the past.

But addressing a large crowd squeezed into a ballroom at The Castaway restaurant in Burbank late Thursday evening, he vowed: “We’re going on to San Diego for a reason, friend.

“This is a cause that is larger than Pat Buchanan. . . . It will one day triumph, I guarantee you.”

Buchanan said he is still drawing large crowds because his campaign is about ideals and principles, not politics.

“I’m not compromising, I’m not backin’ and fillin’,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan received numerous standing ovations as he hit on the key issues in his campaign, especially illegal immigration and his opposition to the NAFTA and GATT treaties, which he said “entailed a surrender of American national sovereignty.”

“If ever I raise my hand to take the oath of office as president of the United States, that new world order comes crashing down,” Buchanan said.

He also vowed to eliminate the Department of Education and said that under his presidency American military forces would not be placed under United Nations command.

The crowd also rose to its feet when Buchanan promised to “stand up for the rights of the unborn in San Diego.”

“Ronald Reagan’s anti-abortion plank will be present in the Republican platform, I guarantee it,” Buchanan said.

Earlier in the day, Buchanan toured an English-only elementary school in heavily Latino Santa Ana, praising its program as superior to bilingual education, which he opposes as restricting access to the American dream.

“Some of those kids are never really introduced to the English language, fully into the culture and opportunities they might have,” Buchanan said. Buchanan has made illegal immigration the centerpiece of his California campaign.

The most recent Times Poll results, published this week, peg Buchanan’s probable voter support in California at 18%, compared with 52% for Dole, assuming the low turnout expected on Tuesday.

But his fans were undaunted by the numbers.

“Oh, it was exciting,” enthused Ruth Card, a retired woman from Burbank, after his appearance.

“He’s a red-blooded American. He knows what’s right and he cares about us and he cares about our kids.”

Said Jeff Taylor, a motion picture sound engineer who lives in Chatsworth: “I’m a conservative Christian. Some of the trade issues I don’t agree with him on, but I do agree with him on the pro-life stance. It’s important to get that message to San Diego.”

Taylor said he has been following Buchanan’s campaign on the Internet and wanted to see him in person.

However, if Buchanan ran as a third party candidate, Taylor said he would vote for Dole instead, because he wants to oust President Clinton.

Ken Lopp, a finance manager from Woodland Hills, said he attended the rally because “Tonight was a chance to see [Buchanan] before Bob Dole goes over the top. I think it’s inevitable, but it’s a shame. The more people that show their support [for Buchanan] the more influence Pat will have at the convention.”