Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : D’Amato Criticizes ‘Ayatollah’ Buchanan

Days after criticizing House Speaker Newt Gingrich as out of touch with voters, Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.) lashed out at Patrick J. Buchanan, calling him “a philosophical ayatollah,” the New York Times reported. In a speech to the Republican National Committee’s Northeast Leadership Conference in Uniondale, N.Y., D’Amato said Buchanan, who ran for the GOP presidential nomination this year, has been a divisive element in the party and has turned off mainstream voters. Responding in an interview, Angela “Bay” Buchanan, the candidate’s sister, said: “It would be my recommendation to Bob Dole to muzzle Sen. D’Amato for the sake of the Republican Party.”