Gingrich Courts Christian Conservatives

Trying to mend ties to his Christian conservative base, House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Saturday condemned abortion, religious persecution and trial lawyers playing “litigation lottery” with tobacco lawsuits.

He was a featured speaker at the Christian Coalition’s “Road to Victory” conference that drew five other Republicans mulling presidential bids--Rep. John R. Kasich of Ohio, Lamar Alexander, Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes and Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri.

The House speaker, once the darling of the conservative movement, promised to pass the so-called partial-birth abortion ban again and dare President Clinton to veto it again.

“I hope . . . the president will reverse his position and recognize how morally wrong it is,” Gingrich said, drawing polite applause from 2,000 staunch antiabortion activists.

Other speakers spoke with more outrage and emotion--and received more rousing receptions.

Forbes, whose fuzzy stance on abortion hurt his 1996 presidential bid, told the crowd, “Remember, life begins at conception and ends at natural death.”

Keyes, a failed 1996 candidate, shouted to the audience, “Stop killing the babies.”

Ashcroft didn’t mince words for abortion-rights Republicans. “To the so-called leaders who say abortion is too politically divisive, I say let me be clear: Confronting our cultural crisis is the true test of our courage and the true measure of our leadership,” he said in remarks prepared for delivery.

Kasich, a budget expert, said his “broad portfolio” included moral issues embraced by the Christian Coalition. “It’s about old-fashioned values,” he said in a speech interrupted several times by applause.

In keeping with the pro-family theme, Gingrich said a proposed government-backed settlement of tobacco suits should include crackdowns on teen drug and alcohol use.

Saying he was shocked by the size of legal fees in a $11.3-billion Florida settlement, he predicted that Congress would require attorneys to account for hours they billed their clients in lawsuits against tobacco companies.

“This is not going to be a litigation lottery for the enrichment of lawyers,” he said.