By Peter Hardin
Media General News Service
Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON — Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va. sharply criticized the Virginia GOP yesterday as rigid and intolerant of moderation.
"The rigidity of this outfit is going to keep taking it down until they hit bottom. And I don't know when that will be," Warner said of Tuesday's election results. "And I find it quite distressing."
The election resulted in important gains for Democrats. The fifth-term senator said he was saddened but not surprised.
The late political adviser Lee Atwater, a friend of Warner, espoused a "big-tent" philosophy of inclusiveness for the GOP, Warner said.
But the Republican Party of Virginia has "just strayed away from that concept and become intolerant of those members that express even a modest amount of moderation."
Shaun Kenney, a state GOP spokesman, politely disagreed.
"We've always adhered to a big-tent theory," he said, contending that a party large enough for Warner and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-11th, widely seen as a moderate, also is large enough for former Gov. Jim Gilmore and former Sen. George Allen. The latter two are more conservative Republicans.
Kenney also said Republican candidates were affected to some extent in Tuesday's elections by the national climate for Republicans.
Warner, 80, a moderate-to-conservative Republican, is not running for re-election next year. He did not appear on the campaign trail for state legislative candidates. He made some endorsements and contributions, a Warner aide said.
Warner deferred comment yesterday when asked his opinion of the presumed candidacy of Gilmore to succeed him. Gilmore has asked to call on him, Warner said, and "I've decided to wait until he comes up to visit."
"The rigidity of this outfit is going to keep taking it down until they hit bottom. And I don't know when that will be," Warner said of Tuesday's election results. "And I find it quite distressing."
The election resulted in important gains for Democrats. The fifth-term senator said he was saddened but not surprised.
The late political adviser Lee Atwater, a friend of Warner, espoused a "big-tent" philosophy of inclusiveness for the GOP, Warner said.
But the Republican Party of Virginia has "just strayed away from that concept and become intolerant of those members that express even a modest amount of moderation."
Shaun Kenney, a state GOP spokesman, politely disagreed.
"We've always adhered to a big-tent theory," he said, contending that a party large enough for Warner and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-11th, widely seen as a moderate, also is large enough for former Gov. Jim Gilmore and former Sen. George Allen. The latter two are more conservative Republicans.
Kenney also said Republican candidates were affected to some extent in Tuesday's elections by the national climate for Republicans.
Warner, 80, a moderate-to-conservative Republican, is not running for re-election next year. He did not appear on the campaign trail for state legislative candidates. He made some endorsements and contributions, a Warner aide said.
Warner deferred comment yesterday when asked his opinion of the presumed candidacy of Gilmore to succeed him. Gilmore has asked to call on him, Warner said, and "I've decided to wait until he comes up to visit."