GOP Mackinac Island conference highlights state's political impact

More than 2,400 Republican leaders, supporters and activists crowded Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel last weekend for a conference highlighted with appearances by three GOP presidential hopefuls eager for key Michigan votes.

But more noticeable for LSA junior Rory Diamond, was the candidate missing from the Michigan Republican Mackinac Island Leadership Conference.

Diamond, president of the University's College Republicans, attended the conference in the hopes of seeing Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Bush had planned to travel to Mackinac Island but instead returned to his home state after a gunman shot eight people to death in a Fort Worth, Texas, church Wednesday.

Instead, Diamond heard speeches from magazine publisher Steve Forbes, television commentator Alan Keyes and Christian activist Gary Bauer, who took advantage of Bush's absence to have their turn in the GOP spotlight. But they don't have a realistic shot at the presidency, Diamond said.

"Essentially, they're almost a sideshow," said Diamond, who said he would have been more interested in hearing from Bush and former American Red Cross president Elizabeth Dole. Dole declined an invitation to attend the conference.

Diamond said the number of GOP party leaders and supporters in attendance indicates that Michigan will be a primary focus of the candidates. U.S. House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) delivered remarks Sunday.

"Michigan seems to have put itself in an important spot nationally," he said.

As the presidential campaigns begin to shift into high gear, Michigan will be "absolutely key," said Forbes spokesperson Juleanna Glover Weiss.

"You'll be seeing a great deal of Steve in Michigan," Weiss said.

The Mackinac Island conference provided a perfect audience for Forbes to showcase himself and his campaign, she said, because many elected GOP officials tend to support him.

"Steve was very pleased with the reception he received," Weiss said.

Dan Godzich, campaign manager for Alan Keyes, said the magnitude of the conference allowed Keyes to speak in person with many potential supporters.

"We're a very grassroots-oriented campaign," Godzich said in a phone interview from Des Moines, Iowa, where Keyes officially declared his candidacy last night. "People have to hear the message, see the person. We don't just throw it all on TV."

Television commentator Pat Buchanan backed out of the conference several weeks ago and is contemplating a defection to the Reform Party, prompting criticism by Michigan Republican Party Chair Betsy DeVos Saturday.

Michigan GOP spokesperson Sage Eastman called the conference the "most successful" of the 23 GOP gatherings held on the island every two years. He attributed its success to the possibility that Republicans could both regain the presidency and retain majorities in the House and Senate.

"Certainly the mood was one of optimism," Eastman said.

Bush appears to be steamrolling through the early portions of the campaign, which has included an endorsement by three-term Republican Gov. John Engler and record-breaking fundraising numbers.

But with five months remaining until primaries begin, Eastman said, the final outcome is still up in the air.

"I think Republicans in this state are still open as far as who they're going to vote for in the February primaries," he said.

With Michigan's earliest-ever primary slated for Feb. 22, the state is even more of a focus for campaigners than usual, Eastman said. Only three states will hold primaries before Michigan, and all have significantly fewer electoral votes at stake.

"Michigan has always been an important state in the elections, especially under the leadership of Gov. John Engler," Eastman said. "We haven't had this type of prominence in more than a decade."

09-21-99