GOP Hopefuls Court Conservatives : Politics: Five presidential aspirants attend activists’ conference. Poll shows that support of party’s right wing is up for grabs.

WASHINGTON —  “Who is the authentic heir of the unfinished Reagan revolution?” the speaker asked rhetorically as he introduced Republican Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

“Bob Dornan!” came the unexpected answer, shouted out by a fan of the rambunctious Orange County congressman who has the distinction of being one of the longest shots in the competition for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination.

The exchange underlines a fundamental political reality that had become abundantly clear by the time this gathering of 1,600 conservative activists concluded Saturday: As the Republican presidential campaign gets under way, the conservative cadres who wield make-or-break power over GOP presidential candidacies are up for grabs, perhaps to a greater extent than at any time in recent history.

No wonder then that no fewer than five presidential aspirants showed up here, striving to fill the void and build support among the truest hearts and brawniest arms in all the echelons of the Grand Old Party. Commanding the floor during the three-day conclave, in addition to Gramm and Dornan, were Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander and conservative columnist Patrick J. Buchanan.

Gramm and Alexander, both of whom are expected to announce their candidacies later this month, delivered contrasting messages. Veteran lawmaker Gramm depicted himself as the man who has done the most for conservatism inside Washington, while self-styled outsider Alexander claimed to be the apostle of grass-roots conservatism.

Boasting that he had “learned to say no” during the Clinton presidency, Gramm cited his opposition to such White House proposals as raising the gas tax and placing U.S. troops under United Nations command.

“But what I am proudest of is, at the darkest moment of the health care debate, when all Republican pollsters were saying to us: ‘It is political suicide to take on the health care bill straight on’ . . . I stood up and said the Clinton health care bill is going to pass over my cold, dead political body.

“My body is still alive,” he said. “And the Clinton health care bill is deader than Elvis. He may be back, but the Clinton health care bill is not coming back.”

Mindful of criticism that his devotion to conservative economic theory has made him appear heartless to some observers, Gramm sought to demonstrate a sense of compassion on welfare reform. He said he is determined to change the welfare system not just because it costs tens of billions of dollars a year, “but because it has denied 40 million of our fellow Americans access to the American Dream.”

For his part, Alexander worried aloud that now that Republicans have gained control of both houses of Congress, they might stumble down the same mistaken path followed by their Democratic predecessors.

“Sometimes I think it might be a good idea to station a Republican choir outside the Capitol to sing that fine, old gospel song, ‘Yield Not to Temptation,’ ” he said.

Alexander, who served as secretary of education under President George Bush, complained that some Republicans are talking about trying to decide the fine points of welfare reform in Washington, instead of turning the task over to the states. And some are backing off from the GOP-endorsed idea of limiting the tenure of members of the House to three terms, he said.

“That is dangerous thinking,” Alexander said. “A citizen Congress is just as good for Republicans as it is for Democrats. The last thing we should do is replace their (Democratic) arrogant empire with one of our own.”

While Gramm and Alexander gave their backers plenty to cheer about, early front-runner Dole, who is expected to announce his candidacy this spring, disappointed some of his supporters. They thought that the senator’s talk during a Friday evening banquet was disjointed, and they noted that he seemed preoccupied with his responsibilities as Senate majority leader rather than his prospects as a presidential contender.

“He was tired, and he rambled a bit,” said David Keene a longtime Dole adviser who was chairman of the conference. He pointed out that Dole had already made a speech earlier that evening at a GOP fund-raiser in Pennsylvania.

But Dole clearly struck a nerve with the audience when he renewed his criticism of affirmative action rules that, in his words, lead to “individual rights being trampled by the newly discovered rights of groups.” Calling for a “colorblind America,” Dole added: “The fight for equal opportunity for all Americans was never intended to be a guarantee of equal results.”

The activists in attendance roundly cheered two 1996 prospects who still have not decided whether to run and who are not given much of a chance if they do: Dornan and Buchanan. Dornan, who was recently disciplined by the House for contending that Clinton had given “aid and comfort” to North Vietnam by avoiding military service, repeated his controversial remarks, then asked the audience: “Should I run?”

The response was a thunderous yes.

Buchanan delivered a populist polemic in which he denounced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the North American Free Trade Agreement. He also criticized the United Nations, abortion rights and the financial “bailout” of Mexico. Referring to the current GOP platform provision opposing abortion, Buchanan declared: “Anyone who tries to rip that plank out of the platform will have to go over Pat Buchanan.”

The possibility that the GOP might modify its opposition to abortion, along with concern that the GOP “contract with America” stresses economic reforms more than social issues, is contributing to the restiveness on the right.

Ralph Reed, executive director of the Christian Coalition, warned that conservative Christians would abandon the GOP in 1996 unless its candidates for President and vice president oppose abortion.

The ambiguity clouding the conservative horizon was reflected in a straw poll released by conference officials. Of the 400 attendees who participated, 40% rated Gramm as their first choice for President. Dole came in second with 12%.