BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PARK HILLS -- Northern Kentucky native and leading national conservative Gary Bauer came home Wednesday to back Gex "Jay" Williams' campaign for Congress.
Mr. Bauer, born and raised in Newport and now head of the Family Research Council in Washington, used doses of politics and religion to inspire ministers, business people and parents to support Mr. Williams in Tuesday's 4th District Republican primary.
"Pray for (Mr. Williams) and his family so we can get one more decent guy in Washington, D.C.," Mr. Bauer told a crowd of about 100 people, including several ministers, during a luncheon at the Town & Country Banquet Hall in Park Hills.
"What happens right here, in my hometown, in your hometown, will affect this county," Mr. Bauer said. "I want to get a call on Tuesday night saying, "Gary, we won.' "
Mr. Bauer is pondering a run for the Republican nomination in the 2000 presidential race but was coy about his political plans, saying he has not decided whether he will enter the race.
He did say that if he runs, top issues would be to improve education standards, reduce the size of government, use budget surpluses for deficit reduction and tax relief, and renew the battle on drugs, which he said has diminished under the Clinton administration. Mr. Bauer also mentioned that his political action committee, or PAC, has raised nearly $4 million.
"If he runs," Mr. Williams said, "I'll certainly support him."
Mr. Williams, a state senator from Verona, is running in the GOP primary against Fort Mitchell attorney Rick Robinson and Jim Kidney, a Fort Thomas attorney.
"Gary Bauer has carried a message of hope," Mr. Williams told the ministers' group. "He has carried a message of right and wrong, and I believe that message is something this nation desperately needs at this time."
Both Mr. Williams and Mr. Bauer are known as strong conservatives, staunchly opposed to abortion. They also advocate lower taxes and a smaller government bureaucracy. And both fuse their faith with their political philosophies.
Mr. Bauer encouraged the ministers to make voters' guides, presumably with information about Mr. Williams, available to their congregations this Sunday, just two days before the primary. "This would be a great Sunday to give a sermon about Christian citizenship," Mr. Bauer told the ministers, adding they could let their members know whom they intend to vote for during the sermon.
"You have a right to be a part of this process," he said. "I would encourage you do to do anything you can" to support Mr. Williams. The primary election will likely come down to voter turnout, Mr. Bauer said. "You have got to be there . . . and you have got to get people out to vote," he said.
Mr. Bauer also attended a rally at the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport for families supporting Mr. Williams. And he met with about 20 area business owners and managers to discuss economic issues.
As undersecretary of education in the Reagan administration, Mr. Bauer told of his frustration in trying to downsize a federal bureaucracy of 11,000 employees with a budget of $7 billion.
"It's an unbelievable job to dismantle a government bureaucracy," he told the business group. "That's why we need someone like Gex Williams, who won't take "no' for an answer when the bureaucrats and the liberals tell him it can't be done."
Mr. Bauer also made an appeal to the business people to financially support Mr. Williams' campaign. "I can't think of a better investment than an investment in this man," Mr. Bauer said.
Independence investment broker Jamie Hatfield, a Williams supporter, said he attended the business gathering because he "believes in what Gary Bauer has to say."
"He is pro-life, pro-family and he stands up on some tough issues in the face of blitzes against him from the media," Mr. Hatfield said. "He's the kind of man this country needs involved in politics, and I believe in what he has to say."
