WASHINGTON — Ignoring Ronald Reagan's admonition against attacking other Republicans, Pat Buchanan took a swipe Tuesday at Texas Gov. George W. Bush and other party presidential rivals for backing the NATO bombing in the Balkans and President Clinton's decision to "launch this war on Serbia."
Buchanan sought to distance himself from what he called his "principal rivals" for the GOP nomination, attacking Bush, former Red Cross president Elizabeth Dole, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and billionaire publisher Steve Forbes by name.
"While all are good and able individuals, all four endorsed the president's decision to launch this war on Serbia," Buchanan told the National Press Club.
"Mr. Bush, Mrs. Dole and Sen. McCain even endorse sending a U.S. Army to fight its way into the Balkans to occupy Kosovo," he said.
A spokeswoman for Bush in Austin declined comment on Buchanan's statements.
On domestic issues, Buchanan said, his GOP opponents were "virtual Xerox copies" of Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.
Buchanan said they also backed open immigration and expansion of trade agreements with countries that include China.
"If one of these wins the GOP nomination, we risk a replay of 1992 and 1996, where both major parties will agree on most major issues and a pillow fight will ensue over some dinky tax cut," Buchanan said.
Bush won tax cuts worth about $1.85 billion from the Texas Legislature, giving him an issue to stump when he hits the campaign trail in mid-June.
During a news conference in Austin before Buchanan's speech, Bush declined to comment on national campaign topics and said his visit to key states next week was just "testing the waters."
McCain, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, spoke to the National Press Club last month, where he reiterated his call for ground troops to ensure a victory in the Balkans.
He also invoked President Reagan's "11th Commandment," saying one Republican shouldn't speak ill of another.
Buchanan's "isolationist" policies were roundly criticized by Republicans and Democrats in 1992 and 1996. The former speechwriter for President Nixon proposed a wall for the U.S.-Mexico border.
He also has opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which claimed has closed "thousands of factories" and eliminated American jobs.
Buchanan noted his Republican rivals endorsed NAFTA and current trade policies of the Clinton administration, which could produce a $300 billion trade deficit by year's end, he said.
"So-called 'free-trade conservatives' are not conservatives at all," Buchanan said, "but the unwitting masons of a one-world government."
