WHAT THEY THINK

Bush-Quayle Deputy Press Secretary Anthony F. Mitchell says he always considered Harvard "a hotbed of liberalism."

The hard facts suggest that Mitchell may be right. A look at the 42 Government Department professors' political affiliations shows a marked trend toward the left. At least 13 government professors are registered Democrats in Massachusetts; as few as two are registered Republicans.

Professor of Government Gary King says that Harvard is not alone. Democrats probably outnumber Republicans in every political science department in the country, he says

But does it matter that Harvard's government department--where 18-year-old declared presidential candidates go to learn about politics--is run in large part by liberals?

Probably not, Mitchell says. He likens Harvard's government department--and colleges in general--to one of Vice President Dan Quayle's favorite targets, the media elite.

Harvard-issue cultural elites are fine as individuals, Mitchell says. "The problem comes in when they use their positions to advocate their political views."

As long as that doesn't happen, he says, political leanings don't count for much.

Thomson Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield Jr.--an outspoken member of the Republican minority--disagrees.

"I think it's of some concern," Mansfield says. When the political balance is skewed, he says, impressionable students may be unfairly swayed.

Mansfield says he remembers days when the department was different, when it had "Henry Kissinger on one side and Stanley Hoffmann on another."

Mansfield says the department would be better off if both sides were as equally represented today.

"We don't have that now. I think we're losers by it," he says. "Conservatives are much less of a minority among students than among the faculty. Most professors are liberals. Choosing professors, they tend to go for other liberals."

But Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles disagrees. Knowles says political leanings are "certainly not a factor" in Harvard's tenure system.

Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics Susan J. Pharr, the chair of the Government Department says politics are never a consideration in government tenure decisions.

"Oh, never," Pharr says. "Never under any circumstances. People's political views are totally their own matters."

King--who is registered to vote, but not affiliated with a party--has no problem with political science professors who are forthright about their politics.

"I think professors are also members of society, and they're allowed to state their preferences," King says.

Professor of Economics Richard Cooper questions how much voter registration indicates a professor's political leanings.

Massachusetts is so liberal, Cooper notes, that the most important elections are often the Democratic primaries. In order to have political voices in the state, many professors choose, logically, to register as Democrats.

In addition, Cooper says, party affiliation can have little to do with political ideas or voting decisions. During the Nixon administration, Cooper says, Federal Reserve Chair Arthur Burns asked him to serve on the Federal Reserve Board. Burns told Cooper that he was embarrassed to ask him his party affiliation.

Cooper replied that he was a registered Democrat in Connecticut. And Burns--who had served as a counselor to Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon--confessed that he, too, was a Democrat.

Mansfield says that his position in the political minority makes him want to speak out on issues like gay rights.

"It has that perverse effect," he says. "I feel that if I don't speak up, nobody will. I would be happy to be quiet and hold my peace on many of these issues, the latest cause."

And while his minority status makes Mansfield more outspoken, it could stifle the voices of other conservative faculty members. Cooper says that in a conversation with a government professor, he lamented that the U.S. had missed an opportunity by failing to take military action against Yugoslavia.

The government professor, Cooper recalls, agreed--but admitted to being embarrassed to say so because the view was considered too "hawkish."

Still, Mansfield aside, most academics do not believe the political affiliation of professors squashes debate or unduly influences students' political beliefs.

Even Mitchell--whose job security depends on the conservatism of students, professors and everyone else--isn't worried about brainwashing.

"Hopefully, people are all bright enough to make their own choices," he says.