Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R-N.Y.) said last night Republicans must concentrate on freedom rather than patriotism in order to stay in power and keep the hearts of the American people.

The key to the Republicans' sweeping victories in the 1994 congressional election was a focus on individuals' freedom to control their lives, D'Amato said in a speech to about 400 people at the Kennedy School of Government's Arco Forum.

"Not freedom that somebody gives you, but freedom you're entitled to," he said with a distinct New York accent. "Freedom from fear must be the cornerstone of our party and our nation."

That includes the right not to be excessively taxed and the freedom to practice any religion, go to work or walk to a neighbor's house without fear of assault or condemnation, he said.

"I'm a conservative, but I part company with social conservatives when they say that their values are the only American values," D'Amato said.

Picking up the theme of family values, D'Amato opened the speech with a fond reference to his mother, who taped a commercial and helped campaign for him in 1980, when he won his Senate seat. "Listen to Mama. You may need her if you run someday."

Before heading to the Kennedy School. D'Amato autographed copies of his book, Power, Pasta and Politics, at the Harvard Coop.

D'Amato has been a senator since 1980. He is chair of the Senate Banking Committee and a member of the Finance Committee. He also chairs Senator Bob Dole's (D-Kan.) New York presidential campaign committee and the committee which is holding the Whitewater hearings.

The senator spent the first half of his 30-minute speech summarizing what has gone wrong with American politics since World War II.

"The world has changed fundamentally as it relates to politics," D'Amato said. "There's more talk of a third party, and people aren't sure of their institutional parties anymore."

Republican presidents from Eisenhower to Bush rode to victory on the two-pronged weapon of anti-Communist sentiment and World War II patriotism, D'Amato said.

But that began to collapse in 1990, when then-President Bush--"son of Reagan," D'Amato dubbed him--waffied on a spending conflict in Congress. Coincidentally, the Soviet empire fell at about the same time.

The Persian Gulf war helped Bush's credibility, but when that euphoria faded, the 1992 election left the way open for President Clinton's claim that he was a "new Democrat," D'Amato said.

Now the Republican party is unfortunately split, D'Amato said. He advised presidential hopefuls:

"Let the American people know you're going to be a president from the conservative mainstream and not a candidate of the religious right," he said.

And D'Amato cautioned those who think Clinton will be an easy straw man to knock down.

"Bill Clinton is going to be no easy candidate to beat in 1996," the senator said. "He is a superb politician. He is a great communicator. I have seen him take a group of 43 Republicans and have them laughing at each other."

But D'Amato warned listeners not to misinterpret his admiration of the president's political savvy: "Let's make no mistake about it--this is not an endorsement for President Clinton."

In the question-and-answer period, D'Amato was asked about his imitation of the O.J. Simpson trial's Judge Lance Ito on a radio show, which many found racially offensive. "It was wrong. I apologize for it. I should have known better. It was racist. It was a poor attempt at humor," D'Amato said. "Part of life is also being big enough to admit when one makes an error and asking people to forgive them.