Three Harvard professors--all supporters of Republican presidential candidate, Gov. George W. Bush--sounded the theme of Republican unity at the Second Semester Conservative Kick-Off Banquet last night at Hillel.

The dinner, which was co-sponsored by the Harvard Republican Club and Jews for Conservative Politics (JCP), drew a crowd of over 125, mostly students, to mingle with Republican Party bigwigs and listen to their call for activism and party cooperation.

The event's keynote speaker, former Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.), who is also director of the Institute of Politics (IOP) and a lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government, was especially fervent in his call for Republicans to forget their differences in order to take back the White House.

"No philosophy can be transferred or shared with your fellow citizens unless you win," Simpson said. "This damn thing is about winning!"

Simpson faulted Republicans for permitting President Clinton to win the White House in 1992 because some split the Republican vote by supporting another presidential hopeful, Ross Perot.

Simpson, who is advising Bush, said he believes this is the year that Republicans will learn their lesson not to apply the "saliva test of purity" to their candidates.

"They're so thirsty," the former senator said of his party's desire for a Republican president. "They've been in the desert, crawling on their hands and knees."

IBM Professor of Business and Government Roger B. Porter, who has advised the last three Republican presidents, agreed with Simpson's assessment.