POLITICS : In Lower Gear, Dilley Still Drives Political Tank : Religious right leader in Iowa boosts Dole with her blessing. Health problems take toll on her, though.

WEST DES MOINES —  For perhaps the first time in her life, Ione Dilley’s family values are at odds with her political agenda.

Here Dilley is, in the midst of a Republican presidential race in which virtually every candidate stresses social conservatism, poised to reap the benefits of years of tireless organizing for the Iowa Christian Coalition, which she has headed since 1990.

But here she also is recovering from a heart attack and under doctor’s orders to curtail her prodigious efforts on behalf of the movement so dear to her. To do otherwise risks depriving her family, including four doted-upon grandchildren, of their moral center.

Having lost two of her four children to cancer, Dilley is painfully aware of what that means.

Some of the fervor she brings to the anti-abortion issue can be traced to the 1968 death of her oldest son at 19, after which she rededicated herself to her evangelical Christian faith. Fifteen years later, Dilley’s only daughter died at 33.

“Many of the values espoused in right-to-life have to do with her valuing life in the first place, whether new or old,” said the youngest of Dilley’s two surviving sons, Jim, 39.

So, the woman whose endorsement of Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole made headlines last week, but who describes herself first and foremost as a cookie-baking grandma, has, albeit reluctantly, slowed down.

One sure sign: Dilley, who’s known for being on the phone all hours of the day and night, has plugged in an answering machine. “I have to do it,” she says determinedly.

Some days that’s easier than on other days.

One recent afternoon, Dilley had, by her account, overextended. She was weary and profusely apologetic for being late for an interview, having been delayed at home waiting for a call from evangelist Pat Robertson.

Robertson’s presidential bid in 1988 was the catalyst that sparked the ascendancy of the religious right in Iowa GOP politics. His supporters propelled Robertson to a surprising second-place finish in the ’88 caucuses, and though that was the high point of his candidacy, it established Christian conservatives as a force to be reckoned with.

Those were heady days, she recalled.

“We had a candidate and a cause,” Dilley said. “Here [in 1996], we have a cause and we’re looking for a leader.”

After being heavily courted by several campaigns, Dilley decided that leader is Dole.

For Dilley, the decision to back Dole illustrates the distance she has traveled from ideological insurgent to practical politico.

She agrees that, within the Republican Party, the Christian Coalition has made its point on the issues. Now she is focused on the next step: putting someone “who can win and is close to us” in the White House.

“Dole is going to be the man who can defeat [President] Clinton,” she said. “I think he has not only the experience . . . he also has the art and wit for the job.”

Moreover, despite the public image of her group as unyielding on core issues, Dilley said she could live with, for now, Dole’s recent statement on “Meet the Press” that he would not outlaw abortion in cases of rape, incest and danger to the mother’s life.

“If 99% of the women who are having abortions are having ‘convenience’ abortions, isn’t it important we get that taken care of first?” she asked. “We can’t be purists. There’s a give-and-take.”

Those who know Dilley describe her as equal parts compassion and determination.

“Oh, man, she has got a dogged determination,” said her son, Jim. But she is also, he says, “tolerant of just about everybody, loving of lots of people and forgiving of people who don’t believe the things she believes in.”

But don’t let that ladylike demeanor and caring nature lull you into underestimating Dilley, says Des Moines minister John Hutt. “She can be very disarming. The next thing you know, you’re down on the ground with her foot on your throat.”

Dilley’s steely resolve is backed up by her political acumen, says Loras Schulte, head of commentator Patrick J. Buchanan’s Iowa campaign. “When she talks politics, you want to sit down, shut up and take notes.”

Reared on a farm in northern Iowa, Dilley finished high school at 16 and spent two years at Iowa State before entering nursing school. “Then this young man from Drake [University] appeared,” she said.

It was against the rules for a nursing student to marry, but Dilley wed secretly and was expelled when the school found out.

Dilley and her husband live on 80 acres in Waukee, Iowa, west of Des Moines. And when she’s not baking cookies or following doctors’ orders, expect her to monitor the man in the White House--especially if he owes his election to social conservatives.

“We’ll have to keep after him, I’m sure,” Dilley said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Players

A periodic look at the behind-the-scenes aides, consultants, media members and others shaping the course of the 1996 presidential campaign.

Age: 69

Personal: Married to Kenneth. Sons John, 44, psychologist and minister, and Jim, 39, industrial psychologist. Two children, a son and daughter, are deceased.

Background: Born on Northern Iowa farm. Attended Iowa State University and nursing school. Started Des Moines Christian School and lobbied successfully for state-funded bus transportation for Christian schools. Head of Iowa Christian Coalition since 1990. Recently helped defeat gay Des Moines school board member seeking re-election.

Downtime: Self-professed cookie-baking grandmother of four. Active member of Point of Grace church. Used to raise Arabian horses. Enjoys growing vegetables.

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“She can be very disarming. The next thing you know you’re down on the ground with her foot on your throat.”

--Des Moines pastor and Christian Coalition activist John Hutt