HUFFINGTON TESTS LIFE AS BORN-AGAIN RADICAL ON STAGE

Six years ago, she was at the center of one of the most expensive and
issue-free campaigns for a U.S. Senate seat, the 1994 run of her
then-husband, Michael Huffington, against Dianne Feinstein.

Now, in her latest incarnation, Arianna Huffington, columnist, author and
political theorist, is complaining that both parties are ignoring political
issues and spending too much money on campaigns.

Huffington is the mastermind of the Shadow Convention, a collection of
activists, public policy experts and celebrities who are staging
"alternative" political conventions. These mavericks are serious about
reform -- and serious about making fun of establishment politicians.

Huffington is credited with bringing together a diverse group, ranging from
conservative Arizona Sen. John McCain to liberals like the Rev. Jesse
Jackson. Former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart and comedian Bill Maher, the host of
"Politically Incorrect," will also address her group in Los Angeles.

They met for five days in Philadelphia and have already started a second
run in Los Angeles to talk about campaign finance reform, poverty and the
failure of the war on drugs.

But skeptics doubt whether Huffington, a Greek-born, Oxford-educated
author, is sincere in her newfound beliefs.

After all, they point out, before Huffington became a born-again radical,
she was a staunch supporter of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his
conservative "Contract with America." Before her conversion to
conservatism, she dabbled in New Age religion. Her political odyssey has
hardly been linear.

Her critics also note that this new champion of campaign finance reform was
one of the architects of a campaign that broke nearly all spending records
at the time.

Michael Huffington spent almost $30 million of his personal fortune and
fell just short of unseating Feinstein in 1994.

But he was one of the few conservatives to lose that year. When the
Republicans took over Congress, Gingrich ushered in a conservative
revolution that Arianna Huffington helped support with her syndicated columns.

Since then, Huffington's views have evolved once again.

"It hasn't been one epiphany, it's been a succession of epiphanies," she
said about her changing political beliefs.

Now, she describes herself as a "populist in the radical center" who
supports reforming campaign finance laws, bridging the gap between the
wealthy and the poor, and calling a truce in the war on drugs.

Kam Kuwata, who ran Feinstein's 1994 campaign and is managing her current
re-election effort, is skeptical.

He agrees that she doesn't have a home in either the Democratic or
Republican parties. "She belongs to the party of opportunism. She yearns to
be relevant," he said.

But her new allies in a broad range of reform movements are thrilled.

In Philadelphia, as the mistress of ceremonies at the nightly political
satire of the Shadow Convention, the elegant Huffington stood out among the
activists clad in T-shirts, beards, shorts, bandannas and tie-dyed clothing.

Yet they listened attentively when she firmly, but politely, cut off some
interruptions to move along the program. They seemed impressed by her
promises to investigate some of the issues raised by grass-roots activists.

Ethan Nadelman, who serves as philanthropist George Soros' adviser on
efforts to redirect the drug war and is promoting Proposition 36 on the
November ballot to substitute treatment for punishment of drug users, said
he is convinced that Huffington is sincere.

"She's embraced this issue with such gusto that I'm sure it runs pretty
deep," he said. "She's an amazing ally to have."

Bill Ainsworth covers Sacramento for the Union-Tribune.