By the late 1990s, DPP and Taiwan independence have gained a solid electoral constituency in Taiwan, supported by an increasingly vocal and hardcore base.

And one factor in his favor is that there is still a solid constituency for the Oslo process among Palestinians, Israelis and Americans.

For now, the public deserves to see Mr. Bush and Mr. Gore lay out the substantial differences between them, without interference from third- or fourth-party candidates who have not built solid constituencies.

He visited towns and performed before small groups, and what he built was a solid and deeply loyal constituency.

At the time it was produced, it had a solid constituency, both public and private.

One might think that criminals would be a solid liberal constituency, given liberals' generally stronger support for prisoners' rights.

Their combined strength constituted what amounted to a southern bloc with a solid constituency among most of the Ewe and the peoples of the coastal cities.

To the Editor: In your March 16 news article on Kathleen E. Willey's accusations, the National Organization for Women is misleadingly called a "a solid constituency" of the President.

Once a solid religious constituency, many of the Irish have left the city, replaced by Hispanic and other immigrants who do not relate as easily to a church hierarchy that remains mostly Irish.

A prerequisite for success for any space vision, he said, is that its goals have to be near enough to excite people and form solid political constituencies.