Badham Trying Hard to Make Next Race Easy

The last election year was not an easy one for Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach). And judging by his recent high profile back home, it would appear that he does not intend to repeat it.

The five-term congressman, who holds one of the “safest” Republican districts in the state, was challenged in the primary by Nathan Rosenberg, an energetic newcomer who struck a chord with some Badham supporters when he complained that Badham was “out of touch with the people in the district.”

Even more surprisingly, several prominent Republicans who were unhappy with what they saw as Badham’s lack of leadership in Congress supported Rosenberg, sending shock waves through the county’s GOP establishment. To many, this indicated a deep displeasure with Badham’s perceived neglect of his district and his preoccupation with worldwide travel.

Though Badham defeated Rosenberg by 65% to 35%, and also easily turned away a challenge by a prominent Democrat in the general election, he spent more time, energy and money (more than $300,000) on his reelection than he had since he was first elected to represent the 40th District in the House of Representatives in 1976.

A Higher Profile

“I thought there was an election going the whole year,” Badham quipped last week.

Whether it resulted from the challenges, or whether it is coincidence as Badham asserts, the congressman has been more visible in his district this year--some say more visible than he has been since he went to Congress.

Last week alone, the 58-year-old Badham held town hall meetings at each end of his district--Fountain Valley and Laguna Niguel--to hear constituent views on “a number of critical issues” facing Congress. These gatherings followed well-attended public meetings in the last several months on air safety and transportation.

Long a supporter of the armed services and a ranking minority member of the House Armed Services Committee, Badham this year took a controversial stand on the safety of Navy helicopters that resulted in wide coverage both locally and outside Orange County.

Rosenberg said he has noticed a change, as have others.

“People say things like, ‘You kicked a sleeping dog,’ or ‘I’ve seen your former opponent more in last year than I saw him during the previous 10 years’--things like that,” Rosenberg said Friday. “From that point of view, my campaign was a victory.”

Badham’s political adviser and former aide, Howard Seelye, said Badham has appeared more active in the district because the congressman has chosen “the right issue at the right time,” thereby being more noticed.

But others who have observed Badham say he has been making a concerted effort to service the district since Rosenberg’s challenge, which political insiders say badly shook Badham.

‘Got the Message’

Gus Owen, a member of the Lincoln Club, a prestigious group of conservative Republican businessmen, said that when he saw a newspaper article this week about Badham’s stance on airport safety, he thought to himself, “My God, it looks like Bob finally got the message.”

Owen, who said he has known Badham for years and helped raise money for Badham’s first run for the Assembly in the 1960s, was one of those prominent Republicans who backed Rosenberg in last year’s primary.

“I’ve been one of Bob’s biggest critics in that I thought he should take a leadership role back there,” Owen said of Badham’s record in Congress. Owen said Badham could hardly have a safer district--registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by a 59% to 30% margin--so he should have been able to concentrate on becoming “an outstanding leader in Congress.” Instead, Badham had one of the poorest attendance records among Republicans in the House.

“Since he wasn’t working, I was really on his tail,” Owen said. Of the congressman’s recent flurry of local meetings and higher profile on county issues, he said, “I’m glad to see him working.”

World Travels Curtailed

Badham also is doing less worldwide traveling than in other years. Since last November’s election, he has been out of the country twice, both times as a member of an Armed Services Committee delegation. He took a 10-day swing through Mexico City, Panama, Brazil, Granada, Honduras and Peru in April and attended the Paris Air Show June 11-16.

By contrast, from 1981 to 1983, according to Congress Watch, Badham traveled to Argentina, Bermuda, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Egypt, England (twice), France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy (twice), Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia and Venezuela. This was not atypical of other years.

Badham has traveled to his district frequently. He said last year he made 25 round trips to Orange County and this year he expects to make even more.

While in the past he accepted many invitations to speak or be present for functions, this year he is taking the initiative in organizing events. During the summer recess, which ends Sept. 9, Badham not only has held the town hall meetings, but Friday showed Lt. Col. Ollie North’s slides of the Nicaraguan contras to a standing-room-only meeting of “Badham’s Boosters,” a support group for the congressman.

“It was the largest turnout for one of those meetings in years,” said county Republican Party Chairman Tom Fuentes. “There was a lot of vitality there for him among a number of senior party leaders.”

Result Said Good

Fuentes said Badham’s “revitalized activity” in the district is a happy result of a very unhappy situation.

“A challenge in a Republican primary of a distinguished conservative Republican is a tragedy from my perspective as county Republican chairman” because of the money that had to be spent on a “safe” GOP district, Fuentes said. However, he added, “If one stops and reflects what the net result is, today we would probably have to agree it generates a more active and involved Bob Badham. That’s not all bad.”

The town hall meetings each attracted more than 100 people and covered topics ranging from U.S. support of the contras (which prompted the most questions and comments) to help for single mothers who live in Orange County.

(To the latter question, Badham asked a single mother: “Does anyone have the right to live in Orange County? Yes, they do, if they can afford it.”)

Handled Crowd Well

Badham clearly enjoyed the public exchanges. He handled himself, and the sometimes confrontational questions, with aplomb. And he deftly defused a couple of situations that could have degenerated into shouting matches.

To one woman who differed with another over support for the contras, Badham, who supports the contra effort to overturn the pro-communist Sandinista government in Nicaragua, said soothingly, “Whether or not I agree with you makes no difference, but don’t beat up on somebody else here in the crowd.”

He also used the meetings to reassert his conservative philosophies. For example, he said he “abhorred” abortion and did not favor federal government funding of abortions for low-income women. Responding to a woman who suggested that abortion was cheaper than paying for child welfare, Badham said, “You can go out and panhandle enough money for an abortion.”

Badham had not staged a town hall meeting since the early days of his tenure in Congress.

“We tried one in El Toro one time and it bombed, so we didn’t do anymore,” Seelye said. In a room set up for 400 people, only “about 15 people showed up and one of them was his cousin,” Seelye said.

Reasons for Meeting

As to why he chose to resurrect the town hall meetings, Badham said, “I think I’ve done everything else. . . . I’ve been considering this kind of forum for a long time. This particular (congressional) break, I’m trying to do things I haven’t done in the past.”

If Badham maintains this level of activity, it will make him more secure against another expensive challenge in 1988, political observers say.

Rosenberg said that while he is glad to see Badham more active in the district, “from an individual selfish point of view,” he knows such visibility will make Badham even harder to beat next time around. Although Rosenberg isn’t sure whether he would challenge Badham again, he said he still feels that Badham has “miles to go” to give the 40th District full representation.

“We could have someone along the lines of a Newt Gingrich or a Jack Kemp coming up with innovative ideas and how to implement them, taking lead on balancing the budget,” Rosenberg said, mentioning two prominent Republican congressmen.

Battle Termed Exciting

Other Republicans said that the expensive and divisive primary battle was worth it to see Badham in action again.

“I think it’s always exciting for any district, especially if an incumbent becomes a little bit complacent, for a challenger to step forward from that party and to remind them of their responsibility to their constituents or to that district,” Owen said.

Though Owen said he has no plans to take part in the 40th District election next year, he added, “If the incumbent does not heed the warning . . . then in subsequent elections he may not win.”