Mix Zeal, Moderation, Zschau Says : Republicans: The former congressman urges GOP members to become ‘flaming moderates’ and bring intensity to the middle ground.

Ed Zschau, former congressman from the Silicon Valley, said Sunday that moderate Republicans must dramatically reshape their image and agenda to overcome a perception that they are “squishy” and lacking in zeal, in principle and in compassion for people.

Addressing the California Republican League, a volunteer organization of GOP moderates and progressives, Zschau said members must become “flaming moderates.” Emphasis must be on individual freedom and development of “lean and mean” government that lays the foundation for a better future for America, he said.

But the concept of moderation does not convey intensity or inspiration, Zschau said.

“If we are going to lead in the 1990s, we have to understand and communicate our values with the kind of intensity that’s usually associated with the extremes,” Zschau said. “In other words, we must become flaming moderates in order to inspire (the people’s) support.”

Zschau served two terms in the House of Representatives, 1983-87, and then lost his challenge to Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston in 1986 by barely 1% of the vote. At 51, he remains active in party affairs and is a popular leader of GOP moderates.

His proposed manifesto was issued at a time when moderates and the conservative right of the California Republican Party are locked in a major struggle. His speech was reminiscent of the attempt by former U. S. Sen. Paul Tsongas (D-Mass.) to provide a modern definition of Democratic liberalism in a 1980 address to the liberal Americans for Democratic Action. Tsongas, after leaving the Senate for treatment of cancer, now is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.

In California, conservatives became dominant in the GOP with the nomination of Barry Goldwater for president in 1964 and the election of Ronald Reagan as governor in 1966.

Gov. Pete Wilson, elected a year ago after eight years in the U. S. Senate, is a darling of the California Republican League, however. His activism in party affairs on behalf of moderates has helped rejuvenate it while infuriating conservatives, who also were angered by Wilson’s advocacy of a massive tax increase in an effort to balance the state budget.

The disparate wings of the GOP now are at war over the two U. S. Senate seats up for election in California in 1992--including the one Wilson gave up to become governor--and are engaged in a struggle over leadership positions within the party. The issues of taxes, abortion and civil rights are at the epicenter of the fight.

Zschau said moderates have a long list of solid principles, ranging from freedom for the individual to conservation of natural resources. But laundry lists do not sell in politics, he added. Quick slogans do.

“So we have to have a theme for these flaming moderates that is just a couple of words. I would suggest that we are the party of freedom and we are the party of the future,” he said.

In order to win voters’ support and overcome disillusion in the political system, moderates must develop a forward-looking agenda that can cope with the rapid change occurring in California, he said.

“We can’t be conservatives in the sense of not changing with the times,” he said. “We need new ideas and new directions based on our modern Republican principles.”

The new party leadership must be willing to take risks with fresh ideas, be willing to invest in the future, be builders rather than caretakers and work to shape the future, he said.

“I believe that in order to inspire people, in order to attract support for our ideas, in order to lead, we have to shake the image of moderation . . . the image of squishiness and indecision. We must become zealots and radicals in our efforts to achieve and preserve freedom for individuals and to build a better future, because the challenges we face require no less of us,” he said.

Zschau suggested that moderates characterize themselves as leaders who look ahead and look up as opposed to those who look back and look down, an obvious reference to the party conservatives, although Zschau did not identify them or any of their leaders by name during his address.

And he said Republican leaders must be honest with the people in order to recapture their trust.

“The politics of feel-good are over,” he said.

Zschau, who was a successful electronics businessman before being elected to the House, considered running for the U. S. Senate in 1992. Cranston is not seeking another six-year term. However, Zschau decided against the race because he wanted to devote all his time to his new business.

The moderate candidate in the 1992 primary is Rep. Tom Campbell of Stanford, a close ally who succeeded Zschau in the House. Campbell’s major conservative opponent in the GOP primary next June is Los Angeles television commentator Bruce Herschensohn. Palm Springs Mayor Sonny Bono also is in the Republican contest.

In addition, Californians will vote next year to fill the final two years of Wilson’s last Senate term. When Wilson resigned to become governor, he appointed state Sen. John Seymour of Anaheim to the seat until the next general election. Seymour, a moderate, is being challenged by Rep. William E. Dannemeyer of Fullerton, a conservative leader.