Buchanan Has Many Friends in O.C., but Few Supporters

Republican challenger Patrick J. Buchanan would certainly find a lot of friends among Orange County’s conservative ranks, but so far, it is not a place where he would find much support for his insurgent presidential campaign.

Despite his surprisingly strong showing in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, Buchanan’s support in Orange County is limited to a few dozen volunteers. Several of the county’s key conservative leaders--some of whom are personal friends of both Buchanan and his sister Angela of Irvine--said they are not yet ready to break ranks with President Bush.

“Orange County is not New Hampshire,” said Buck Johns, a Newport Beach developer and prominent conservative activist. “I think the President has done a good job on the whole and there are areas where we would like to see a better performance but, sure, you support Bush.”

Johns was one of three prominent Orange County conservatives who helped finance Angela (Bay) Buchanan’s unsuccessful campaign for state treasurer in 1990. Angela Buchanan, who once served as U.S. treasurer for President Ronald Reagan, left Orange County in December to become campaign manager for her brother’s White House bid.

Buchanan did better than expected in New Hampshire’s primary Tuesday, gaining 37% of the vote compared to Bush’s 53%.

Even those in Orange County who are not ready to join Buchanan’s campaign said they were happy to see his strong performance. At the least, they said, it should force the President to pay closer attention to conservative issues.

“I think it was great, it was ideal,” said John Cronin, a prominent member of the county’s prestigious Lincoln Club. “I think it sends a message to the people and to the Administration.”

Cronin said he still believes that Bush is most likely to win reelection, but he said he is waiting to see whether the White House becomes more sensitive to conservative issues before he commits his support to the President.

But throughout Orange County’s Republican Establishment, there was little sign of weakness in Bush’s support. None of the county’s state or federal officeholders--who include some of the most conservative lawmakers in Washington and Sacramento--have endorsed Buchanan.

Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) has actually become Bush’s most prominent conservative supporter, speaking to audiences around the country to generate support for the President.

An aide to U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn, whose campaign is based in Newport Beach, said the conservative television commentator also “wholeheartedly supports Bush.”

Conservative Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) also said Buchanan has not produced many supporters in Orange County yet, but he said the challenger could do well in California’s primary against Bush if he maintained a credible campaign through June.

“He’s not going to have support until he proves he can at least win a state,” Ferguson said. “I don’t know if people are ready to (vote against Bush), but Pat Buchanan has been expressing a lot of the frustration of conservatives in California.”

Orange County Republican Party Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes said, however, that local GOP voters are, by nature, loyalists who recognize the value in maintaining allegiance to their party’s standard bearer.

“I think, overwhelmingly, there is tremendous loyalty to the President among Orange County Republicans,” he said. “I’ve detected no Buchanan organization at all.”

Fuentes also noted that Bush, Vice President Dan Quayle and several top Administration officials have made frequent trips to Orange County. “We have had a tremendous liaison with the Bush Administration in this community, and that is the kind of thing that helps soothe any discontent,” he said.

Buchanan’s campaign has been in contact with a group of volunteers in Orange County who held their first meeting two weeks ago in Newport Beach. About 70 people showed up for its second meeting this week, one of the group’s directors said.

Erick Kyle, a commercial video maker, said he and many of the people who gathered to support Buchanan have not been active in Republican politics before. But he said they are committed to spreading the campaign’s message throughout Orange County, in part through the production of a Buchanan video.

“We are going to make sure that everyone gets to hear exactly what he believes in,” Kyle said. Referring to the conservative leaders who are still supporting Bush, Kyle said: “We realize they are not ready yet, but they will jump from Bush’s sinking ship like white mice.”