A Political Maverick With Heart: Bruce Herschensohn : Senate: Authenticity, combined with a no-frills message, has surprisingly propelled him into a neck-and-neck race with Boxer.

Political consultants, journalists and certainly liberals are astonished--and perplexed--by the surge of voter support for Bruce Herschensohn. Most of them thought the better Republican to run for the six-year U.S. Senate seat--Rep. Tom Campbell--had lost in the June primary. How could a candidate, they ask, whose positions on the issues largely dwell on the margins of what they perceive as the “mainstream” political debate be so appealing?

Peggy Noonan, writing in Newsweek just before the Republican National Convention, counseled George Bush that “everyone understands everything.” That is, the American electorate is highly cognizant of the tricks that go with politics-as-usual. Herschensohn, it seems, is one of the few candidates to have heeded her advice and spurned traditional “fool-em” politics.

In his campaigning, Herschensohn’s political ancestor is the English parliamentarian F. E. Smith, the first Earl of Birkenhead. Winston Churchill, in an essay, described Smith as “remarkably consistent in opinion. . . . His manner was so quiet, so reasonable, so matter-of-fact and sensible, that you could feel opinion being changed; and promptly, as he warmed to his subject, there grew that glow of conviction and appeal, instinctive and priceless, which constitutes true eloquence.”

Put less flamboyantly, Herschensohn comes across to voters as extraordinarily credible--he can be taken at his word, regardless of the political difficulty that may cause for him. His air of authenticity and obvious passion for ideas, spoken directly and clearly, without apology and apparent packaging, are at the root of his burgeoning appeal. Surprisingly, the public seems to have an appetite for detail, as well. Most important, his non-pretentious, non-threatening style softens what many liberals may consider the harder edges of his message.

Herschensohn redefined the campaign’s agenda long before September’s polls began picking up his charge, however. He has reminded the California electorate of many of its deeply felt beliefs. He rejected the liberal view of the “mainstream” and championed the “mainstream” of the middle class.

The vast majority of Californians support the death penalty (though I do not) and stiff sentencing. Healthy majorities believe the right to own and use guns is sacred. Hundreds of thousands of Californians have suffered because of the environmental movement’s extremism, whether it be $100-million kangaroo rat bailouts, farmers straight-jacketed by wetlands rules or small businesses pushed to the brink of insolvency by the incoherent demands of the Air Quality Management District. Most parents are dismayed by a school system that cannot seem to improve no matter how much it is studied or how much money is thrown at it.

Herschensohn has dutifully reminded Californians of these beliefs he shares with them. He also has pushed an idea with equal, if not greater, resonance--government simplicity. His flat-tax proposal is debated by economists, but the idea behind it is indisputably seductive: Why can’t the government make it easier for taxpayers to pay their share? Why are Medicare forms indecipherable?

When he tapped into voter dismay--and anger--at a hydra-headed government grown bloated, indifferent and often nakedly hostile to their problems, Herschensohn hit a mother lode of potential support. Hiram Johnson successfully mined this populist territory long ago. Herschensohn seems to have reclaimed it.

Although a curious hybrid of Progressive, Populist and ardent Constitutionalist, Herschensohn is only radical in his unabashed identification with the concerns of ordinary Californians. Put another way, he is not all that Republican. Many in the political press label him an “ultraconservative,” but this routine characterization has apparently not hurt him this campaign. He is not a George Murphy--Herschensohn is much smarter. He is not a Max Rafferty--Herschensohn has a sense of humor. He is closer to Ronald Reagan--Herschensohn’s charm can be disarming, his integrity and passion inspiring.

Conventional wisdom argues that Herschensohn’s gathering strength is less of his making than Boxer’s undoing--specifically, her campaign’s failure to promptly respond to Herschensohn’s TV ads, which remind voters of Boxer’s ultraliberal views, her 143 bounced checks and 40% pay raise as a member of Congress. TV tactics aside, Boxer did not help herself by concentrating on a handful of issues. Even on abortion, which she believed to be the decisive issue, Herschensohn captured some ground by striving to transcend the clash of pro-life and pro-choice rhetoric. In arguing that Roe vs. Wade must be overturned, he contends the states, acting through their legislatures, must decide the abortion issue, not nine unelected justices. Political compromise can only be achieved legislatively, he contends.

If Herschensohn pulls off the upset of the year on Tuesday, will he be an effective voice for California in the tradition-bound, clubby atmosphere of the U.S. Senate? To the extent that integrity, intellectual rigor and compassion can be persuasive forces, Herschensohn will hold his own, possibly even offsetting his lack of seniority. Short of that, Jack F. Kemp and William G. Bennett will have a point man in the Senate, not a bad outcome.

California Newspapers Fill Out Their Ballots

Californians are getting advice from their local newspapers on how to vote next Tuesday. The Times surveyed 26 publications for their endorsements for the presidency, the two Senate races and the more controversial ballot initiatives. For details on all 13 ballot propositions, see Monday’s Op-Ed Page.

NEWSPAPER PRESIDENT SENATOR SENATOR (SHORT) (LONG) Anderson Val. Advertiser (Boonville) Daniels Horne Boxer Bakersfield Californian Clinton Seymour Boxer Contra Costa Times Clinton Feinstein Boxer Fresno/Modesto/Sacramento Bee Clinton Feinstein Boxer Imperial Valley Press (El Centro) Bush Seymour N La Opinion (Los Angeles) Clinton Feinstein Boxer Long Beach Press-Telegram Bush Feinstein Boxer Los Angeles Daily News Bush Feinstein Hersch. Los Angeles Sentinel Clinton Feinstein Boxer Marin Independent Journal Clinton Feinstein Boxer Merced Sun-Star Clinton N N Modoc County Record (Alturas) Clinton N N Monterey Herald Clinton Seymour Boxer Napa Register N N N Oakland Tribune Clinton Feinstein Boxer Orange County Register N N N Peninsula Times Tribune Clinton Feinstein Boxer Record Searchlight (Redding) Bush N N Riverside Press-Enterprise Clinton Feinstein N San Diego Union Bush Seymour Hersch. San Francisco Chronicle Bush Feinstein N San Jose Mercury News Clinton Feinstein Boxer Santa Barbara News-Press Clinton Feinstein Hersch. Santa Rosa Press Democrat Clinton Feinstein Boxer Visalia Times-Delta Clinton Seymour Boxer Watsonville Register-Pajaronian Clinton Feinstein Boxer

NEWSPAPER PROP. PROP. PROP. PROP. PROP. 161 164 165 166 167 Anderson Val. Advertiser (Boonville) Yes Yes No No Yes Bakersfield Californian No No No No No Contra Costa Times No No No No No Fresno/Modesto/Sacramento Bee No No No No No Imperial Valley Press (El Centro) No No Yes No No La Opinion (Los Angeles) No No No No Yes Long Beach Press-Telegram No No No No No Los Angeles Daily News No Yes Yes No No Los Angeles Sentinel N No No No No Marin Independent Journal Yes No No No No Merced Sun-Star No No Yes No No Modoc County Record (Alturas) N N N N N Monterey Herald No No No No No Napa Register No No No No No Oakland Tribune No No No No Yes Orange County Register No Yes Yes No No Peninsula Times Tribune No No No No No Record Searchlight (Redding) No No Yes No No San Bernardino Sun No No No No No San Diego Union No No Yes No No San Francisco Chronicle No Yes Yes No No San Jose Mercury News No No No No No Santa Barbara News-Press No No Yes No No Santa Rosa Press Democrat No No No No No Visalia Times-Delta No No No No No Watsonville Register-Pajaronian N No No No No

NOTE: U = Underclared / N = No recommendation.