CAMPAIGN NOTES : GOP Conservatives Spurn Wilson, Endorse Unz

The conservative California Republican Assembly declared once again Sunday that Gov. Pete Wilson is not one of them, and voted to endorse a wealthy rival for the GOP primary, Northern California computer magnate Ron Unz.

The decision from the state’s largest conservative grass-roots organization reveals some split in Republican ranks as the governor seeks reelection. But it is nothing new for Wilson, whose 1991 tax increase and support for abortion rights have rankled the party’s right wing.

The audience was so hostile to Wilson that when the moderator asked for a motion to nominate the governor, the only response was a yell from the back of the room: “Get a rope!”

Wilson’s campaign downplayed his differences with the decades-old California Republican Assembly, arguing that the group represents only a small portion of the Republican Party.

“I think the effect of this is zero,” said George Gorton, Wilson’s campaign manager. “The CRA has proven over and over and over again to only be interested in the tiny purist ideological things. This won’t make any difference.”

Unz, meanwhile, has crashed into the governor’s race in just the last two weeks like a hero to conservatives unhappy with Wilson. He is anti-tax, anti-abortion and anti-gay rights.

He has also promised to spend millions from his fortune to finance an intense race for the June 7 primary. His campaign said a series of statewide television commercials is scheduled to begin airing Tuesday.

“The choice you have (is) the Ronald Reagan Republican who stands before you or an ideologically cross-dressing Democrat like our incumbent governor,” Unz told the 300 conventioneers Saturday. “There are four Democrats running for governor--Kathleen Brown, John Garamendi, Tom Hayden and Pete Wilson.”

The California Republican Assembly has endorsed Wilson only once--when he was unopposed by a Republican in his 1988 reelection to the U.S. Senate. The group’s list of endorsements over the last decade also includes far more primary losers than winners.

But it does represent some of the state’s largest political volunteer organizations, which can mobilize thousands of people to help with all of the unglamorous legwork required in a campaign.

On Sunday, the volunteers were gearing up for Unz, whose name lends itself to a number of catchy campaign slogans: “Unzeat Pete,” “Some Unz Got to Do It,” and “Stick to Your Gunz, Vote for Unz.”

Lorelei Kinder, campaign manger for Unz and the only woman to serve as executive director of the state Republican Party, said the endorsement will be particularly important for a campaign that needs fast recognition.

“CRA is the conscience of the party,” she said. “I would consider a CRA endorsement an important anchor for any Republican candidate to have.”

The mood among the delegates was cheerful; they gave standing ovations to the two Arkansas state troopers who alleged last fall that they had witnessed then-Gov. Bill Clinton as a womanizer. Delegates even passed breadbaskets for donations for the officers, and at the head table, officials prayed with them, arm in arm.

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Like all GOP candidates, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Huffington was also invited, but some were still surprised that he showed up. After all, the Santa Barbara congressman is a social moderate, and his two opponents for the GOP nomination to challenge Sen. Dianne Feinstein are conservative heroes who are welcomed at CRA like homecoming soldiers.

Support for former Orange County Rep. William E. Dannemeyer and Riverside attorney Kate Squires was so divided that delegates could not generate the two-thirds majority needed to endorse either one.

Given the conditions, one convention delegate described Huffington as refreshingly naive.

“I think Michael Huffington cares enough to come here knowing that this organization will always look at Bill Dannemeyer as their Uncle Bill,” the delegate said.

Wilson, another moderate Republican and a veteran campaigner, has stayed away from the group’s conventions partly because an abortion rights supporter will never get the group’s backing, and also because there is potential for an embarrassing protest or prank.

So when Huffington plunged into the dinner meeting Friday, stepping from table to table to shake hands and introduce himself, there were some double-takes and disbelieving jabbing of elbows. When Huffington briefly spoke to the group, an aide said he was ready for boos and incredulous that there were none.

Later that evening, at his hospitality suite, Huffington was sometimes forced to defend his support for abortion rights, prompting one woman to take his hand, shake her head and tell him she will pray for him.

Still, his reception was cordial. And some CRA leaders said the candidate probably helped himself just by showing up.

“You give respect, you get respect,” said Steve Frank, a former CRA president. “He understands by his actions that we need a united Republican Party, whereas I don’t think Wilson has figured that out.”

Public polls show all three GOP Senate candidates struggling in obscurity. But state Republican leaders consider Huffington the most likely nominee because he is a millionaire who has promised to finance much of his campaign.

Huffington probably did not change any primary votes here. But CRA President Greg Hardcastle said: “If he is the party’s nominee, this (appearance) will make a difference (in November).”