Orange County Voices : COMMENTARY ON THE ELECTION : GOP Sweep Could Usher in Era of Clout for Local Republicans : Christopher Cox, Dana Rohrabacher and Roger Johnson could all benefit, especially under a Wilson presidency.

Gus Owen is perched this morning on what Lyndon Johnson liked to call the “catbird seat.”

He is a longtime friend of House Speaker-in-waiting Newt Gingrich, and his confirmation to the Interstate Commerce Commission was backed by Bob Dole, new leader of the Senate. And let us not forget that Owen’s wife, developer Kathryn Thompson, is a confidante of President Bill Clinton. Through hard work, patience and not a little moxie, the Owen-Thompson clan is well placed indeed following Tuesday’s election.

For local Republican stalwarts like Owen, former head of the GOP’s powerful Lincoln Club, last Wednesday morning dawned sweet indeed.

Republican Jim Morrisey’s election to the state Assembly means that not an inch of Orange County will be represented in the state Legislature by a Democrat. Other than a few months after former state Sen. Paul Carpenter resigned to join the State Board of Equalization, it’s the first time no Democrat has had a voice for at least some corner or strip of Orange County since 1956--and even then there was a vacant seat, later filled by a Democrat. In fact, it has been 51 years since every one of the county’s legislative offices was filled by the GOP.

Jim Silva, who worked his way up from relative obscurity to become a county supervisor, keeps all five (putatively nonpartisan) board seats squarely Republican. With all local congressional offices held by conservative Republicans and a 100% Republican Board of Supervisors, it may be the first time ever that all elected officials above the city level are Republican. We have finally lived up to our national reputation as undiluted Republican territory. Small comfort for the four out of 10 residents who call themselves Democrats.

Newt Gingrich’s ascendancy in Congress has profound implications for Orange County. We’re not used to having members of Congress who can actually shape legislation, since the GOP has been out of power in the House for 40 years. When we needed help with major public works, county business people turned to Los Angeles’ Rep. Glen Anderson, a Democrat, to shepherd bills through the House.

All that has changed.

Newport Beach’s Rep. Christopher Cox is widely regarded as one of the smartest and wisest on the Republican back bench. Cox is a former deputy White House counsel to Ronald Reagan, an expert on Eastern Europe and Russia and a budget hawk. Since he took office, he has published an annual report on the federal government similar to what a corporation gives its stockholders. Look for Cox to now get his annual report published nationally. And, hopefully, Cox will also succeed in his persistent efforts to roll back the 100% increase in beer taxes that George Bush and a Democratically controlled Congress rammed through in 1991. Dana Rohrabacher, with a scythe-like pen sharpened as a writer for Ronald Reagan, will also play a key role in the new House whether or not he receives a titled post.

Ironically, GOP gains in the Congress may be good news for one Clinton Administration figure--Laguna Beach’s Roger Johnson, head of the General Services Administration and the highest-ranking Republican on the Clinton team. Johnson has faced great frustration trying to reinvent the federal government but often meeting roadblocks from at least one powerful Democratic committee chair--former chair, that is. Johnson has Clinton’s confidence, and he could become a major resource for the President’s people as they grapple with the new realities of Sodom on the Potomac in the days of Newt and Bob.

Orange County also gained huge prestige through the reelection of Gov. Pete Wilson. Wilson, the West Coast “Comeback Kid,” turned to Orange County for a major share of his margin of victory and for plenty of financial support. Visionary landowner Donald Bren trained with Wilson in the Marine Corps and has played an important role in every one of the governor’s elections. California Secretary of Commerce Julie Wright, from Mission Viejo, would be a strong favorite for a Cabinet post in a national Wilson Administration, and county Supervisors Gaddi H. Vasquez and William G. Steiner would undoubtedly be tapped for major posts as well.

Did I mention a federal Administration headed by Pete Wilson?

Richard Nixon--probably the smartest political consultant ever--predicted shortly before his death that Wilson would win reelection as governor, go on to win the GOP nomination for President, then win the whole banana in 1996.

It’s far from impossible. While many Orange County Republicans (your erstwhile correspondent proudly included) abandoned George Bush in favor of Bill Clinton, Pete Wilson held loyalty from the vast majority of us. Through his years as a mayor, a state legislator, a U.S. senator and a governor, Wilson has always appealed to the mainstream, not to the fringes where hatred breeds and elections are lost.

Consider this scenario: Favorite son Pete Wilson wins all of California’s Republican delegate votes in the March, 1996, winner-take-all primary. As the champion of Proposition 187, he takes his anti-illegal-immigrant message to vote-rich Texas and Florida, states facing immigration issues similar to our own. He picks up big numbers of delegates in these and other proportional-representation states, though his moderate views make him a front-runner nowhere. At the convention, Wilson and longtime friend and former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney cut a deal to join their delegates, with Wilson as the nominee for President and Cheney as vice president.

The man to arrange the deal is Stu Spencer of Newport Beach. Spencer, mastermind of Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaigns, met Wilson when the latter served as an advance person for Richard Nixon’s 1960 campaign. He has been a close adviser and friend of the governor since Wilson first ran for the state Assembly 30 years ago. Spencer worked with Cheney in the Gerald Ford White House, and they have been friends and political allies since. If anyone could broker this kind of long-term plan, it is Spencer; and Stu is probably the best handler to put the game together against President Clinton’s back-room expert, James Carville.

It could happen. Or not.

If Wilson becomes President, Democrat Gray Davis becomes governor in his place--not necessarily bad news, considering Davis’ strong working relationship with most of California’s major employers, but a tough issue for Wilson to discuss with some party loyalists.

There were huge Republican gains throughout the state, which could result in the end of Willie Brown’s historic tenure as Speaker of the state Assembly. It would be ironic indeed if Brown were to be unseated just as he has built a working relationship with Wilson and much of the business community to reform workers’ compensation and corporate tax laws and help keep companies like Taco Bell in the state.

And while the GOP swept the field for most of the state constitutional offices, voters rejected two Republican extremists, lieutenant governor hopeful Cathie Wright and state controller nominee Tom McClintock. Unlike Wilson, Wright and McClintock are anti-choice and anti-gay and favor government funding of religious schools. Just as voters in Virginia wisely rejected Ollie North, so did Californians pick moderate Democrat Dianne Feinstein for the U.S. Senate and two qualified moderate Democrats for important state posts rather than make a hard right turn with McClintock and Wright.

Despite all the Republican gains, there were warning signs for the GOP that voters are not the fools that some people seem to believe. A Republican once said, “You can’t fool all the people all the time.” Someone should have mentioned this to Mike Huffington, whose campaign was headed by former Orange County Supervisor Bruce Nestande.

Not since William Randolph Hearst tried to buy his way into the Senate has anyone attempted such a shameless scheme to purchase high office.

At least Hearst was a Californian.