Time for the Delegation to Step Forward : It’s a New Era--Let’s Hope Our Congressmen Use Their Influence to Benefit O.C.

These ought to be the best of times for an Orange County congressional delegation used to minority status. A Times Orange County Poll conducted before the election found that almost two out of three respondents could not name any of this group, and only a very small percentage believed it had “a lot of influence.”

In general, voters also were found to be frustrated with Washington politics in general, showering equal blame on Republicans, Democrats and President Clinton for gridlock at the federal level. That was before the strong Republican tide swept ashore in the Nov. 8 election. Suddenly, this largely anonymous six-member Orange County delegation was in the majority party, flush with success.

What will they make of their newfound visibility, and would a similar survey taken a year into the reign of likely House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) find any more familiarity with the work of this group?

Orange County is one of the most dominant Republican landscapes. Almost everybody with presidential aspirations passes this way at one time or other. A stronghold of Republican strength would figure to have a measure of influence. Certainly, this group has paid its dues politically even if it is short on seniority. Rep. Robert K. Dornan of Garden Grove, for example, was the most loyal of troopers for former President George Bush.

While many are unfamiliar with the delegation, the people who do go to the polls regularly have returned these incumbents, and done so despite some of their more extreme positions or statements. Certainly, given the importance of Orange County in the Republican universe, the leadership ought to find meaningful places for these representatives. This, in turn, would benefit Orange County.

The local congressmen currently are lining up with the others, looking for the top assignments. Rep. Christopher Cox, certainly the most respected, is a likely chairman of the subcommittee on commerce, consumer and monetary affairs of the Committee on Government Operations. He ought to be a leader. Dornan, always outspoken, lost seniority when he moved from his former Santa Monica district to Orange County. Still, if he could land the chair of an armed services subcommittee he could be in a position to put talk aside and really do something significant for, say, the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Overall, the changed dynamics in the Congress are likely to pose a host of fresh tests for the delegation. In a suddenly different era, let’s see what they can do for Orange County.