Suddenly, O.C. Politicians Are on Threshold of Power : Government: GOP sweep in national elections has shifted local lawmakers from fringe to leadership.

To outsiders, Orange County’s brand of Republican politics has seemed like nothing short of right-wing nuttiness.

When judged collectively, the county’s representatives in Sacramento and in Washington have been seen as a band of tightly wound, vitriolic politicians who reveled in the media spotlight that followed some of their more controversial comments on such issues as gay rights, federal funding for the arts and illegal immigration.

But in the political fallout of the Nov. 8 election, during which the GOP gained control of Congress and is on the verge of capturing the state Assembly, some observers now argue that the Republican sweep not only shifted the policy debate to the right, it also placed Orange County politicians on the threshold of power.

Now what? In the aftermath of their ’94 victory, can the Republicans make something of this long-awaited opportunity to seize the reins of power as 1995 unfolds? Will their pugilistic instincts be transformed into legislative pragmatism?

“It depends on them. And what it depends upon is turning what has historically been a negative agenda into a positive one,” said Mark Petracca, a UC Irvine political science professor.

With the exception of Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), who has steadily focused on budgetary issues, the Orange County congressional delegation has been considered by Democrats, and even some Republicans, as “lightweight” or “negative,” Petracca said.

“Let’s not pretend that within the Republican (congressional) delegation, even when it was the minority delegation, that Orange County was being given much attention, because it was not,” he said, adding that the same could be said for the county’s state legislators.

“It’s a real challenge for the party as a whole to go from naysayers--and transforming yourself in a very short period of time without undergoing a series of lobotomies--to a productive party of change,” Petracca said.

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With the state Assembly paralyzed by a battle over which party will take control and elect the next Assembly Speaker, it is still unclear whether Orange County delegates will assume the committee leadership positions they are now poised to take.

But in Congress, the task of assuming new responsibilities has been made easier by the Republicans’ takeover in the House that ended the Democrats’ 40-year reign, said John J. Pitney Jr., a government professor at Claremont McKenna College, who recently co-authored a book on House Republicans.

“Democrats used to say, ‘(Orange County Republicans) are just a bunch of gnats swirling around your ear. You can’t ignore them but they can’t do anything,’ ” Pitney said. “Now you have to take them seriously.”

Clearly, members of the local delegation will have the titles when the next session of Congress is gaveled to order Wednesday. Four of the six members of Orange County’s delegation will ascend to top leadership positions:

* Cox, with his election to head the GOP Policy Committee, will be the fifth-ranking Republican in the House--the highest position for any Californian--and in the small circle of leaders who meet daily with House Speaker-in-waiting Newt Gingrich.

The Newport Beach congressman also has a seat on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, where he will sponsor hearings on proposed securities reforms in light of the Orange County financial crisis, and will serve on a House GOP task force on California, which was created by Gingrich to improve communications with the state government.

* Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), as a member of the money-dealing Appropriations Committee, will head the legislative branch subcommittee and will also serve on the Foreign Operations and Transportation Appropriations subcommittees.

* Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who sits on what is now known as the Armed Services Committee and on the Intelligence Committee, expects to head a subcommittee on each panel, a rarity if it occurs. His top choice is the military forces and personnel subcommittee, which will take on lightning-rod issues such as military pay, gays in the military and the role of women in combat.

* Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), although he did not get his first choice to head the space subcommittee, will chair the energy and environment subcommittee.

The two remaining members of the Orange County delegation, Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and Rep. Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar), are just beginning their second terms, but they promise to be behind-the-scenes players. Kim has been named a sophomore class whip, and Royce, like others in the delegation, is a “Friend of Newt.”

Even without the titles, both Kim and Royce immediately felt the power bestowed upon Republicans after the November election.

Royce said he felt it in the way he was addressed by Democratic colleagues who used to turn up their noses at Republicans.

“I was in the elevator the other day with other Republicans, and one of the Democratic members said to the Republicans, ‘I certainly hope you will treat us the same way we treated you,’ ” Royce recalled. “You can certainly count on it.”

Kim said he got a taste of that power the day after the election. On election eve, his office experienced a major computer breakdown and his staff was told by the repairman that it would take one a week to fix the problem. The morning after the GOP victory, “the very same technician solved the problem in a matter of hours,” Kim said.

Cox said he used to telephone his parents to advise them of an upcoming television appearance. Now, he’s too busy to keep track of his media interviews. “I turned down (CNN’s) ‘Crossfire’ tonight because there’s just too much work to do,” he said recently.

For months, Rohrabacher had battled with the Pentagon for release of $35 million for a reusable rocket developed by McDonnell Douglas Aerospace in Huntington Beach--funds that had been approved last year. Within days of the election, the Clinton Administration announced the funding would resume.

And Dornan said he was treated with reverence while in Europe for the recent anniversary celebration of the Battle of the Bulge.

“I sensed the difference. They were dealing with a chairman from the majority,” Dornan said. “This is power city, and when you are a chairman, you can feel as though they are looking at you.”

Looking and listening.

What once seemed like the meaningless rhetoric of powerless conservative Republicans could now become the mantra of the GOP-controlled Congress.

Pitney, the government professor, said he believes that because the Republican conference has become more conservative, “the Orange County delegation is very much in the mainstream.”

But from his unique position as the highest-ranking Republican in the Clinton Administration, former Orange County businessman and now General Services Administrator Roger W. Johnson suggested that the November election was not an endorsement of conservative ideals, but a call for substantive changes in how the federal government is run.

Johnson said the local delegation should steer toward the center and focus on “substance, not ideology” to gain credibility and influence.

“This county’s delegation will have to change their approach to be effective,” Johnson said. “I think Chris Cox will have to change it the least.”

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If Dornan, the hero of the Rush Limbaugh crowd, is any indication, a line will be drawn between those conservative causes that are “substantive” as opposed to “symbolic.”

Gingrich’s early support for school prayer, for example, was not espoused by Dornan.

“There’s other cultural battles to fight,” Dornan said. “Let that one come up way at the end of (next) year. If we have a big contentious debate on the House floor, it is going to eat away from what we can do.”

What he would like to do, should he become chairman of the military personnel subcommittee, is advance other conservative principles, such as his opposition to married recruits, and his belief that “muscle strength” should determine the roles of women in combat.

A government ban on gays in the military, Dornan added, would send a message that would “make people think about whether this is a destructive lifestyle. That is a significant impact on the culture.”

Political watchers also remind the Republicans that they are coming into power at a point in history when voters have little regard for them, and with the increasingly popular idea of a third political party.

After criticizing Democrats for “pork barrel” politics, the Republicans now have to avoid the temptation of measuring success by the amount of bacon they bring home.

The delegation’s early refusal to seek a federal bailout for Orange County in light of its historic bankruptcy exemplifies the prevailing Republican philosophy against federalism.

“I don’t think the federal government can do anything to help them out,” Packard said. “I don’t think they should have any special dispensation. Besides, we don’t have the money.”

So, as Congress moves to cut government spending, funds for the Santa Ana Courthouse project, the proposed El Toro airport (assuming it survives the bankruptcy debacle), and even Rohrabacher’s space rocket contract, will have to be delivered to the delegation’s districts without the appearance of a contradiction in philosophy.

“It cuts both ways,” said Jim McConnell, Orange County’s lobbyist in Washington. “I am glad that our delegation is going to have increased responsibility and increased opportunity. However, there could be a downside in thinking that because they are there now, we are going to get . . . more money, because there’s not going to be more money available.”

Times staff writer Len Hall in Orange County contributed to this report.