Young GOP Stalwart Emerges as Hot Property in Gingrich Era

Angry House Democrats were sending in their rhetorical heavyweights for a nasty floor fight over Speaker Newt Gingrich’s controversial book deal, and the Republicans needed a cool hand grasping the presiding officer’s gavel.

Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts was one of several battle-hardened Democrats dispatched to howl at Republicans for flouting their own new rule about tinkering with remarks in the Congressional Record. The GOP was on thin ice and it wasn’t going to be a pleasant interlude for the lucky member picked for the assignment.

Who are you going to call? Rep. David Dreier, the ever-smiling, persistently upbeat Republican gladiator from San Dimas who has emerged as one of the party’s hot young properties in the Gingrich Era.

“They brought him because he wouldn’t get flustered,” said Frank.

“He knows the rules . . . and brings a nice demeanor to the chair,” echoed Rep. Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.), the GOP’s parliamentary ace.

The episode was quintessential Dreier. Photogenic, youthful (42), profoundly loyal to the party, he radiates the kind of enthusiastic, let-me-do-it attitude that bosses love--and even opponents grudgingly admire.

“He’s a decent, straightforward conservative,” the liberal Frank said.

Easily elected in November to his eighth term from his San Gabriel Valley district, Dreier has earned a reputation as a hard worker who doesn’t stray from core Republican beliefs. Such consistency has made him a member of Gingrich’s kitchen cabinet.

“Newt has a wonderful perspective,” Dreier said, “and I’ve given him a lot of recommendations. The confidence that the Speaker has shown in me is very gratifying.”

With the GOP takeover of the House, Dreier has acquired several new positions that give him added clout. He is a member of the Republican Steering Committee, and recently Gingrich named him the chairman of a special task force on California.

But Dreier considers his vice chairmanship of the House Rules Committee to be his most important power base. The committee authors no legislation, but controls the flow of bills to the floor and the all-important terms of debate.

“Every major piece of legislation has to come through us,” Dreier said. “It’s clearly become the most important committee in Congress.”

Dreier’s “reverence for the institution”--and the headline-grabbing scandals at the House bank and post office--led him to push for a seat on the Joint Committee on the Reorganization of Congress, a bipartisan internal reform group organized in the last Congress. He was named a vice chairman of the committee, but its recommendations got nowhere under Democratic dominion.

But after the November elections, Gingrich asked Dreier to devise a plan to overhaul the 50-year-old House committee system. On opening day, the House axed three committees, renamed almost half of the remaining panels, cut staff by a third and put term limits on committee chairmen--reforms that both parties agreed were long overdue.

No one faults Dreier’s industry or intelligence. But some House colleagues would like to see a tiny crack in his bedrock conservatism.

“The kind of people I like to deal with--no matter what their politics--are educable and independent-minded,” said Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), who has spent countless hours observing Dreier in the cozy Rules Committee room where Beilenson also serves. “David is a down-the-line, extremely conservative Republican, and he doesn’t vary.”

Ironically, Dreier says he feels the same way. “In many ways I find a number of colleagues who are Democrats much more interesting. Their different backgrounds and different interests intrigue me.”

The son of a Kansas City Eagle Scout (“he never lets me forget it”), Dreier exhibits the unmistakable signs of a highly organized man. His erect bearing, boyish demeanor and Trumanesque walking pace are the product of an intense daily physical regimen, which includes 75 pushups, 300 stomach crunches and a two- to three-mile jog. In bad weather a stair-climbing machine suffices.

Consistent with his Boy Scout image, Dreier has taken the Scout motto (“Be prepared”) to heart. He has the largest pool of campaign money in the House--$2.28 million--awaiting a surprise challenger or a reapportioned district. Or, perhaps, a run for the U.S. Senate, the only office that holds interest for him--other than the chairmanship of the Rules Committee.

The next Senate seat comes open in 1998 and happens to belong to Barbara Boxer--Dreier’s next-door neighbor in Washington. “We disagree on a wide range of issues, but she’s a lot of fun,” Dreier said.

With the Republican congressional revolution, Dreier says he’s never worked harder. “It’s overwhelming in so many ways,” he said, “the commuting back and forth, the strain on relationships.”

Two engagements and “a couple of near misses” haven’t panned out.

“Having said all that, I am extremely pleased with what’s happening and it’s given me great satisfaction.”

‘Contract With America’

* The text of the Republican “contract with America” is available on the TimesLink on-line service. Also available are profiles of House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other GOP leaders. Sign on and click “Special Reports” in the Nation & World section.

Details on Times electronic services, A6