Wilson Back on Stump, Hails Film’s Example

Opening a daylong summit meeting on family unity and fatherhood, Gov. Pete Wilson used an acclaimed Hollywood movie Tuesday to demonstrate the kind of positive role models needed to help youths avoid tragic lives.

In his first public speech since throat surgery more than two months ago, the California governor ventured into a national debate about the moral responsibility of popular culture by agreeing with Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole that excessive sex and violence in music and movies contribute to social decay.

But Wilson also differed with his chief Republican presidential rival’s scathing attack on the industry earlier this month by highlighting a movie the governor considered a contribution to social understanding.

Wilson said the film “Boyz ‘N the Hood,” depicting a single father in South-Central Los Angeles who counsels his son against violent solutions, illustrates the message he hoped to convey Tuesday through his forum called “The Fathers Summit.”

“Every kid deserves a father to play that role,” Wilson said to an invited audience of about 300 activists at the Burbank Hilton Convention Center. “And that’s why we are gathered here today, to talk not just about the costs when a father doesn’t play that role, but what we must do to ensure that more men do play that role.”

Wilson organized Tuesday’s conference to draw attention to the nurturing role that fathers play in raising children and the government policies--especially regarding marriage, divorce and welfare--that he says sometimes discourage their involvement.

As for the governor’s voice, it appears that full recovery is still weeks away. His voice was strained and broke frequently into high tones, and his remarks were kept brief. Wilson spoke for a total of 27 minutes--15 in the morning and 12 at the close of the session.

The governor’s presidential campaign has floundered since the surgery to remove a callus on his vocal cords, and he has been set back by a string of controversies. As a result, he has been left out of the media attention that has gone to his Republican presidential opponents.

Wilson’s comments Tuesday were timed to put his name back into the headlines, framing a crucial political debate about values and families around familiar box-office hits.

Like Dole’s, Wilson’s appeal is also targeted to influential conservative groups that have made popular culture and moral responsibility their top priorities ever since Vice President Dan Quayle raised the issue in connection with the “Murphy Brown” TV show during the 1992 presidential campaign.

“It is wrong, simply wrong, to profit from selling this trash to children,” Wilson said. “It’s not a matter of censorship--it’s a matter of common decency.”

The governor met privately with about 40 top Hollywood executives Monday evening in Bel-Air, where he expressed some of the same complaints that Dole raised when he said violent movies often “mainstream deviancy.”

Aides said the three-hour meeting, which included industry leaders such as Disney’s Michael Eisner, QVC’s Barry Diller and movie producer Jerry Weintraub, was called to encourage Hollywood executives to institute self-censorship through such measures as labeling music inappropriate for youngsters.

Wilson told the group that he opposed government-mandated restrictions, but he warned that the industry would probably be targeted for new federal laws if it did not take some voluntary action.

The governor’s aides insisted that Wilson was not following a lead set by Dole, but they were unable to identify an area where the two Republicans disagree on issues involving popular culture today.

Except for citing a broad, ongoing dialogue with entertainment leaders, Wilson aides were also unable to provide evidence that the governor has shown concern about violent movies and industry self-restraint before his interest in the presidential race.

At the fathers summit, Wilson was also blasted as a hypocrite by a group of protesters who said he was trying to portray himself as a caring governor while promoting a series of uncaring policies.

Specifically, the group of about 40 demonstrators complained about Wilson’s sharp cuts in the state welfare budget, his plan to abolish affirmative action laws and his support for Proposition 187, the successful ballot initiative to bar illegal immigrants from public services.

The protesters complained that Wilson is seeking cuts in social programs to pay for a 15% state income tax cut he has also proposed.

At least half a dozen demonstrators, who eluded heavy security to join the audience inside, were dragged out by police when they rushed toward the podium immediately after Wilson began his remarks about 8:30 a.m. The demonstrators included a woman carrying a baby and a man who attempted to unfurl a banner in front of the governor, who did not flinch at the surprise interruption.

The fathers summit fulfilled a promise Wilson made last January during his State of the State speech, in which he expressed concern that government policy focuses almost exclusively on women and mothers, sometimes to the detriment of fathers performing their important roles.

Testimony from about two dozen experts ranged from the emotional, tear-filled stories by a heartbroken father and a former gang member to social workers describing the value of role models and to think-tank analysts who explained the economic impact on the nation.

The government was portrayed as promoting a system that treats all fathers as hostile, useless and uncaring.

“It is very discouraging when a father simply asks for time in his child’s life and a judge ignores his request,” said Reginald Brass, founder of My Child Says Daddy, a nonprofit organization to help African American fathers raise their children.

Brass drew a standing ovation from the audience after he broke down in tears while describing his own tortuous course through divorce proceedings. “Most fathers just become devastated,” he said.

Several speakers listed statistics to demonstrate a strong link between fatherless families and children who grow up to be problems for society.

Last year, more than a quarter of American children were growing up without their fathers--a fourfold increase since 1950, experts said. In California, it is estimated that one in two children will spend time in a broken home before turning 18.

Out-of-wedlock births rose from 4% in 1940 to about 30% in 1992, experts said. The increase in never-married mothers accounts for more than half of the jump in welfare rolls during the last five years.

“We are running out of time as a culture,” said Wade F. Horn, director of the National Fatherhood Institute. “Soon, very soon, the majority of our children will be raised in a home without their fathers.”

In his closing remarks, Wilson cited four areas in which government should seek reform: combatting teen-age pregnancy, promoting marriage, recognizing a father’s role in family development and insisting that parents be responsible for their children.