Speaker Has Momentum--but in Reverse

Wily Willie Brown, the master magician and survivor supreme, says the first Republican Speaker in a quarter-century “just has to ride the storm” to hang on to the job given her by gleeful Democrats.

Let the angry Republicans--”so tragically disappointed in their own inability to succeed”--continue to vent their spleen, he says. “Every day they lose a bit more credibility and she gains more acceptance.”

Nobody would question Brown’s wisdom in these matters, having held the speakership longer than anyone else. But his protege, Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress), now seems even less acceptable to her GOP colleagues than when the week began.

Two Republicans who sided with Allen on Monday morning later abandoned her following the nastiest, most uncivil Assembly floor session in memory. Venom spewed from Allen and her enemies alike.

Afterward, Assemblyman Jan Goldsmith (R-Poway), who had presided over the session as Allen’s No. 2, said he wanted no part of her leadership. Newcomer Bob Margett (R-Arcadia), elected only last week, said a seat on the powerful Rules Committee wasn’t worth the loyalty she demanded.

That left Allen as of Wednesday afternoon with only two allies among 39 Republicans--Assemblymen Bernie Richter of Chico and Brian Setencich of Fresno. It’s two more than she started with 10 days ago when all 39 Democrats elected her Speaker. But it’s not nearly enough to lead the Assembly. And her momentum is in reverse.

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Allen has not been able to punish enemies without crippling the house because she can’t make enough friends to hand out rewards. She can’t fire committee chairs unless she can recruit replacements.

Nobody will accept her offer to become GOP floor leader, the job long held by Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga. Republicans say it’s their right to choose a floor leader.

Actually, according to a formal opinion issued by the legislative counsel, Brown probably should be Allen’s floor leader. Legislative rules, the attorney says, “define the majority not as the party with the largest membership, but as those legislators who combined to elect the Speaker.” So Allen and Democrats constitute the “majority”; Brulte and Republicans the “minority.” The Speaker, according to the rules, appoints a majority leader to be her “personal representative on the floor.” Party membership is irrelevant.

Punctuating the point about who leads the GOP, 37 Assembly Republicans on Wednesday signed a letter to “political insiders” and lobbyists. “We wanted to let you know,” it said, “that our leader is Jim Brulte. Also, there is only one [Republican] Campaign Committee.” It then listed the address where campaign checks should be sent.

The subtle message: Ignore Allen’s invitation to a $1,000-per-person “Speaker’s” fund-raiser on June 26.

That’s what a lot of this is all about, of course--not just which party controls public policy, but who collects campaign money. When Democrats cut a deal with Allen to assure them of an even split on the most important Assembly committees, it protected their ability to kill GOP bills and also attract special interest juice.

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The ugly family fight continues today on the Assembly floor. Republicans are testing Allen, trying to prove she’s a Willie Brown puppet to fuel an Orange County recall movement gaining momentum.

Brown says this time Allen should preside herself. “If you challenge me,” he says, “that’s when I preside. Because from the chair I can do a helluva lot more than sitting out there on the floor debating.”

What the Republicans don’t yet understand, Brown says, is that “no matter what they do, she’s still in charge. They can’t remove her. In a democracy, once you lose, you ought to acknowledge the people who wiped you out. It’s not the end of the world. We’re not in that situation where the losers are all shot.”

But the GOP doesn’t think this war is over.

And Allen does have another alternative, one nobody is talking about. She could heed the advice of the late Sen. George Aiken (R-Vt.), who said of the Vietnam War: “Declare victory and get out.”

Allen could step down, taking satisfaction in having denied Brulte the speakership and being the first woman ever to hold the job. She could virtually handpick a successor, someone mutually acceptable to herself and other Republicans. Two possibilities: Fred Aquiar of Chino, her original choice as Rules Committee chairman, who would become the first Latino Speaker, and Charles S. Poochigian of Fresno, whom she intends to appoint Budget Committee chairman.

But such a noble, practical move would be very unlike any politician.