State GOP Shows Poor Sense of Values

* Let me see if I understand this. The party that wants to lead the nation in its return to traditional values is the same one that gave us Watergate and Irangate. Fine, they say, we learned those lessons, and they are behind us. Not so fast. At the state level we have Curt Pringle’s uniformed guards at a polling place in 1988. Oh, but that’s a while back, and we’ve cleaned up our act, they say. Really? Let’s examine.

This summer, Assemblyman Bill Hoge of Pasadena was initially shunned by his Republican peers for his role in State Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren’s investigation of former state party chairman Michael B. Montgomery on bribery charges. Only after the popularity of Lungren’s action became obvious did party members began speaking out in favor of Hoge’s participation. Not representative, you say?

This year has been marked by unprecedented recalls at the Assembly level that have nothing to do with the original intent of the law. This is an exercise of direct democracy, we’re told. If so, why have all three recalls (Paul Horcher, Mike Machado and Doris Allen) depended upon campaign funds and workers from outside the districts? How direct is that?

When one takes into consideration the GOP’s resistance in both Sacramento and Washington to significant lobbyist and campaign reform, and examines the deleterious effect of the above four examples on the principles of democracy, one can understand why H. Ross Perot was able to gather so many signatures in such a short period of time.

Until the GOP can demonstrate leadership by example, it is at risk to the emergent forces for a third party, one that promises what the other appears to be unwilling to provide. And if there is a new party, it will be conservative, as is the majority. And conservative to me embodies the dreams of Jefferson, Madison, et al., not the authoritarianism that seems to be the drift of today’s GOP. Hopefully, the Republican leadership will recognize this dynamic and clean up its act first.

BRUCE CRAWFORD

Fountain Valley