State’s First Straw Poll Stirs Political Fires

If you’re a harried presidential candidate, you’ve got to be thinking that America needs another straw poll like it needs another mail order catalog or blue jay. You’re getting by on little sleep and clinging to sanity, when out in wacky California somebody organizes the campaign’s zillionth straw poll, this one on the weekend before the pivotal Iowa caucuses.

“It’s a big pain in the butt. It’s stupid,” grumbles one campaign strategist, who asked for anonymity. “It’s like, there goes California again--trying to play in the big leagues and they’re not, so why don’t they just accept it.

“California’s not a player in the primaries and never will be. But it will play in the Super Bowl in November.”

On the other hand, if you’re the chairman of the California Republican Party--and have played in a truly big league, Ronald Reagan’s Cabinet--you’re not intimidated by wannabe presidents, let alone wannabe White House advisors. You see a straw poll as a way to generate enthusiasm among bored party activists and raise money for state GOP coffers.

“This is legitimate party building,” says chairman John Herrington, former energy secretary. “It gets people excited about the presidential race. I don’t think Californians really are excited yet. It gets people arguing and lights their fire.

“It’s fun. And if you’re not having fun in politics, you shouldn’t be in it.”

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A straw poll, in theory, is meaningless. It has no direct impact on the selection of national convention delegates. People--usually party activists--vote for their favorite candidate, ordinarily plunking down a few bucks for the privilege at some state party convention.

The biggest problem with straw polls is that they’re taken too seriously by the news media, which ballyhoos them as a gauge of the candidates’ organizing skills. The most ludicrous example last year was an Iowa straw poll, where Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and Texas Sen. Phil Gramm finished in a tie. News accounts portrayed this an embarrassing setback for front-runner Dole, who then contributed to the hype by dumping his Iowa campaign manager.

It’s highly unlikely California’s straw poll will achieve such specious stature. That’s because the poll results will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 11 at the state GOP convention, and the next day there will be real voting in the Iowa caucuses. The national news media will have something legitimately significant to report.

Still, who can predict how Iowa voters would react to another “embarrassing” straw poll “setback” by Dole, right on the eve of their caucuses?

“I don’t think it’s going to have much impact,” says Steven A. Merksamer, a Dole advisor and longtime state GOP operative. He adds, “I’m not unhappy California is doing this. California needs to be active. I just wish we had an earlier primary.”

The other, anonymous strategist puts it this way: “Do you really think an Iowa farmer gives a rat what a Californian thinks?”

What irritates this advisor and others is that their candidates are being pressured to leave Iowa two days before the crucial caucuses and fly halfway across the country to campaign in a pointless convention straw poll.

“It’s like a local high school having its talent show the night the Rolling Stones are in town,” says Dan Schnur, former spokesman for Gov. Pete Wilson. “It’s not a bad idea, but the timing could be better.”

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Says Herrington: “I tell the candidates, ‘You’re invited. You can come, not come. We’re still having the poll.’ ”

The 3,000 delegates can cast straw ballots at the convention, but this is mostly a vote-by-mail poll. In all, 200,000 ballots were mailed Jan. 9 to party faithful. They were asked to attach a minimum check of $25 “to help defeat Bill Clinton.”

Herrington wasn’t sure what to expect; this is California’s first-ever state straw poll. Now the party leader thinks he has found a gold vein.

As of Friday, 8,656 ballots had been returned, presumably each with at least $25. That would total $216,400. But “a substantial number,” Herrington reports, contain checks of up to $500 or $1,000. He’s about to mail out another 300,000 ballots, and maybe more.

“This is big,” he says. “There’s lots of interest out there.”

In Los Angeles, the county GOP has picked up on the idea and added Hollywood entertainment and high-tech. It hopes on Saturday, March 2--about three weeks before the March 26 primary--to hold a $25 per person straw poll on the Paramount Studios’ back lot, using a 900-number and the Internet for ballot boxes. All candidates are invited--like it or not.

And why not? It may be inconvenient, but election seasons aren’t just for candidates. The party should be fun.