Speech Therapy : Beilenson and Gallegly Find Some Common Ground in Clinton Address

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) spent a good portion of President Clinton’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night sitting quietly with his hands in his lap. Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), on the other hand, jumped to his feet repeatedly to cheer on his president.

The speech brought Democrats and Republicans together into the same room but it did not necessarily bridge the wide gap between the two parties or forge any new ground in the stalled budget talks.

“I sat there and I certainly recognized the president with due applause and ovation on things I believe in,” Gallegly said. “On the issues I could not support, I tried to sit there and respect the office.”

Beilenson, whose district stretches into Thousand Oaks, said he appreciated Clinton’s appeal to the nation’s leaders to work together. Beilenson has frequently stated his frustration with the bitter partisanship in the House.

With both parties attempting to maximize their political points, Gallegly, Beilenson and the rest of the House members received coaching before the speech began.

Republican leaders had sent word out that the booing during last year’s State of the Union reflected poorly on the GOP. Gallegly said he didn’t need the reminder.

“I have not booed the president in the past--publicly,” Gallegly said. “Maybe I have privately while having a nightmare.”

Democrats, on the other hand, urged vigorous applause among their ranks, although Beilenson said his clapping was not dictated by the party.

Not all the president’s words were met with stone silence on the Republican side. GOP lawmakers applauded at several points, including when Clinton declared the days of big government at an end and honored America’s veterans. But when he called for protection of Medicare, Medicaid and environmental programs, and overhaul of welfare, nearly all the applause came from his Democratic allies.

Several proposals announced by Clinton would have direct local impacts and won praise from local lawmakers.

The president called for $1,000 college scholarships for all of the nation’s high school students who graduate in the top 5% of their class. He announced a new FBI-led war against youth gangs, which he likened to the government’s battle against the Mob years ago.

To battle illegal immigration, he announced a new executive order that forbids federal contracts to companies that hire illegal immigrants.

Gallegly, who has pushed for a federal crackdown on illegal immigration, was encouraged by that initiative, as well as Clinton’s call for even more Border Patrol agents. But Gallegly said the true test will come when Congress sends a comprehensive immigration reform bill to the White House later this year that includes cuts in benefits to those people not in the country legally.

“We’ve learned one thing--he has a remarkable ability to deliver a speech,” Gallegly said. “You put him in front of a podium and he can be all things to all people. My frustration is when he moves away from that microphone.”

Beilenson called Clinton’s effort “one of his best speeches ever” and an important step in bringing Democrats and Republicans together to work out a budget deal.

“He called on us to work together as a nation, and that’s a message that needs repeating,” Beilenson said. “Although there are firebrands on both sides, I think the majority of members are tired of the really rancorous partisanship that we have seen.”

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