Why Voters Should Disarm Pitchfork Pat : Valley could be prime territory for Buchanan--but it’s time for Republicans to say enough is enough.

The Buchanan campaign is over. The fat lady has done sung. All that’s left to decide is just how big of a tantrum Bob Dole and the Republican Party will allow Pitchfork Pat to throw at their convention. Because Dole has the nomination locked up, political extremists voting their “conscience” could give Buchanan a boost. So, the only real question left is whether Buchanan can use a strong showing here to propel him from skunk at the garden party to the monkey on Bob Dole’s back. Republicans in the San Fernando Valley could have a lot to say about just that.

Unfortunately, the Valley is just the place where Buchanan could find a receptive audience. And why not? Is there any place in the country that got the back of corporate America’s hand like the Valley? Buchanan for President headquarters could be set up at any number of ghost towns: the General Motors plant in Panorama City, the mess Lockheed left behind in Burbank, or maybe Rocketdyne in Chatsworth. All places where good, hard-working men and women found out that their reward for hard work and loyalty was a healthy dose of exhaust fumes generated by the downsizing moving van stealing away in the night, taking with it security, opportunity and trust. If you’re looking for the “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore” vote, look no further.

Race and anti-immigrant feelings run high here too, fertile ground for Pitchfork Pat. Just look at past elections. The Valley was solidly behind the 1986 English-only ballot measure. Proposition 187, Pete Wilson’s pandering plan to deny public assistance to undocumented immigrants, enjoyed a strong base of support as well.

Add this to the enduring sentiment that the Valley is a stepchild of city government that doesn’t get its fair share of services. This was embodied in the movement against busing in the early ‘80s and the drive to create a separate school district today. And even when Angelenos overwhelmingly voted for Charter Amendment F, the Christopher Commission recommendations to reform the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the Rodney King beating and the riots, the Valley stood against reform.

Political and religious extremists call the Valley home. Our past is checkered with cross burnings, the vandalism of places of worship and the distribution of hate literature. Hate crimes in the Valley have become, frightfully, an all-too-frequent occurrence.

One of the largest evangelical congregations in the nation is here too. These religious fundamentalist and anti-choice activists find Dole’s equivocation on the choice issue unpalatable. And the Christian Coalition has been working hard for Pat, no doubt because of his position on abortion. He insists that a woman who is raped or is the victim of incest must have the child. He would also arrest and send to prison any doctor who, in attempting to save the life of the mother, would do his sworn duty and perform an abortion. Many of these folks could not care less about practical politics and will stand by Buchanan to the bitter end.

And don’t forget the National Rifle Assn. When you saddle up and ride toward the sound of the gunfire, as Pat implored his followers to do after winning New Hampshire, the posse forms here, where the NRA has considerable strength and power. Their members hold the 2nd Amendment above all others and vote accordingly. The same people who would leave assault weapons in the hands of gangbangers would no doubt like to call Pat “Mr. President.” In low-turnout elections, their singularity of purpose and organization amplifies their participation in the election.

At first glance it all adds up for Buchanan in the Valley. At first glance, that is. But all is not what it seems. Those GM workers who might like the anti-NAFTA and GATT rhetoric know that this guy was nowhere to be found when GM was closing down the plant. Much of the membership is Latino and African American, and Buchanan’s opposition to increasing the minimum wage support of the union-busting “right to work (for less)” movement and his bigoted, racist, nativist, xenophobic immigrant bashing won’t get Pat past the bouncer at the auto workers’ annual dinner.

What’s more, the college-educated middle managers that the aerospace industry abandoned won’t find any real answers with Pat. You can’t blame the global economy for job loss here. And undocumented immigrants are not sneaking into the country to become aerospace engineers. Rant all you want, Pat, but shooting people at the border won’t create one more job for an MIT PhD. Those are slide rules, Pat, not pitchforks.

There is a monumental opportunity here for Republicans who want to say enough is enough to the extremists who dominate the GOP agenda. As a Democrat, I reject the conventional wisdom that as long as Pat is around, kicking and screaming, our party benefits. Buchanan’s hateful rhetoric benefits no one and demeans a process already laden with severe credibility problems. Soundly rejecting Buchanan not only makes for good politics for their nominee nationally, it will make for better neighbors here at home.

Anger, hate, resentment and frustration, sadly, will be with us for some time to come. But there’s no reason civility and respect for one another can’t again be part of our debate. Sending Pitchfork Pat and his political extremism packing on Tuesday would be a good start.