An Old-Fashioned Candidate on the Campaign Bus

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren is just an old-fashioned guy. His values, campaign style, blunt speech--all definitely antiquated.

He tends to talk about “spiritual values” in his stump speeches--not only to right-wingers, but to apolitical and secular types. Everybody.

Here’s an example, from his booming keynote address Tuesday to a big conference of insurance agents in Sacramento:

“The future of California lies not in more police, more judges or even more jobs. . . . The future of America and California lies in a conversion of the hearts and souls of the people. We can’t have the kind of future we want by banishing our spiritual and religious principles from the public square. . . . We should not be afraid to say that government can never be a substitute for families.”

On Wednesday, California’s top cop rode off on a statewide, three-day bus tour to officially launch his campaign for governor. Nobody campaigns up and down California in a pokey bus anymore. Lungren is an authentic relic.

He explains that a bus is the next best thing to a train. “Something always has intrigued me about whistle-stop tours,” says the 51-year-old Republican, whose father was Richard Nixon’s personal physician. “I’ve always thought that was part of politics. . . . Anyway, the logistics of getting on and off airplanes, and with the weather we’ve got now, a bus is the best way to do it.”

In the last year, Lungren has trekked to all 58 counties--far back into the boondocks--and recruited tens of thousands of grass-roots volunteers. Grass-roots volunteers? Doesn’t he understand that’s passe, a waste of time? These days, it’s all TV ads and targeted mail! This candidate will get to that eventually, but he promises not to ignore the volunteers.

“I’ve always anticipated this race being close,” he says. “You win on the margins. I’m trying to maximize my margins.”

Moreover, Lungren insists, he’s “trying to run a campaign as a prelude to governing. I want to make sure people in my administration understand how important people are at the local levels. . . .

“There’s a method to my madness.”

*

Listening to Lungren, you rarely hear weasel words. You normally don’t need a nuance dictionary. He may delight you or he may frighten you. But he probably won’t confuse you.

(One noted exception was in 1994 with Proposition 187, the illegal immigration initiative. Finally on election eve, Lungren reluctantly mumbled an endorsement.)

On Presidents Day, I interviewed Lungren in his campaign headquarters, an old Victorian in downtown Sacramento. He was wearing khakis, a blue denim shirt and a Notre Dame baseball cap.

Lungren, a Notre Dame alum, is a devout Catholic who opposes abortion. That’s sure to be exploited by Democrats because roughly two-thirds of the electorate favor abortion rights. “I don’t run away from the issue,” he said. “I tell people where I stand.”

There are three things Lungren says he would do in an effort to reduce the number of abortions:

* “Be very restrictive” regarding taxpayer funding of abortions. His mentor, former Gov. George Deukmejian, tried that and was slapped down by the courts.

* Push for a state constitutional amendment to require parental notification before a minor’s abortion. The state Supreme Court recently overturned such a law. “An atrocious decision,” Lungren contends.

* Seek legislation banning late-term abortions except when necessary to save a mother’s life.

“A governor is limited, although the other side will yell and scream,” Lungren says. “They almost have a fascination with this issue.”

*

Private school vouchers are something else Lungren feels passionately about. “I’m going to push the idea,” he vowed. “It’s the single best means by which we’ll improve public schools [by forcing competition]. No. 2, it’s the best escape for kids currently imprisoned in poor schools.”

I asked how he answers people who object to spending public money for private schools. “Oh, my gracious, that’s terrible,” responded the product of parochial schools. “We obviously ruined America when we allowed, under the GI Bill, anybody who qualified to go to a”--whisper--”’Catholic school.’ My God, go to a ‘Notre Dame?’ ”

We changed the subject. What about smoking in bars? “There ought to be some bars where people can smoke. I wouldn’t go to them. I hate smoking. But honest to God, this is getting ridiculous. Are we returning to Prohibition? Are we going to have smoking speak-easies?”

Lungren may be old-fashioned, but he won’t be dull. Roll up the bus.