A Hair’s Difference and More

The balding, Harvard-educated tax attorney in tailored pinstripes, pontificating eruditely from his leather chair in the halls of Congress?

He’s the Democrat.

The ponytailed rock ‘n’ roller in jeans and beret, best known for his twisted guitar solos in bands named after a marijuana cigarette (Doobie Brothers) and a sex toy (Steely Dan)?

He’s the Republican.

Congressional politics in eastern Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley could be about to take a turn for the weird.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) learned last week that guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter has hired a campaign consultant and is contemplating mounting a GOP challenge for Sherman’s House seat next year. Baxter could hardly fare worse than the last guy the Republicans sent to unseat Sherman in the predominantly Democratic 24th District, millionaire businessman Randy Hoffman.

Although Baxter lacks Hoffman’s smooth polish, he has been building a reputation in Republican circles for several years. He is a strong supporter of the National Rifle Assn., an outspoken advocate for Vietnam veterans and has lent his guitar wizardry to numerous GOP fund-raisers in recent years.

Baxter chaired a civilian advisory board on ballistic-missile defense systems, something he staunchly advocates. He counts as a good friend Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), who chairs the space and aeronautics subcommittee of the House Science Committee.

“He’s going to throw his beret in the ring,” Rohrabacher told The Times. “Jeff Baxter has been a phenomenon that has swept through Washington and is about to sweep through Southern California. He is trying to reach out to a variety of voters that Republicans have traditionally ignored.”

And if a pro wrestler can be elected governor of Minnesota, who’s to say a rocker named Skunk couldn’t vault from the Valley to a seat in Congress?

Politicos of every stripe often quote the wisdom of the late House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr.: “All politics is local.”

In Southern California, politics can be a bit loco too.