Bad News for Democrats: GOP Pipes Down on Social Issues

Sacramento

The California Republican Party is missing something. At least, I couldn’t find it at the GOP’s state convention last weekend in L.A. Neither could others I talked to.

Missing was the roar of social conservatives, the right-wing zealots who fight abortion, gay rights and gun control -- and get their heads handed to them by Democrats in general elections.

I listened to Saturday’s speeches and didn’t hear the words “abortion” and “pro-life” once. Nor “guns” and “2nd Amendment.” Nor “homosexuals” and “traditional marriage.”

Nor did I hear it in the convention corridors.

I asked some Republican pros who attended the convention if they sensed that party activists were backing off these emotional issues.

“Incredibly so,” said consultant Sal Russo, who last year ran GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon Jr.’s campaign. “I was taken aback by that.”

“It was striking,” added consultant Kevin Spillane, who was a strategist for Richard Riordan in the 2002 Republican primary.

“It was dramatic and it was real and not just on the surface. It was fundamental.”

This could be dangerous for Democrats. Ripping Republicans for being “anti-choice” and “pro-gun” is the Democratic stock-in-trade, a sure point-scorer among moderate women.

No top-of-the-ticket candidate who opposes abortion rights has won a general election in California since 1988.

So what’s happening? Three things:

* GOP conservatives -- politicians and activists -- are sick of losing elections to Democrats. They don’t hold one statewide office and are greatly outnumbered in the Legislature and congressional delegation.

* Many smell victory in the celebrity candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger and are willing to overlook his moderate views on abortion, guns and gays.

* Elected officeholders are taking an increased interest in party affairs because under new campaign-finance laws, the state party controls serious political money. Politicians raise money that gets laundered through the party, and they want the party to be more than a divisive debating society; they’re trying to build an efficient political machine.

The party was ready for a makeover last year, many felt. It was on the verge of embracing early front-runner Riordan for the gubernatorial nomination, even if he was a moderate. But Riordan rubbed Republicans’ noses in their ideological rigidity. He lectured; Schwarzenegger says he only wants to lead.

Riordan admonished the GOP to become more inclusive or become an “extinct species.” The party rejected him -- but seems to have accepted his advice.

“They’re tired of losing. We’re all tired of losing,” said Linda Boyd, chairwoman of the L.A. County Republican Central Committee. “People are trying to make good judgments here, letting social issues not matter so much so we can have a Republican governor.”

Contrast this peaceful convention with a raucous GOP state meeting in February 2002. Then, fliers were slipped under delegates’ doors equating Riordan with Gov. Gray Davis, claiming both harbored the same objectives: “killing babies, taking your guns and destroying traditional marriage.” This time, there was none of that.

Social issues just are not big. The other Republican candidate, state Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks, is a hard-core conservative on abortion, gays and guns -- but seldom talks about it. Instead, he stresses his conservatism on fiscal issues, everybody’s concern.

Noted Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas), a Schwarzenegger advisor: “I don’t know of a single Republican who signed the recall petition because of Gray Davis’ position on abortion.”

The actor-candidate attracted many to the convention.

“I wouldn’t be here if not for Schwarzenegger,” said Karen Schmauss, a San Bernardino County deputy district attorney. “I would never vote for a pro-life Republican.” She and her family got to a Schwarzenegger rally two hours early so they’d have a place up close to stand.

Maybe all this was only an aberration, inspired by the superstar. But people I talked to thought it could be permanent -- similar to when the Democrats wised up a few years ago and quit fighting the death penalty.

“There’s a maturity among people active in the party,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach, a Schwarzenegger backer. “We’re comfortable with our conservative beliefs but realize not everybody in the state agrees with us.”

Said Assemblyman Ray Haynes of Murrieta, another unabashed conservative who backs Schwarzenegger: “We social folks realize that being in your face all the time is a turnoff.”

Haynes says “pro-choice” and “right-to-life” Republicans have reached an “accord.” The former will help move the latter’s agenda when there’s no political cost, and the latter will stop constantly harassing the former -- like slipping those “baby killer” fliers under delegates’ doors.

If Republicans really have stopped railing about social issues, the politicians and activists who will miss it most are Democrats.