March 1, 1999
Web posted at: 6:27 p.m. EST (2327 GMT)

SACRAMENTO (March 1) -- California's grand old party has a big old problem.

"We didn't win as many elections as we should have. Registration is down and polls are down," says Brooks Firestone, a California Republican activist.

There are not enough female Republicans.

"There is a section of the party that thinks the Republican Party should now be the party of anti-choice," says San Diego Mayor Susan Golding.

There are not enough Hispanic Republicans.

"We have gotten so disconnected from our roots in these communities, we're not going to get there overnight," says Michael Schroeder, former chairman of the California Republican Party.

There are not enough African-American Republicans.

"I think we began, the party itself began to think that maybe this was an exclusive club," said Sam Wallace, a Republican Party member.

Gathering in convention halls and huddling in the corridors, California Republicans spent the weekend in post-mortems of their worst election showing in decades.

Firestone is a minority within a minority, a moderate in a conservative-controlled party who thinks the message needs to be re-directed.

Does that mean not talking about abortion? he was asked.

"Well, you know I think that's a question that is not part of this campaign that I'm running here now," Firestone said. "And I don't think that the people of California are so interested in that. I think if we talk about jobs, the economy, about management of government, about education, I think the people will respond."

Firestone was part of a moderate Republican revolt, a semi-annual California exercise to wrest control from conservatives.

The factions differ in degree on all the hot-button issues, including gun control, affirmative action and environmental protection, but they disagree mostly, primarily, always over abortion.

Still, the dispute is as much about presentation as policy.

"There's been a meanness of tone in a lot of the candidacies recently on the Republican side," said San Diego's Golding. "There hasn't been the kind of caring and compassion that I think people have to believe when they vote for somebody."

Conservatives argued that November's rout was a blip on the screen, a problem not of message but messenger.

"We had a bad election," said Shawn Steel, vice-chairman of the California Republican Party. "We ran into a 40-year flood. But we're only one election cycle from victory. So I think we've had some hard times because we've had one of the most amazingly inept campaigns in the history of America in California."

After two days of talking about it, party delegates voted on state party leadership. Headed into the next century, anti-abortion conservatives remain firmly in control of the California Republican party and its message.

"One bad campaign season doesn't mean that we have to emulate and pretend that we're Democrats," says Steel.

The decision of California Republicans is temporary at best because the debate over the tone and temper of the Republican Party will ultimately be settled at the top of the ticket.

"Our problem is the way we've conveyed a message that people who don't agree with us on specific issues, including abortions, are not welcome in our party," said Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona). "The fact is, they're more than welcome."

Into the breech come the Republican presidential candidates with opinions that mirror the ongoing struggle for the heart of the party.

Each of the seven who spoke to California conventioneers were conservatives with anti-abortion credentials. The question is one of emphasis.

"I'd like to see a society with as few abortions as possible," said former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander. "But we've got some honest differences in our party on abortion. We should talk about those, respect those and then move on to fixing the public schools."

But where some would change the subject or soften the edges, others who quest after the top of the ticket would define the differences.

"Many are telling our party today to run away from our core beliefs, our core values, our core principles," said former Vice President Dan Quayle. "I say, not on my watch."

Added Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire: "If we're not willing to stand up for the life of unborn children, maybe the Republican Party deserves to fall on the ash bin of history as well, and it will, if we don't stand up for life."

Despite a weekend of angst and a lot of gallows humor about the future of the Republican Party, delegates found reason to hope. In poll after California poll, both Texas Gov. George W. Bush and former Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole beat Vice President Al Gore in one-on-one matchups.

Bush and Dole are anti-abortion but neither seems to want to make it a major campaign issue. Steering clear of California, they managed to stay out of the fray. But they cannot for much longer.

Monday, March 1, 1999

• Small children, big political donations
• Justice opposes Y2K lawsuit legislation
• Senate battle brewing over education bill
• California GOP grapples with its problems
• Senators predict end to Independent Counsel Act
• Poll: Most believe media should lay off Broaddrick allegation
• Panel says IRS can't balance books
• Few first ladies have contemplated running for office
• Rep. Kasich defends friendship with Democrat
• Report: Lewinsky links herself with Diana
• Clintons end vacation a day early
• New Jersey foes may clash in Senate race
• Once considered a joke, Gov. Moonbeam's star rises again
• Capital reflects American society
• GOP senator urges stand on abortion
• Mayoral candidate's phony Web site closed

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