Posted on 02/01/2002 9:29:46 AM PST by thoughtfully_conservative
Stretching the Limits of Bi-Partisanship:
The Case of Dick Riordan
Arthur Bruzzone RightTurns.com
February 1, 2002
President Bush learned his bi-partisanship in Texas out of necessity. In the West, partisan politics is serious business. If you want be a partisan lawmaker or governor, you can expect political stalemate, or politically taxing win-loss contests on almost every issue or bill. Worse, in the West, if you use ideology to fight battles in statehouses or at city hall, you can exhaust valuable political capital winning arguments and not solving problems.
President George W. Bush has successfully transplanted his Texas bi-partisanship to Washington. A recent Battleground Poll 2002 referred to President Bush as the "Bi-Partisan President". The Poll results released at the beginning of January confirm that the President's has been effective in his efforts to outreach to non-republicans. Sixty-five (65%) percent admit to a 'new tone' in Washington, and seventy-three (73%) percent believe he has successfully reached out to democrats. The Poll concludes, "partisan politics aside, it is clear that George W. Bush has solidified his position as leader of the country and not just his party."
Now out of Los Angeles comes a hyper version of this kind of politics: "Non-partisanship leadership". This is what Former Mayor Richard Riordan is calling it in his run for governor of California. Riordan hopes he can skirt the political minefields of his own party and compensate for Republicans' low registration by stressing problem solving over ideology.
Vicious ideological battles have characterized California Republican politics for the last several years. The results have been disastrous. California Republicans can claim only one statewide elected official, Secretary of State Bill Jones; he's one of Riordan's primary opponents. Nor does Riordan subscribe to the East Coast, big-city model of handling the touchy social issues of the Republican Party. He doesn't follow other republicans mayors like Rudolf Giuliani who employ an 'in your face', politically correct attitude on those issues that drive social conservatives crazy.
Riordan instead tries to be disengaged from these issues. Still he was forced to come out clearly against gay marriages in a recent televised debate with his GOP rivals.
Aside from a disengagement from divisive social issues, the new bi-partisanship has three features: employing business school models to address public policy, stressing education above all, and splitting political culture from political activism.
Riordan's 'non-partisanship' has its roots in an experience shared with G. W. Bush: starting and managing businesses. Dick Riordan is co-founder of Riordan & McKenzie, a law firm that concentrates in part on business startups and turnarounds. Its commercial livelihood depends on success and achievement. Consensus building is vital to launch or turn around a business, and at all levels of the business - employees and management. There's no room for ideology here (or for running a baseball team).
Second, education is critical; it anchors the jobs of the new economy. It has been a vital concern for Riordan as mayor and private philanthropist, and it's been a primary issue for the President (and the First Lady). Conservatives are often quick to address education problems with ideological solutions. The new bi-partisanship instead stresses results -- child literacy and reading and practical programs that work. President Bush spent many hours with Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) to ensure passage of his education bill, which emphasized accountability and results. First Lady Laura Bush in recent congressional hearings stressed the need for higher teacher's salaries to draw talented teachers to the critical early child learning period.
Third, the new 'bi-partisanship' also recognizes the difference between political culture and political action. Too often political activism is an attempt to achieve political recognition.
So Republicans have had to recognize the changing face of America, which is so apparent in the West and Southwest. California republicans and for that matter the national party refused until recently to recognize the demographic changes occurring. Los Angeles is a city of hundreds of ethnic minorities-and as many diverse neighborhoods. Dick Riordan recognized this and acknowledged it daily. By acknowledging and working within the new political realities, Riordan built trust and cooperation. He, like Governor George Bush, was re-elected with over 60% of the vote.
The Democrats have no choice but to be partisan. As the party out of power they must try ideological themes like the much recycled "party of the rich" or "tax breaks for big business" themes. Dick Riordan in California will attempt to take it a step further.
As a member of the party out of power in California, he will attempt to attack his opponent -incumbent Democrat California Gov. Gray Davis-on grounds of incompetence; failed economic, education and energy policies. His opponent has instead already begun negative ads emphasizing his positions on social issues. It remains uncertain whether a muted ideological battle will inspire Republican voters to turn out to vote.
But if the Battleground Poll is reflective of all America, voters of all parties are looking for less talk and more solutions, and may reward successful problem solvers with their votes.
Write to Arthur at bruzzone@rightturns.com
Riordan is for gun control as much as Davis is and favors capital punishment less than Davis does.
1) Is it human?
2) Is it from around here?
Saliva tests are important in California politics. My major qualms about Riordan are that he is definitely a flake, plus a sneaking suspicion that he could do a guest appearance on the X-Files without needing any makeup. He also has a firm opinion that he is Mr. Wonderful, a temper, and some difficulty orienting himself in space and time, as in:
"Mr. Mayor, we're in Sacramento, not San Diego, and it's Thursday, not Friday." "You're fired!"
A whole lot of Californians have difficulty living on this planet. As an example, I have a son at UC Santa Cruz (my alma mater) who is transferring to a college back east, hopefully the University of Chicago or Georgetown, because he correctly feels that almost everyone at UCSC are from other planets. It's not that they're lefties. Lefties he can deal with. They're vegetarians, and militant ones at that. He's heard enough about 9/11 being caused by meat-eating.
IMO the good things about Riordan are:
1) He's not Gray Davis.
2) He has a chance of beating Gray Davis.
That is good enough for me. And no one else has any chance of beating Gray Davis.
George W. Bush is a conservative in thought and action. He TALKS like the compassionate conservative that he is, but he is a CONSERVATIVE. A liberal Republican wouldn't be as God-fearing and humble as our great president.
GWB is pro-life; he believes that there is a higher authority than the ballot box to which he must answer. He is a great and noble man who makes difficult decisions through weighing all the pros and cons and deciding what is the moral and just thing to do.
Riordan is a political opportunist who not only is a complete and total liberal, he has no convictions to speak of. He is "personally" opposed to abortion, but women can go ahead and kill their babies and government should pay for it to. He came out against gay marriage in the debate AFTER publically saying that he supported gay marriage. Then, he said that he would decide on the issue "after he is elected".
Riordan has given more money to Democrats than Republicans including Gray Davis and Barbara Boxer. He called Bill Clinton the greatest leader of the free world. He thinks that going door-to-door to collect guns for the homes of law-abiding citizens is a good idea.
Riordan is NOTHING like GWB and whatever idiot wrote this should be denounced from the tallest building.
Riordan CAN NOT beat Gray Davis. He is too liberal and has changed his mind on all the important issues.
Bill Simon CAN beat Gray Davis because he offers voters a REAL CHOICE, not a "ME TOO" candidacy.
He is no John McCain!
Riordan is trying to get along through wholescale surrender to the Democrats.
People need to realize that Riordan is NOT a moderate Republcian, nor is he any kind of Republican. He is a far-left liberal who checked the R on his voter registration card. That's it.
When you have someone like Riordan who supports and endorses the worst liberals in the races that really count (Barbabra Boxer, Diane Feinstein), when you have a candidate who disagrees with his party on each and every important issue, you have a member of the fifth column. It's that simple.
Someone take this guy's word processor away from him before he hurts himself.
Yes indeed !!!!
Bill Simon CAN beat Gray Davis because he offers voters a REAL CHOICE, not a "ME TOO" candidacy.
The next conservative Republican to be elected Governor of California will be a female Hispanic. Bill Simon is a white male. The California GOP committed demographic suicide in 1994.
Somehow I can tell you too can do a guest appearance on the X-Files without makeup.
What is that supposed to mean?
Do you think Riordan will hire any Republicans? He didn't in LA, in fact he fired all his Republican campaign staff as soon as he got in there.
Do you think he'll help Republicans get elected to office? He hasn't before. He has helped Barbara Boxer and Maxine Waters. Are they your kind of candidates?
Do you think Riordan will be a fiscal conservative? He has proposed taxing the Internet. Even the far lefties don't have the socialist courage yet to do that.
Perhaps you think politics is like a baseball game and all that matters is that the guy who wears the same cap as you wins. Well you are wrong my friend. It is about policies and new laws and freedom and liberty. Those are the kinds of things that matter in life. That is why I am involved in this as are the majority of folks on Free Republic.
When your "Republican" Riordan signs the order to begin the door-to-door roundup of handguns, as he has promised then perhaps you will realize that what a candidate says is much more important than which jersey he pulls on before the big game.
Bill Simon can and will win. The people of this state aren't as bad as you would like people to believe. Theya re just waiting for someone who cares as deeply about the things that are important to them.
California's silent special interest is about to wake up. Average hard working God-fearing, tax-paying families will go to the polls in droves this November. Watch. It will be wonderful.
Unfortunately you are right. This DIABLo (Democrat In All But Label) makes John McCain look like Ronald Reagan. He supports Democrats on social issues, he supports Democrats on economic issues, he supports Democrats in elections -- he is a Democrat in every way, except that he has taken the Republican label, and is running in the GOP primary.
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