I read recently that there was an internal discussion in the Assembly Republican Caucus about the direction it should take as the Assembly Republican Leader, James Gallagher, leaves the Legislature next year due to term limits. This is not a new disagreement. Republicans have, for as long as I can remember, always had s discussion about the best way to handle their minority status. Do we fight or do we figure out how to “get things done.” For those who care, I have only one piece of advice that comes from my Legislative experience. My advice?
FIGHT
Always fight, never stop fighting, always look for the Ds political weakness, and exploit them as best you can, fighting with all the energy and resources you can muster.
When I was first elected, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting convened by former State Senator H.L. Richardson. Through the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, he was the voice of conservatives in California. At the meeting, he took each of us who attended aside for a private meeting. In that meeting, he asked me “What do you think you’re role is in the Legislature?” I said “to move the Conservative agenda forward.” He said “No it isn’t, your role is to defeat Democrats. When you are in the minority, you can’t move any agenda forward, except the agenda the Democrats approve. Your goal is to become the majority.”
It was the best advice I ever received. Senator Richardson had done some amazing things in his time, and knew politics better than anyone I had met. Over the years, his advice to “fight” was always the best strategy. I had three major accomplishments during my time in the Legislature in which I had a hand. Three Strikes in 1994, the cut in the car tax in 1998, and the recall of Gray Davis in 2003. To be clear, I was not the only one involved in those accomplishments, there were others, since partisan politics is a team sport. However, in each case, we were told by the less confrontational members of our team that we would not succeed, and we would hurt the Republican cause. One even said that Gray Davis would end my political career because I was heavily involved in the recall. He was wrong.
We didn’t quit. In fact, in each case, we defeated Democrats. In 1994, we took the only majority in either house between 1970 and today. In 1998, the passage of the car tax cut led to the decision by Gray Davis in 2003 to unilaterally increase the car tax, the action which contributed the most to his recall in 2003.
For sure, I made mistakes along the way. We all will. My biggest mistake was supporting Arnold Schwarzenegger in the recall. I did so because he told me he would fight for conservative causes. He did for a year and then capitulated. He hired former Davis staffer, Susan Kennedy, as his chief of staff, and just gave up. Kennedy led Schwarzenegger down the same path as she did Davis. By the time Schwarzenegger left the Governorship, he was even more disliked than Davis, if that is possible.
Schwarzenegger gave up because he thought he needed “get things done.” As a result, he did more to destroy the Republicans in California than any other person. We are still paying for his capitulation to the Democrats. If our legislative members think “trying to get things done” is the path, all I can say is it is the path to staying in the minority.
History proves this fact. Compare the leadership style of Gerald Ford and Robert Michel in the US House of Representatives with that of Newt Gingrich. Ford and Michel were the minority leaders through the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Gingrich became the Speaker by fighting.
So pick a leader who will fight, and every turn in every way, and then fight yourself. There will be a cost. You may get removed from committees. It happened to me. They may deprive your staff of raises. It happened to me. They may kill or veto your bills just as payback. It happened to me. But the fight is worth it.
Senator Richardson was right. I can say, without equivocation, Republicans were always better off when they fought, whether it was fighting crime, illegal immigration, taxes, or the growth of government. It was worth it.