State assemblymember says “there is a war going on between liberals and our party.”
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
The highest-ranking Vietnamese-American elected official in the country, California Assemblyman Van Tran (District 68), former Oklahoma State Sen. Brooks Douglass, now a Malibu resident, and Wendy Borcherdt, a former campaign strategist and public liaison for Ronald Reagan spoke last Thursday at the Malibu Republican Women’s Federated monthly luncheon at Pepperdine University. The panel of guest speakers focused on the pressing concern of the day, “How do we get Republicans elected next November?”
MRWF member Ashley Wells Lewis moderated the meeting. Seats were filled, including one by Dean of Pepperdine School of Law Kenneth Starr, as MRWF Vice President Lorraine Stahlberg introduced the panel, noting that even in traditionally Democratic-leaning Malibu, local Republicans can help facilitate a GOP victory in the fall General Election.
“We’ll need $20,000 to $40,000 to open a Republican Party headquarters here,” Stahlberg said, “but our question today is, how can Republicans win in November?”
Moderator Lewis said that whereas a great deal of people were not thrilled at the idea of John McCain, a perceived moderate, leading the Republican ticket, one only had to consider the alternative.
“A win by Democratic candidate Obama would mean a hike in capital gains taxes to 40 percent,” Lewis said.
In a CNBC interview last week, Obama said he would consider raising capital gains taxes from the current 15 percent to “20 percent or 25 percent,” while exempting certain stockholders with limited incomes, as a means to closing the staggering federal budget deficit, Lewis said.
Borcherdt reminded listeners that voting for McCain doesn’t mean compromising conservative values. “I wasn’t an original supporter of McCain,” she said. “But remember that in ’76, Reagan didn’t get the nomination. Ford did.”
When asked how to respond to Republican friends who are concerned that McCain might not be “conservative enough,” Borcherdt said, “Remind them of all the lies that Hillary has told and that Obama is even more liberal.”
Echoing a concern that Democratic Party voters have themselves voiced about the next administration, Borcherdt warned, “Just consider the judicial appointments!”
In a district that has more registered Democratic voters than Republican, Lewis asked, “What can people do as individuals to make sure their voice counts?”
“Well, I bring greetings from Reagan Country,” Assemblyman Tran, whose district encompasses conservative Orange County cities, said.
“In Sacramento, we’re the minority party,” he continued. “But your voice can be heard a number of ways. Blog postings. A lot of liberal media folks live around here. Send hundreds of letters. Because there is a war going on between liberals and our party.”
Douglass, who served with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan and now is a member of the California National Guard, spoke of his own unlikely election to Oklahoma’s state senate as a 26-year-old.
“One person can make a difference,” he said. “Support your local Republican candidates for Assembly. Ask your friends for money to contribute to their campaigns.”
Borcherdt reminded everyone that recent congressional elections have been decided by fewer than 500 district votes. “Absolutely, your vote makes a difference,” she said.
When asked which candidate the panel would like to see ultimately nominated to the Democratic ticket, Tran seemed to speak for all when he said, “Hillary has a lot of baggage and a long list of lies. But I think McCain can beat either of them.”
“We really have a chance to go after independents and moderate Democrats because their party is in such disarray,” Borcherdt said.
One woman in the audience said she found her recent campaigning experiences discouraging.
“Three out of five Republican voters were unhappy with the Party,” she said. “How can we get them out to vote in November?”
Douglass contended that Republicans historically avoided primaries. “But they’ll be out next November,” he predicted.
“I’m a staunch believer in precinct organization,” Borcherdt said. “Talking one on one to people in your neighborhood is the greatest outreach.”
Tran agreed that direct voter contact was needed. “McCain pledged to play in California,” he said. “We’re the big enchilada, delegate-wise, so knock on doors.”
Speakers and audience seemed united in the idea that electing Democrats, whether to the Executive or Legislative branches of government, would be financially disastrous for the country.
Both Stahlberg and Douglass referred dismissively to “the Democrat [sic] Party,” a grammatically incorrect term that has been employed by Republican strategists in the media for a few years now, presumably an attempt to deny the opposing party a claim to being democratic in nature.
The panel discussion did not address issues facing the country as such, but Douglass agreed afterward that the biggest election issues were the economy and the war in Iraq.
“But my own experiences in Afghanistan were different from what I saw on TV when I returned,” Douglass said. “I wouldn’t believe everything you saw in the media.”
Tran, whose district has a large Asian community, said that while immigration was a big issue for most Republicans, he didn’t see it as one of the bigger issues in the upcoming election. “There’s plenty of other low-hanging fruit,” he said.