Support new Republican revolution

De Son is a fourth-year political science and history
student.

By Jason De Son

The California Republican Party held its semi-annual convention
this weekend in San Jose. With three weeks to go until the March
5th primaries, the candidates for governor met for the second time
in a debate that highlighted the division in the Republican Party
between conservatives and moderates. Candidates and party members
alike are taking sides in a bitter confrontation that could cost
the party several key positions in Sacramento.

As an associate member of the party and president of the
Republican Leadership Council at UCLA, I attended the convention to
show my support for the moderate candidates. Upon my arrival at the
convention, I was attacked for my moderate beliefs and my
bipartisan activities at UCLA. One such belief that was called into
question was my pro-choice stance on abortion. Conservatives, or
“wingers,” as members call them, cannot tolerate such
moderate positions.

Tolerance of moderate positions is the first step the party
needs to take if it is to successfully represent the people of
California. Thankfully, two candidates running for the position of
Governor and Lt. Governor possess the moderate and pragmatic
ideologies that Californians are looking for. Richard Riordan, the
former mayor of Los Angeles and Bruce Mc Pherson, state senator
from Santa Cruz, are moderate candidates who are pro-choice and
pro-education. Both are also doing extremely well in statewide
polls.

The Republican Party has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity in
the past few months, due mostly in part to President Bush’s
approval ratings. The president has in fact, been pushing the party
in California to adopt more moderate principles and recruited
Riordan to run for governor. Riordan still faces an uphill battle
as conservatives refuse to reconcile the former mayor’s
support of democratic candidates and moderate to liberal views.
Moderates such as myself see Riordan’s actions as part of his
commitment for providing the best to Californians. He doesn’t
care what party a person is running in, he cares about who is going
to do the best for the people they represent.

It is important for all Republicans to support candidates such
as Riordan and Mc Pherson ““ they are part of a new republican
revolution. Their moderation is not a weakness, but rather one of
their strongest traits.

Californians do not care what party is in power, they want to
send their kids to good schools, they want to keep our beaches
clean, and they want the freedom to make their own choices. It may
have taken some years for party members to come to terms with this,
but they are starting to. And now it is up to us, “the next
generation of leaders” as Kennedy once observed, to show our
support for them.

For too long, the party has been controlled by right-wing
ideologues, whose only ambition is to force their extreme positions
onto a populace that is not prepared to accept them. The Republican
Party must evolve or it will face extinction. Now is not the time
to be debating with each other. As the first Republican president
observed, “A house divided cannot stand” ““ now we
say that a party divided cannot stand. Republicans must unite
behind candidates like Riordan and Mc Pherson, whose success will
usher in a new era of Republican leadership. That leadership
promises to be progressive and pragmatic.

No longer will the needs of Californians be ignored, no longer
will our schools be inaccessible or below standard, no longer will
our environment be ignored, no longer will women be afraid of
losing the freedom to choose. A new Republican Party is emerging in
California and it promises to work for Californians ““ all
Californians.

Let us show our support for this revolution at UCLA. For it will
indeed benefit us all, whether we call ourselves Republicans,
Democrats or Independents. We cannot let the events of this
weekend’s convention deter the moderates from taking back the
Republican Party. I will keep fighting for my moderate beliefs,
because I believe I am fighting for everyone in California. I hope
the rest of the UCLA community will join me in this effort.