Kemp’s Prop. 187 Stance a Courageous ‘Act of Stupidity’

In this Age of Cynicism, it’s unfashionable (and potentially embarrassing) to jump on any politician’s bandwagon. How they dash our hopes and make us look the fool! And yet, the temptation is ever so strong to put our hands together, people, for Jack Kemp, who stood his ground at the Nixon Library this week and told an unsympathetic crowd that the ballot measure that would cut off public benefits to illegal immigrants is a bad idea.

At the moment in California, taking that position is roughly the equivalent of coming out in favor of earthquakes. And yet, there was Kemp at midweek, telling people that the Republican Party shouldn’t link itself to what is construed as an anti-immigrant measure. Calling Proposition 187 “fundamentally flawed,” Kemp said his conscience wouldn’t let him support it.

But because cynicism reigns supreme, I find myself thinking, “OK, is that political courage, or is he just saying that because he knows he’ll score points for taking an unpopular position?”

Now that I’ve protected myself against charges of naivete, I’ll say that Kemp’s comments sound like undiluted conviction. It would be one thing for a Democrat to show some “guts” by coming into Republican territory and saying something politically unpopular. In fact, that’s a strategy that has worked more than once for candidates, but risking your own party’s base takes political courage a step further.

It’s not as though Kemp is catering to some other powerful voting bloc by opposing Proposition 187. Illegal immigrants tend to rank just above mosquitoes as a political force, and Kemp can’t even count on impressing legal immigrants with his position, since many of them also support the proposition.

Taking it another step, it’s not like this is Rhode Island. This is California, baby, and most people assume Kemp will run for president in 1996. Politicians don’t do well when they tick off California, especially when they first need to win their own party’s primary.

You put it all together, and it’s hard to impute much political calculation to Kemp’s anti-Proposition 187 remarks. It’s not as though he can come back to California during the 1996 Republican presidential primary and say, “I take it all back.” In fact, one could almost picture a political consultant saying to Kemp, “If you come out against 187, I’m quitting.”

I’m afraid we’re left with the likelihood that a major political figure may actually have exhibited some political fortitude. Could this be the start of something big?

What a sad commentary that this is news. And yet, it is, because this is an age where candidates consult opinion polls or focus groups before deciding whether their socks should be solids or argyles. When candidates’ political views blow in a different direction than the prevailing winds, they are counseled to shut up or change the subject as quickly as possible. Consultants make large sums of money instructing their candidate/lieges how to avoid saying things that might upset a voter.

If a sharp contrast would help illuminate things for you, compare the long, tall shadow Kemp cast with the inkblot created by Orange County Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

Sounding like the kind of career politician he professes to abhor, Rohrabacher said of Kemp’s opposition to Proposition 187: “His act of stupidity has knocked him right out of the presidential race. If he disagreed with it, he should have kept his mouth shut.”

Rohrabacher is a notorious free thinker and either current or former Libertarian, so maybe he doesn’t mean what he said. Perchance he spoke before he thought. Or maybe he’s just been hanging around too much with the county Republican leadership, which sees party nonconformity much as the Calvinists saw heresy.

Scarier, though, is the notion that Rohrabacher meant what he said. If he did, and if he’s a prophet about its effect on Kemp’s presidential chances, his party is seriously deranged.

The danger of Rohrabacher’s remarks has nothing to do with the wisdom or lack of it in Kemp’s position. Republicans and everyone else are more than welcome to hold Kemp’s opinion against him, should he ever run in California. The inherent message from Rohrabacher is more chilling: If you disagree with a popularly held policy, don’t voice your opinion, especially if it might cost you votes.

Kemp, the old Buffalo Bills quarterback, is secure enough not to lose sleep over Rohrabacher’s remarks.

I’m not an old Buffalo Bills quarterback, so I’m troubled by them.

Amazingly, Rohrabacher seems to think he was giving Kemp sage advice.

Comparing how the two men handled themselves this week, I’ll take Kemp’s brand of “stupidity” any day of the week over Rohrabacher’s public opinion polling.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by writing to him at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626, or calling (714) 966-7821.