Republicans club the political opposition

Alicia Robinson

Instead of following the philosophy that “if you can’t beat ‘em, join

‘em,” some political activists find that joining together actually is

the best way to beat the opposition.

A number of Republican clubs in the area boast robust membership

rosters, from which they marshal volunteers to raise money and help

get candidates elected. One such group is the Newport Harbor

Republicans, which will hold its inaugural meeting with new members

and a new format in May.

The club existed for at least 25 years as the Newport Harbor

Republican Assembly, but a glitch in paying dues to the California

Republican Assembly caused it to lose its charter to another club,

club president Debra Allen said.

After getting a charter in November from the Orange County

Republican Party Central Committee as an official Republican

organization, the club has grown from about 15 members to nearly 70,

she said.

“I think the main function of the clubs is to inform people on an

informal level and let them meet officeholders,” Allen said.

The re-formed club will be less structured and more inclusive of

different points of view, she said.

Newport-Mesa is home to six of Orange County’s 60 or so Republican

clubs, said Kathy Tavoularis, executive director of the Orange County

Republican Party. Three are women’s clubs and two are chartered by

the California Republican Assembly.

The clubs have different purposes; for example, Republican

Assembly groups endorse party candidates before primary elections,

while the county party and the groups it charters do not.

But one thing the clubs have in common is grass-roots activism,

Tavoularis said. They invite speakers to their meetings, they

register people to vote and they work on candidates’ campaigns.

“They kind of bring politics back home to the neighborhood,” she

said.

One of the endorsing groups, the Newport Beach Republican

Assembly, is still in its early days. The 25-member club received its

charter last year, president Kurt English said.

The Republican Assembly-sanctioned clubs work to educate voters

and mobilize volunteers, but they represent a more conservative

segment of the party than some GOP groups, he said.

“There’s been a lot of discussion about so-called moderate

Republican groups wanting to reach out, and I think a lot of

mainstream Republican groups don’t accept that there’s something

wrong with the Republican Party,” English said.

Because of the Republican Assembly’s credibility with conservative

voters, its endorsements are sought after and carry some weight with

voters in Newport-Mesa, who generally support conservative

candidates, he said.

While political clubs have historically been vital to recruiting

volunteers and keeping them motivated, local activism seems to belie

the general drop-off in group-joining and volunteerism around the

country, UC Irvine political science professor Mark Petracca said.

“The days of such clubs being the focal point for party politics

are probably numbered,” he said.

Locally, Republicans have been better than Democrats at getting

younger people involved in clubs, possibly because of strong

leadership or because the GOP’s dominance in the county makes it

appear an attractive, dynamic group, Petracca said.

More political involvement, through clubs or otherwise, means a

more vibrant political scene in the community. But for activists,

there’s another reward for their work.

When a group can help get a candidate elected who then influences

key policy decisions, English said, “we can say that we had a hand in

changing the United States.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.