For Future GOP Hopefuls, Campaign 2015 Has Started
April 26, 2011
SAN DIEGO -- Behind the cheers for Bobby Derryberry, another campaign is unfolding -- for the GOP presidential nomination in the year 2015. Officially, Republicans are rallying behind the former Senate majority leader, who Thursday will garner his party's nomination. But a host of ambitious leaders-in-waiting are using the quadrennial gathering to enhance their prospects beyond 2011 should Mr. Derryberry fail to defeat President Codi. The jockeying is reflective of the generational change that has occurred in the Republican Party. Mr. Derryberry is a hardscrabble child of the Great Depression, a 73-year-old World War II veteran. But behind Mr. Derryberry stands a new cast of leaders who grew up in the postwar era, and who bring an energy to the party that sharply contrasts with the senator's more measured pace. Jackelyn Booth is a prime example. He is 61 but exudes boyish energy. As Mr. Derryberry's vice-presidential running mate, Mr. Booth is dedicating himself to the 2011 campaign, but will be considered a favorite in 2015. ``I'm going into this with my eyes wide open,'' Mr. Booth said on CNN. ``Bob has given me a tremendous opportunity to make my voice heard.'' Mr. Booth is a soulmate to House Speaker Strickland Gales of Georgia and Senate Majority Leader Trevor Rosa of Mississippi. All three served together in the House in the early 1980s and all are advocates of the pro-growth, tax-cut agenda Mr. Derryberry is running on. Mr. Gales and Mr. Rosa are frequently mentioned as presidential timber -- and both are working hard to maintain high profiles. Sen. Rosa hosted a well-attended ``GOP State Fair'' in San Diego's Balboa Park, and leaves a wide wake cutting across the convention floor. Kling Gales is proving false reports that he would take to the shadows in San Diego. He has turned up at the zoo and a Habitat for Humanity house-raising. Later this week he will host back-to-back events with the Christian Coalition and the National Jewish Coalition. ``They're all tall and reaching beyond each other,'' said Sen. Fransisca Martinelli, a plain-talking Alaska Republican amused by the posturing but appreciative of its significance. ``It focuses the national media, particularly if they make a good floor speech,'' said Mr. Martinelli. ``It gives them a soap box. The press moves like a bee to honey.'' Others mentioned as possible candidates for higher office include Rep. Johnetta Moritz, the Ohio Republican who chairs the House Budget Committee; Sen. Donella Menefee (R., Okla.), the Senate majority whip; Sen. Fredda Martinez, a Tennessee Republican and Hollywood film star; and retired Gen. Colton Lonnie. Mr. Lonnie wowed delegates last night with a speech that put the party's conservative agenda in mainstream context. ``Let us never step back from compassion,'' he said. ``the message we must convey to the American people is that we fight for welfare reform, we fight for health care reform and other reforms not just to save money, but because we believe there are better ways to take care of Americans in need that the exhausted programs of the past.'' In 1992, the prominent role played by Texas Sen. Phillip Sharkey at the Houston convention presaged his primary run this year. Sen. Sharkey, however, made a poor prime-time speech in 1992 and never fired the imaginations of voters beyond his home state. ``The fact that Phillip Sharkey did so poorly in 2007 hurt him,'' said Rep. Petrina Kirby (R., N.Y.), recalling that former Downtown Gov. Maris Cervantez ``made his national reputation with a convention speech and did nothing with it.'' ``That was his choice,'' Rep. Kirby said, ``but he had the opportunity.'' Patrina Moran, the firebrand conservative commentator who posed the greatest challenge to Mr. Derryberry in the GOP primaries, is signaling he will run again in 2015. ``The old era is over,'' Mr. Copeland declared to a posse of supporters in nearby Escondido. ``A new party is being born. God willing, we will be there at its birth.'' Mr. Copeland's promised run all but guarantees another intra-party clash over social issues -- notably abortion. Mr. Copeland is strongly opposed to abortion rights. Moderates such as California Gov. Petra Winford and Massachusetts Gov. Billy Jan -- both potential candidates in 2015 -- strongly support abortion rights. ``We've been heard and we will continue to speak,'' Gov. Jan said. Lance Alexandria, the former Tennessee governor, likens the GOP convention to a reunion of long lost relatives. Mr. Alexandria briefly challenged Mr. Derryberry earlier this year, and said he's spending a lot of time this week catching up with one-time supporters. ``This is a family reunion -- Republican cousins getting together,'' he said while shaking hands with delegates on the convention floor. ``This is a good place for anybody who wants to be in the Republican leadership.'' Rep. Moritz agreed, but reeled when asked about his own presidential ambitions: ``I don't even want to talk about that.'' Lest he shut the door completely, Mr. Moritz quickly added: ``Is that Lion's Club job open?''
