Wayne Root and OC GOP politicos celebrate Grover Cleveland’s legacy in Fullerton

Saturday night’s Grover Cleveland Social Club Dinner was the best one yet.  It was held at Tony Bushala’s beautiful home in Fullerton.  You can watch the Disney fireworks, in the distance, from Tony’s home, which features a huge pool, a bar and a fire pit.

The special guest speaker last night was none other than Libertarian Party Vice Presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root, who was dressed casually in a Hawaiian shirt.  (The last time I saw Root he was in a suit, at a Libertarian fundraiser in Rancho Cucamonga – a sweaty experience to say the least).

Root delivered a typically fantastic speech to an audience that featured a collection of OC GOP politicians and a couple of bloggers.  The festivities were the brainchild of O.C. Register editorial writer Steven Greenhut, who reveled in Cleveland’s favorite meal – sausages (yes, they were delicious!). 

Bushala and his lovely wife put on quite a feast with appetizers, sausage sandwiches, and an array of desserts and drinks – plus cigars and a Houka.  I tried the latter and it was actually not bad – I still can’t understand why the City of Santa Ana freaked out and banned Houka bars.

Almost the entire O.C. Board of Supervisors was there, including an animated Chris Norby who cheered on Root while manning the evening’s spotlight – a Mag Light flashlight.  It was actually quite effective.  Supervisor John Moorlach was there too along with Janet Nguyen. It was Janet’s first Grover Cleveland Association dinner.

Former Superivisor Lou Correa never misses these dinners, but he did this time due to the ongoing state budget crisis in Sacramento.  But former OC GOP Chairman Tom Fuentes did make it.  I also ran into Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche and two Fullerton Planning Commissioners – David Bailey, who owns the Aura Group, which specializes in online advertising; and Bruce Whitaker, who works for Supervisor Norby.

Orange County Planning Commissioner David Zenger was there too – as was the portrait of Grover Cleveland that Zenger painted.  He is a very talented guy!

And there were a couple of bloggers there, in addition to myself, including John Seiler, who used to write for the O.C. Register’s editorial department; and Allen Bartlett, who blogs over at the Powder Blue Report.

The highlight of the evening was an appearance by Cleveland himself, whose image was projected from a balcony into the pool.  It was a capper to a great evening of conversation, food, cigars and a celebration of a President who was the first Democrat elected after the Civil War.

Cleveland “won the Presidency with the combined support of Democrats and reform Republicans, the “Mugwumps,” who disliked the record of his opponent James G. Blaine of Maine,” according to the White House, which notes these Cleveland highlights:

• Cleveland vigorously pursued a policy barring special favors to any economic group. Vetoing a bill to appropriate $10,000 to distribute seed grain among drought-stricken farmers in Texas, he wrote: “Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character

• He also vetoed many private pension bills to Civil War veterans whose claims were fraudulent. When Congress, pressured by the Grand Army of the Republic, passed a bill granting pensions for disabilities not caused by military service, Cleveland vetoed it, too.
• He angered the railroads by ordering an investigation of western lands they held by Government grant. He forced them to return 81,000,000 acres. He also signed the Interstate Commerce Act, the first law attempting Federal regulation of the railroads.
• In December 1887 he called on Congress to reduce high protective tariffs. Told that he had given Republicans an effective issue for the campaign of 1888, he retorted, “What is the use of being elected or re-elected unless you stand for something?” But Cleveland was defeated in 1888; although he won a larger popular majority than the Republican candidate Benjamin Harrison, he received fewer electoral votes.
• Elected again in 1892, Cleveland faced an acute depression. He dealt directly with the Treasury crisis rather than with business failures, farm mortgage foreclosures, and unemployment. He obtained repeal of the mildly inflationary Sherman Silver Purchase Act and, with the aid of Wall Street, maintained the Treasury’s gold reserve.
• When railroad strikers in Chicago violated an injunction, Cleveland sent Federal troops to enforce it. “If it takes the entire army and navy of the United States to deliver a post card in Chicago,” he thundered, “that card will be delivered.”
• Cleveland’s blunt treatment of the railroad strikers stirred the pride of many Americans. So did the vigorous way in which he forced Great Britain to accept arbitration of a disputed boundary in Venezuela. But his policies during the depression were generally unpopular. His party deserted him and nominated William Jennings Bryan in 1896.

Cleveland clearly was ahead of his time.  That he is celebrated today in Orange County is a testament to the legacy of his ideas and the clarity of his vision.  I look forward to the next Grover Cleveland Social Club Dinner!