COMMENTARIES ON THE EFFECTS OF THE 1992 GENERAL ELECTION : County Will Figure Prominently in Republican Regrouping : Success of conservative congressional and state candidates proves there’s a vote-rich base here that should not be ignored.

On election night, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Adler proclaimed that Orange County’s Democratic Party has been rejuvenated. Guess Howard’s the one who actually inhales that stuff which President-elect Clinton says he only puts in his mouth. Consider this:

* Bill Clinton received a mere 31.7% of the Orange County vote--equal to that of Michael Dukakis’ dismal 1988 total. George Bush still managed to carry Orange County by a 12% plurality.

* A solid majority of Orange County voters rejected the liberal messages of U.S. Sens.-elect “Laverne and Shirley” and voted for Republican candidates John Seymour (51%) and Bruce Herschensohn (59%).

And once again, with but one exception, a conservative Republican was elected to every Orange County congressional, state Senate and Assembly seat by a comfortable margin.

Not too bad, while Rome burns around us.

It must still be acknowledged, however, that Orange County’s failure to deliver a winning presidential majority to make up for the rest of the state has everything to do with Ross Perot’s insurgent candidacy and George Bush’s failures as candidate and President.

Perot carried a whopping 24% of the county’s presidential vote, largely made up of disaffected Republican voters (the Orange County Eight notwithstanding). Many of those same anti-incumbent Perot votes were reflected in the unusually high percentages received by minor third-party candidates as well.

For example, the Libertarian Party candidate in central county’s 46th Congressional District received 9% of the vote--a nearly 400% increase over previous totals. Yet, the 1992 Democratic challenger’s percentage remained the same as in 1990. And Republican incumbent Rep. Bob Dornan still carried his district 9% over his Republican registration.

Third-party candidates registered higher than average in the (Edward R.) Royce, (Ron) Packard, (Christopher) Cox and (Dana) Rohrabacher districts and most state legislative races as well.

Orange County voters reaffirmed their basic conservative nature by reelecting these incumbents but, clearly, Bush and Perot hurt their candidacies. Even more clear, however, is that there was no Bill Clinton mandate. A now over-excited Orange County Democratic Party ignores this message at its peril.

Plain and simple, George Bush squandered his presidency and dragged down California Republicans hopes with him. He campaigned as a conservative, then governed as a moderate, then campaigned as a conservative again--and wondered why no one believed his promises anymore?

The Bush Administration abandoned the proven, winning issues of lower taxes, local control, deregulation and free market economic growth. Except on an occasional presidential visit to Orange County, the name of Ronald Reagan was rarely mentioned and his principles and policies scarcely invoked. Incredibly, the Bush Administration let the Democrats and the media spin eight years of sustained economic growth into 12 years of Republican recession. Though not on the ballot, the debasing of the magnificent Reagan legacy ranks high on the list of the election’s greatest defeats.

So here we Republicans are. No President, a weakened governor, two liberal Democratic U.S. senators and, overall, more Democrats in the Legislature and House of Representatives than before.

Worse still, Republicans remain a party divided between moderates and conservatives. There is no Ronald Reagan on the horizon for whom we would willingly sublimate our differences in order to capitalize upon our strengths. Battle lines have been drawn and a bloodletting seems inevitable at the next state party convention. Many would welcome the fight if it meant the primacy of the Reagan Revolution would again be reasserted.

Yet, as conservative street-fighting intellectual William J. Bennett suggests, perhaps it is time to peacefully convene a Republican “Council of Trent.” All party persuasions would meet to discuss how best to set aside our differences and set the stage for the party’s re-emergence in 1994.

Fight or talk? Either path will be difficult. The governorship and the chance to replace Sen. (Dianne) Feinstein hang in the balance. It is something we Republicans ought to think about while we nurse our wounds, consider the future of our party and await with trepidation the complete dominance of our national government by the Democratic Party.

As always, Orange County will figure prominently in whatever happens. No doubt several Orange County politicians will count on this vote-rich base as they seek to recapture the Feinstein seat or other state constitutional offices in 1994. We know now that, while still solidly conservative, Orange County votes cannot be taken for granted simply because a candidate has “R” after his or her name. They must practice what they preach.