Off the Record

The Jerry Lewis Sellathon. For some time now rumblings of discontent over Representative Jerry Lewis (R., Calif.) have been reaching Cato’s office. Now come reports that the Honorable Mr. Lewis, chairman of the House Republican Conference, is cutting a deal with Democrats in his home state, electorally the most important state in the union. The deal would protect all incumbents, limit the Republicans to four of seven new seats, and thus retain the huge imbalance working for the Democrats. This is all the more baffling in that a key reason California’s Republican Senator, Pete Wilson, is running for governor this year is the importance Republicans attach to the upcoming redistricting.

Not that Congressman Lewis’s move doesn’t make a certain sort of sense. By cutting a deal that keeps all incumbents happy, Mr. Lewis puts himself in a good position for when they hand out the plums. Even critics concede that the congressman is a formidable lobbyist, especially when it has to do with advancing his own interests. Indeed, Cato hears that in addition to his maneuvers in the House, Mr. Lewis is lobbying to be named to the Senate seat vacated by soon-to-be-Governor Wilson.

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The Jerry Lewis Sellathon. For some time now rumblings of discontent over Representative Jerry Lewis (R., Calif.) have been reaching Cato’s office. Now come reports that the Honorable Mr. Lewis, chairman of the House Republican Conference, is cutting a deal with Democrats in his home state, electorally the most important state in the union. The deal would protect all incumbents, limit the Republicans to four of seven new seats, and thus retain the huge imbalance working for the Democrats. This is all the more baffling in that a key reason California’s Republican Senator, Pete Wilson, is running for governor this year is the importance Republicans attach to the upcoming redistricting.

Not that Congressman Lewis’s move doesn’t make a certain sort of sense. By cutting a deal that keeps all incumbents happy, Mr. Lewis puts himself in a good position for when they hand out the plums. Even critics concede that the congressman is a formidable lobbyist, especially when it has to do with advancing his own interests. Indeed, Cato hears that in addition to his maneuvers in the House, Mr. Lewis is lobbying to be named to the Senate seat vacated by soon-to-be-Governor Wilson.