In the last two years, state Republican Party chairman Michael Schroeder has helped raise record amounts of money, operated a smooth absentee ballot program and financed an extensive get-out-the-vote effort.
But when the votes were counted last November, California Republicans took their worst drubbing in 40 years. That makes Schroeder the captain of the Titanic in the eyes of some, even if others, such as gubernatorial candidate Dan Lungren, helped steer the ship into the electoral iceberg.
Partly that's the nature of the job and partly it's the nature of the man, who steps down today from the leadership post.
"The party chair . . . either gets to be the unsung hero or he gets to be the goat," said state Sen. Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga. "If you have a great year, the candidates who ran take all the credit. If you have a bad year, the candidates blame someone else."
State Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange) blames the losses on the cyclical nature of politics and not Schroeder, who is nearly always described as a top notch fund-raiser, smart and detail-oriented. The GOP lost the governor's post for the first time in 16 years, and Democrats made inroads across the state, including in Orange County.
"Whoever would have been Republican Party chairman in this last election cycle would have been licking his or her wounds election night," Lewis said.
Others, however, have complained about Schroeder, many focusing on the Irvine lawyer's iconoclastic style of leadership.
"Mike is extraordinarily politically astute. But it may have worked both to his advantage and the party's advantage had he made more of an effort to act as part of a team rather than a solo player," said GOP strategist and consultant Dan Schnur.
It didn't help that Schroeder was a leader of the social conservative wing of the party in a year most voters embraced moderation.
Indeed, as Schroeder steps down, moderate Republicans are seeking to wrest some control of the GOP from their more conservative party mates. The moderates say a more inclusive party is the only way to make a political comeback.
Although he quarrels with the Lone Ranger characterization, Schroeder, a 42-year-old Orange County native, agrees he was not always politic about picking his battles. But he says he left the party apparatus in a lot better shape than he found it.
