AND THEY'RE STILL COUNTING THE VOTES GOP'S TOM MCCLINTOCK TRAILS IN RECOUNT ... FOR SECOND TIME.

Byline: Joel Fox

TAKING a turn recently to observe registrar of voter officials checking for errors and valid signatures on absentee ballots, I couldn't help feel it shouldn't have come to this - waiting to see what those extra ballots hold to determine the winner of the state controller's race.

State Sen. Tom McClintock, the Republican, trails Democratic businessman Steve Westly by fewer than 30,000 votes as of this writing, with still hundreds of thousands of absentee and provisional ballots to count. If Westly holds his lead, the Democrats will have completed a sweep of all the statewide offices for the first time in memory.

This is the second time McClintock had to sweat out an overtime to see if he had won the controller's job. In 1994, McClintock lost to the eventual winner, Democrat Kathleen Connell. He trailed then by about 70,000 votes on Election Day and fell further behind after all votes were counted. But others have gained tens of thousands of votes in post-Election Day tallies. Dan Lungren, in his first run for attorney general, picked up about 60,000 votes in 1990 in the absentee and provisional vote count.

Unlike 1994, when McClintock's loss was merely a disappointment for Republicans who snatched five statewide offices, this time McClintock would be the only major Republican standing if he pulls out a victory.

McClintock's situation is a result of Republican internecine fighting. From the beginning of the political season, most pundits agreed McClintock had the best chance of any Republican at breaking through in statewide races. While many Republican candidates were novices running against experienced, identifiable Democrats, McClintock enjoyed the advantage of being the better-known, experienced candidate in his race. In addition, his qualifications for the job were undeniable. Even the famously liberal editorial page of the San Francisco Chronicle endorsed the conservative McClintock based on his credentials.

Yet, some in the Republican Party were not so forthcoming with their support. The California Political Week newsletter reports that while the party kicked in late contributions of more than a quarter-million dollars to the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor and secretary of state, and more than a million to the insurance commissioner candidate, McClintock was initially sent a mere $100,000 to help offset the millions of dollars in media buy of his opponent and then, after protestation, an additional $50,000.

Fund raising was not easy for McClintock. Apparently, McClintock's hard-nosed approach over the years, clinging to his principles, may have cost him with some Republican money-brokers.

But of all the Republican candidates on the ballot, it seems the party faithful should have rallied around the McClintock effort. Not merely because of his chance to win, but because of what he stood for as a taxpayer activist. The tax and spending, fiscal responsibility issue is the glue that holds the splintered Republican Party together. Or as columnist Bob Novak so eloquently put it, the only reason God created Republicans was to cut taxes.

As controller, McClintock would be a bulldog in defending tax dollars. But, whether McClintock pulls out the victory or not, the Republicans should learn from this campaign and rally around the spending issue if they are to enjoy political success in the future.

Even voters who support more government spending want to be sure that their tax money is spent wisely. Getting more bang for the buck means the need for fewer bucks from the taxpayers in the long run. This is an issue that appeals to Democrats and Republicans alike.

For example, schools continue to enjoy strong support from California voters. But the voters want their school dollars spent more in the classroom and less on bureaucracy. Republicans can lead that charge. Making school dollars go further to provide better education in a fiscally responsible way is one way to recapture the women voters who have lately deserted the party.

Securing the controller's post would be the first step in using the spending issue to regroup the Republican Party in California.