Posted on 02/09/2007 10:21:53 AM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - As the state's GOP faithful gather today for their semiannual convention, the mood is far from jubilant as leaders grapple with Republican Party finances and a failure to make any major gains in November's election.
Conservative activists also are continuing to grumble about the politics of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom they feel often acts more like a Democrat.
"I think there's great concern over the dramatic turn to the left he's made in the past year and the damage that's done to the state and to the party," said Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks.
Schwarzenegger is scheduled to address the convention tonight at an $80-per-person dinner. He also is expected to meet privately with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a likely presidential contender who will speak at a luncheon Saturday.
Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor, said Schwarzenegger will emphasize his pride in being a Republican and will highlight public safety and other traditional party issues.
He also is expected to pitch his health care reform plan, which has met with skepticism from the party base because it offers subsidized coverage to children of illegal immigrants and increases fees on employers, doctors and hospitals.
And Schwarzenegger is expected to urge party unity.
GOP Chairman Duf Sundheim said Schwarzenegger - who is conservative on financial issues but progressive on social issues - can help the party win over decline-to-state voters, who have been steadily increasing over the past decade.
"Because we have Schwarzenegger for the next four years, I think that provides us with an opportunity to redefine who we are as Republicans," Sundheim said.
"And to say, Look, we have that strong conservative group and you hear from that voice within the legislative community, but we also represent a voice that's strong on the economic issues, libertarian on the social issues and progressive on the environmental issues."
But even as the party looks to broader issues, it faces internal turmoil over management and spending practices that left it with $4.4 million in outstanding debt at the end of last year.
Critics say the party got very little for the money. While Schwarzenegger won re-election, and Steve Poizner won the insurance commissioner's office, the party failed to take any other statewide offices nor gain any legislative seats.
Mike Spence, president of the conservative activist group California Republican Assembly, said the party focused too heavily on Schwarzenegger.
"It's not like they were spending this money to elect other Republicans," Spence said. "They were spending it on a guy up 20 points in the polls. It doesn't make any sense."
Sundheim said leaders decided to give an equal and consistent level of financial support to all of the party's statewide candidates rather than trying to adjust the amount based on the latest polls.
Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the California Democratic Party, said Republicans are in low spirits.
"They have a whole host of problems now," Salazar said. "There's millions of dollars in debt. People have been calling for an audit into how they spent their get-out-the-vote money. They have a governor who basically ignored them during the election - he didn't lift a finger to help any of the party darlings like (controller candidate Tony) Strickland or McClintock."
"So I don't think it's a good time to be a Republican in California."
It's not a good time to be a Republican in Minnesota.
We collectively got our butts handed to us last November.
hoping? ha! we are.
He is, however, a huge improvement over Gray Davis, our former governor. Let's just keeping leading to our right.
Conservatives did not support him during the first or second election. They did not support him after the first election. Why would they think he "owes" them anything?
I sometimes think some of the people here think that if they can make things bad enough (by allowing the farthest leftwing candidate win), there will be a revolution and they will will. If it did not happen when slick Willie was in office, it will never happen. Every time you allow a an extreme leftist to win, you lose ground that is just about impossible to retake.
He is, however, a huge improvement over Gray Davis, our former governor. Let's just keeping leading to our right.
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Uhh,, OK.
Huge, huh?
Leading to the right? lolol
Welcome to FR.
I would certainly like to hear your explanation of the improvement.
I'll make it easy. You don't have to discuss government spending, indebtedness, the size of government, the cost of government, the per capita tax burden, the support of deviant lifestyles or political integrity. The record on those issues are clear and established
Take all the time and space you need.
My definition of the "improvement" Schwarzenegger has shown over Davis' reign is:
he's not taking bribes, like Davis did;
he vetoed gay marriage, which Davis supported;
he vetoed legislation that would have:
raised the minimum wage
limited offshoring
Proposed the elimination of more than 88 boards and commissions, removing worker and consumer input into government decision-making and De-funded the Institute for Labor and Economy, one of the only sources for research and study of workers' issues in the State University system
he doesn't take a salary
he must have something to do with the fact that we haven't enjoyed rolling blackouts since the Davis era
ALL this is easily googled. My point is not the Schwarzenegger is our man, but that he is a few steps in the right direction.
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