Free Republic

Like teenagers on vacation with their parents, Republicans from blue states and Democrats from red states don't want to be seen with party elders. "I don't spend a lot of time thinking about Mitt Romney," Elizabeth Emken, the Republican who will face off against Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in November, recently told me. "That's the truth. I've never met him." Emken thinks she has a shot at winning the election precisely because she is not the pick of the GOP establishment. "We've had millionaires and billionaires and CEOs and movie stars," said Emken in a not-so-subtle swipe at former top-of-the...

Republican Craig Huey, an advertising executive, could make a surprise advance in California's Democratic-leaning 36th District special election, according to initial results in Tuesday's race to replace Democrat Jane Harman. Due to the Los Angeles County district's Democratic lean, two Democrats were expected to top last night's "jungle primary," which featured 16 candidates of all parties running on a single ballot. But Huey narrowly edged out California Secretary of State Debra Bowen (D) by 206 votes for the second-place spot, according to preliminary results. Staff for Bowen on Tuesday night noted that 9,811 votes remained to be counted. "We are...

alifornia Republicans woke up Wednesday with a political hangover. Nationally, they celebrated the GOP's taking control of Congress, but their dismal showing in California gave them a lingering headache. Many of them wondered how they missed the national wave - and differed on which direction to go next. They lost nearly every statewide office, drubbed by double digits in most of the races. Meg Whitman couldn't win the governorship despite straddling the political middle and spending a record $160 million. Carly Fiorina couldn't roust Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, despite tacking right and exploiting Boxer's low approval ratings.For months, party officials...

If you want to know what's wrong with Sacramento, you need look no further than Orange County. That's where Republican Party insiders have cast aside one of the GOP's most principled members in its drive to fill the 72nd Assembly District seat vacated by disgraced Assemblyman Mike Duvall, who resigned after being caught on tape bragging in lurid detail to another assemblyman about his sexual exploits with lobbyists. The first major candidate to announce his intention to replace Duvall was Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby. If the local GOP were serious about the limited-government rhetoric it constantly preaches, Norby would...

SAN FRANCISCO -- After Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced a Democrat in 2003 to become California's governor, fellow Republicans were hopeful the former movie hero's popularity would help arrest a long decline here. But six years later, Republican voter registration continues to fall, and now many in the party are pegging their hopes on two former corporate chief executives: Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina. Ms. Whitman, former president and CEO of San Jose-based online-auction company eBay Inc., in February threw her hat into the ring for the 2010 race to succeed Mr. Schwarzenegger when his second and final term as governor ends...

The California Republican Party seemed to hit political paydirt in a YouTube ad that pilloried the Service Employees International Union for "bullying state leaders in the budget process." The ad featured footage of an angry woman telling lawmakers that union members would work to defeat lawmakers who didn't vote their way. It turns out that the woman portrayed as an SEIU union leader in the commercial is a home health care worker from Fresno named Lisa Brown, who works for the state by caring for her son who has Down syndrome. Now Brown is calling on Republicans to pull the...

Not that anybody asked, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Friday that despite the superficial parallels between him and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, he has no plans to change parties and become a Democrat. "I was one of the first supporters of the Obama stimulus plan, even though I'm a Republican. I'm one of those few Republicans that jumped out and supported him. Right along with Arlen Specter, Senator Arlen Specter," the governor said in a speech to AltaMed's National Healthcare Reform Policy Forum in Beverly Hills. "And the reason why I mention that is because I just want...

When it comes to congressional races, California — despite its 53 seats — is typically one of the least competitive states in the nation. Next year, however, that may change. The emerging consensus in both parties is that a highly gerrymandered state that rarely sees tightly contested House races is about to see a surge of them in 2010, largely because of erosion in the Republican base. “There are a few [Republican incumbents] that are probably in danger,” said Dave Gilliard, a California-based GOP strategist. “A lot of these guys aren’t used to working the district, and they’re going to...

Former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman joined the race for governor of California this morning, setting off a battle between Silicon Valley moguls for the 2010 Republican nomination. Whitman, 52, has never run for public office, but is banking that Californians will see her corporate background as just what the state needs to break its chronic cycle of fiscal disasters. ... Whitman's chief rival for the party nomination is state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, also a high-tech tycoon. Another Republican exploring a run is a former Silicon Valley congressman, Tom Campbell, now an economics professor at UC Berkeley. With vast...

It isn't really clear if a candidate for Governor can suffer a "significant campaign setback" if they aren't even a candidate yet, but that is what has happened to ersatz Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay who, relatively new to the GOP, has had high profile roles with the Presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney (with whom she was once a co-worker) and Senator John McCain - with the confirmation that her top two most prominent advisors are no longer engaged professionally on Whitman's behalf. --snip-- For most of this year, Whitman has been rumored to be looking...

An Alameda County judge has thrown out a lawsuit contesting the election to the county's Republican Central Committee of a handful of supporters of libertarian Ron Paul, a former presidential candidate. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch rejected a lawsuit by committee Chairman Paul Cummings of Oakland seeking to overturn the election to the committee of a group of Paul supporters and Minutemen. The opposition group won 12 of the committee's 30 elected seats in the June 3 election, and Cummings alleged that seven of them did not meet the party membership requirements for candidates. Rather than rule on...

Moderate GOP wing flexes its voting muscle SACRAMENTO - By now, anyone who cares knows that Arizona Sen. John McCain smashed his rivals in California's presidential primary Feb. 5. But almost no one foresaw the scope of McCain's win, which was nearly total.The Golden State primary was open only to registered Republicans and as such was expected to skew to the right of the political spectrum. Yet the more moderate McCain, who is loathed by large sections of the GOP, swept the field in all but three counties: Fresno, Shasta and Sierra.McCain easily carried San Joaquin, Calaveras, Stanislaus and Amador...

While the once-imperiled California condor has made a striking comeback, there is another ailing bird in the state that should probably be considered for the endangered species list: California Republicans. As the 2008 Republican presidential contenders turn their sights toward California on Feb. 5, they might want to take stock of the sorry state of the GOP in the Golden State. Registered Republicans now constitute barely a third of the electorate in the biggest state — 34 percent — a decline from 39 percent just two decades ago. Even in Orange County, regularly described as “the most Republican county in...

Our way of electing presidents has always been fertile ground for mischief. But there's sensible mischief—toying with existing laws and the Constitution to reflect popular will—and then there's the other kind, which tries to rig admission to the Electoral College for strictly partisan purposes. Mischief-makers in California (Republicans) and North Carolina (Democrats) are at work on changes that would subvert the system for momentary advantage and—in ways the political world is only beginning to understand—dramatically increase the odds that a Republican will be elected president in 2008. Right now, every state except Nebraska and Maine awards all of its electoral...

SACRAMENTO — California GOP strategists, seeking to reshape the electoral map in their party's favor, plan to begin raising money this week for a ballot initiative they hope will help a Republican win the White House in the 2008 election. As it is, Democrats assume they must win California's electoral votes to win the presidency. California supplies 55 electoral votes, more than 10% of the 538 nationally. The nascent initiative, aimed at the June 2008 ballot, would change California's winner-take-all system to require that electoral votes be apportioned by congressional district. With Republicans holding 19 of the state's 53 congressional...

Initiative would require that, starting in 2008, state's electoral votes be apportioned by congressional district SACRAMENTO -- California Republican strategists, seeking to reshape the electoral map in the GOP's favor, plan to begin raising money this week for a ballot initiative they hope will help a Republican win the White House in the 2008 election. As it is, Democrats assume they must win California's electoral votes to win the presidency. California supplies 55 electoral votes, more than 10 percent of the 538 electoral votes nationally. The nascent initiative, aimed at the June 2008 ballot, would change California's winner-take-all system and...

California voters remain unhappy with their elected officials in Sacramento. Both Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislature continue to receive poor job ratings, with just 39% of voters currently approving of the performance of the Governor and 28% saying this with regard to the state legislature. In addition, a 56% majority of Californians feels the direction of the state is seriously off on the wrong track, twice the proportion (28%) who see the state moving in the right direction. Voter still favor by a 57% to 30% margin the Governor’s proposal to spend $200 billion over ten years on...

California Republicans are in open revolt against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over his hiring of a Democratic operative as his new chief of staff. And one leading state GOP official is touting actor Mel Gibson as a possible Republican primary challenger to Schwarzenegger. Officials with the California Republican Party are said to be furious with Schwarzenegger and have demanded a private meeting with the governor to complain about his appointment of Susan P. Kennedy, who was a Cabinet secretary during the administration of Gov. Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was elected governor after an extraordinary effort succeeded to recall Davis in 2003.

Republican Assemblywoman Sharon Runner praised Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for vetoing a gay marriage bill, while the leader of the Antelope Valley's Democratic Club said the move shows he "doesn't have the courage." Lynda von Husen, president of the Democratic Club of the High Desert, said she wasn't surprised by Schwarzenegger's Thursday veto, which he forecast Sept. 7. "He simply doesn't have the courage to stand up to those who oppose it," von Husen said of Schwarzenegger, whom she called "hugely unpopular." Schwarzenegger said the bill by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, contradicted Proposition 22, which was approved by voters in...

Gerry Parsky, chairman of the University of California Board of Regents and President Bush's political point man in California, is quietly exploring the possibility of running for governor next year. Parsky adviser Dora Kingsley made a recent trip to Washington, D.C., in which she floated the possibility to congressional and media representatives, and Parsky acknowledged in a written statement that he would not rule out the possibility. "Should either President Bush or Governor Schwarzenegger again call upon me to consider additional public service in another capacity, I would seriously consider the honor," he said. As a multimillionaire who serves as...