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Probably should have phrased it differently. I am not blaming the religious right -- I am from the right and religious but this group on here and elsewhere that wants 100% their way or they are not voting really bug me! Not to mention being called a RINO does not sit well or President Bush being called a RINO. That defies belief.

I am a lifelong Republican, supported Barry Goldwater as a teenage bell ringer, all the way to President Bush. When it comes to voting, I vote for the (R) behind the name, and in the primaries I vote for who I think is closest to my ideas but can also win. I don't always pick the right candidate in the primary but I try to pick the one who I think can win and then I support the Republican candidate in the general. I didn't like Bob Dole but I sure supported him.

Let me give you an example. Here in the OK 4th to replace J.C. we had two longtime Republicans running, both conservative; however, one was Pat Robertson's campaign manager in 1988 against President Bush and the other supported both President Bush's. It didn't take me long to go to volunteer day after day for Tom Cole who supported the Bush's. The other candidate used Lynn Nofsinger as a supporter on his campaign ad and totally ignored either Pres Bush.

Fast forward to the general election, the Pat Robertson Republican refused to be part of the campaign because he lost the primary, was rude, his people for the most part did not work to elect a Republican to replace J.C. -- a lot of them stayed home and didn't vote.

Yet both candidates were conservative but guess Tom wasn't conservative enough for the "purist" as they called themselves because they stayed home and almost cost us the election. Heard more than one that Tom wasn't a "pure" conservative. What does that have to do with being Republican? Since when did the "pure" conservatives start running the Republican Party. I never heard that term until the 2002 election and then it has turned up again on here!

Now you know where I am coming from when I hear "I am not voting because Republicans are just like DemocRATs" or whatever the mantra is today.

The people you talk about not coming out to support the primary winner because he isn't their pick or he's not "pure" enough are a perfect example of what a REAL RINO is.

They are only Republicans when it's their people that are getting the party support. The whole reason there are political parties in the first place are for the strenght in coalition. It's all about "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine".

That is neccessary if you want to ever advance your agenda. If you support other Republicans on their people and their issues, they in turn will support you on yours.

Not supporting your party will lead to total system breakdown and political dominance by your opponents. In the end we wind up being better off with a European-style multi-party system and fragile coalition governments.

Given your background then, you should empathize. There are a lot of loyal Republicans in this state, who are being attacked for no good reason. This campaign has just started, and we barely know anything about Schwarzenegger's positions, and people attack us if we don't support. Why Californians, who like you have in your state, supported the Republican Party for years, be viciously attacked because they haven't decided who to vote for yet. Tom McClintock has been a hard-working Republican since he was 26. Schwarzenegger has not really been involved in the California Republican Part. Last year, he pursued an initiative, but it really had nothing to do with Republicans. Given your background, you of all people should understand.

Please, put yourselves in our shoes. We have a recall election that a lot of diehard Republicans worked veyr hard to get. Now Schwarzenegger, who is really a politcal unknown to us, throws his hat into the ring, and immediately out-of-staters tell us we have to support him, or else we are ``bad Republicans.'' How sould feel if out-of-staters came into Oklahoma and attacked you, with your long history of Republican support, if you did not immediately support a certain candidate? I think a lot of people are actually doing Schwarzenegger a diservice because they are alienating California Republicans towards him by their brutal attacks and condescending behavior. I don't think a Republican in California who isn't sold on Schwarzenegger or any other candidate for that matter, should be attacked as a ``bad Republican,'' or a ``disloyal Republican.'' Do you think they should?

And please try to understand that there are reasons why California Republicans are cautious when it come to Schwarzenegger. We've lived here so we know what's been going on here. Right now he hasn't given us a lot of information about his positions, but what we do know indicates his positions aren't much different then Davis. The thing that really concerns us is his ties to Richard Riordan. Riordan has demonstrated over the years he has no loyalty to Republicans, so it makes us nervous. Riordan is a Republican who usually endorses Democrats. He even endorsed Maxine Waters and Dianne Feinstein. And he was one of the top donors to Gray Davis himslef. Riordan lost the primary last year because he openly insulted Republican voters. Can you understand it makes us nervous when Schwarzenegger makes him the head of his issue panel? We've been burned before and we don't want to be again. Does that really make us bad Republicans and justify all these attacks?

Since you are a loyal Republican back to the Goldwater days, I want to ask you about something else that might make you mad. People are going onto the Tom McClintock threads and just making brutal attacks. Under the keywords they are typing juvenile things like: 4ANDFALLING; CROSSEDEYES; MCCLINTON; MCLOSER; MCMARGINALIZED; MISTERFOURPERCENT; NOUPPERLIP; TOMMCCLINTOCK; TOMWHO. Can you believe that? As a loyal Republican, doesn't that make you mad? Especially on Free Republic? McClintock has been a loyal Republican all his life, and has represented Californians in different positions since he was 26 years old. He is not a millionaire, because he's been in the legislature since then as a Republican who susbsists on that salary. Shouldn't all Freepers and Republicans be irate about this behavior?