Posted on 03/16/2004 5:22:34 PM PST by calcowgirl
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LEAVING: GOP Assembly candidate Van Tran, left, shakes hands with Tom Fuentes after the resignation announcement. |
COSTA MESA – Orange County Republican boss Tom Fuentes announced Monday that he'll resign next month, ending several years of behind-the-scenes jockeying to persuade the GOP icon to step down.
"I will return to the floor of this body to work with you," Fuentes told the county party's governing Central Committee at its monthly meeting at the Sutton Place Hotel. "I will continue to walk with you, to meet our neighbors and welcome them to our party."
In his 26-minute speech, Fuentes offered no explanation for leaving the helm, focusing instead on personal and party accomplishments, and encouraging the committee to elect former Assembly Republican Leader Scott Baugh as his successor. That vote is expected next month.
| THOMAS FUENTES | |
| Age: 55 Residence: Lake Forest Family: Married, three children Occupation: Senior vice president of government relations for Tait & Associates, an engineering firm Education: Bachelor's degree in government Political posts: Chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County; board member of the South Orange County Community College District; appointed by the George W. Bush administration to the board of the Legal Services Corp. Community service: Founder of the Orange County Food Bank, founding chairman of the Second Harvest food bank Honors: Knight of Malta, Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem |
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In his 20 years as chairman, Fuentes helped build the county organization into one of the country's Republican powerhouses, reliable both for its fund raising and for broad margins of victory in the county for GOP candidates.
But his stubborn, abrasive leadership style has increasingly alienated key allies, including major donors, the state party, the Bush-Cheney campaign and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's election campaign.
Although pressure to resign continued to mount, Fuentes, 55, insisted he had long been interested in stepping down if there was an acceptable replacement. As Baugh emerged as a candidate last year, the stars began to align for the change - although until Fuentes' speech Monday night it remained unclear whether he would follow through.
"Tom has always done things on his terms," said activist Jon Fleischman.
Although Fuentes endorsed Baugh as a steadfast conservative cut from the same cloth as himself, others see Baugh as a far more unifying force.
"Scott is the type of individual who can bring all segments of the party back together," said Dale Dykema, a Newport Beach donor.
After Fuentes' speech - and a two-minute standing ovation - Baugh told reporters that unity was at the top of his list.
"There is no greater goal than to bring the big donors and grass-roots volunteer groups together, and focus on fighting the Democrats in central Orange County rather than each other," Baugh said.
Dykema first suggested Fuentes step down five years ago. Then four years ago, the New Majority, a group of GOP millionaires, tried unsuccessfully to gain control of the Central Committee and replace Fuentes.
When Fuentes took over as boss, 51.6 percent of county voters were Republican. He helped build it to a peak of 55.6 percent in 1990. But that has since tailed off to 48.6 percent.
While the early 1990s found all of the county's congressional and state legislative seats held by the GOP, changing demographics have helped Democrats capture three of those posts since 1996.
Fuentes' departure as chairman was long in coming. In 1998, several Republican business leaders asked him to groom a successor and serve only through 2000; he was elected chairman twice since. His 10th term as chairman would have ended in January 2005.
In recent years, the GOP commander snubbed the local campaign efforts of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a much more liberal Republican, and even angered operatives for President Bush. Business leaders complained that Fuentes' brand of social conservatism alienated female and minority voters and discouraged a healthy mix of candidates from vying in primaries.
Calls for Fuentes to step down gained strength in the last six months. Some Republican elected officials fretted that his hard-line views and off-putting manner limited his effectiveness in raising funds for key races and for turning out Republican vote margins needed to counterbalance Democratic majorities elsewhere in the state.
The state's two wealthiest GOP donor groups — the New Majority and the Lincoln Club of Orange County — are based locally but stopped giving money to the county party in 2000 in protest over Fuentes' handling of the party. Two years ago, the state party revamped its image with more moderate leadership.
"Stubborn" = Stood for principles.
"Abrasive" = Didn't smile when told to bend over and take it.
"Key Allies" = Pro-abortion and pro-gay "Republicans."
"Key Donors" = Corporate crooks who give money to Arnold.
"The State Party" = Huffington, Parsky, Sundheim... RINOs
"The Bush-Cheney campaign" = Carl Rove
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's election campaign" = Supported Tom McClintock
In his 20 years as chairman, Fuentes helped build the county organization into one of the country's Republican powerhouses, reliable both for its fund raising and for broad margins of victory in the county for GOP candidates.
"We" can't have THAT now can we?
I warned anbody who wouldn't listen that Arnold would be immensely destructive to conservatives from within the Republican Party. This is an archetypal example of what I meant.
As the Republican Party moves toward the center many conservatives will be forced out. Eventually conservatives will be forced into insignificance.
I can't think of any better conservative credentials than being opposed by local, statewide and national moderates.
When they come for the moderates, will the moderates look to the conservatives for help?
a healthy mix? I'm scratching my head on that one.
Here we go. Now it's Fuentes' brand of social conservatism
I can only guess what the new definition of social conservatism will be but I can bet it won't be the one my daddy learned.
Here's my guess:
Homosexuals have a right to be mainstreamed
Alien nationals should be automatically accorded the rights and privileges of citizens.
Diversity, racial, gender and cultural, is the prime aim of our society.
Redistribution of wealth is the aim of government
Direct democracy, the rule of the mob, should replace our republican form of government.
Discrimination, in any form, is wrong.
Society should reward its members for their intentions rather than their accomplishments
LA Times:
Under his chairmanship, all Republicans would be welcome regardless of differences in ideology, [Baugh] said."Our party would be very small if it consisted only of conservatives," he said during a break in the meeting. "We need the full spectrum in our party to point our guns at the Democrats. That is unity."
This is what happens when the consistent conservatives kick off a Recall and the Country Clubbers and Log Cabin louts come swingin in with their big bucks and celebrities to shove aside those that have worked their hearts out walking the precincts since the days of the 11th commandment!
Now the party believes in only two things... power and bigger government. They'll tolerate any kind of nonsense to try and make the mediots love them and that's falling flat on it's face. Just like the "New Tone In Washington," etc.
They'll keep it up till there's no more volunteers and they have to pay every activist.
Volunteers don't work for a party that doesn't really stand for much of anything good and RIGHT!!!
They'll end up with all the nice tolerant do-nothing RINO's that think they're all too nice to actually engage in political combat for the great American traditions and values! There ain't gonna be anybody to pick up the pieces when the militant Demonicrats git done with 'em and their media friends demoralize the remnant along with CA and America!!!
I'm fatigued with this nonsense, so I'd entertain a movement to grow a valid conservative political force based on optimism and legitimate public policy ideas!!!
If these numskulls in the Democrat Party figured out that they could sweep this coming national election by a landslide with a conservative candidate they'd be dangerous.
I offer this odd observation because the Republican Party is leaning so badly to the left in an attempt to out moderate the Democrats its collapse as a national force is inevitable along it's present course.
Bush can't win without the support of the 15% on the far right and if these folks are given a viable alternative, bye, bye Bush.
One irony is here in California. The Democrats had a conservative leader who could have beaten Schwarzenegger if he had chosen to do so but they rejected him simply because he allegedly shaved his whole body below the neck and diddled with an intern. Bye, bye Gary Condit.
Judas Priest, man! Look at it!! It's become an unmanageable, nearly ungovernable montrosity!!!
And that's just CA's multi-level government!!!
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