Worse, why did Carl Rove arrange for the appointment of the current CAGOP leadership, especially Gerry Parsky, who has refused to support ANY conservative Republican nominee?
That's just what happens when we elect GOP moderates. Think Pete Wilson, or Nixon.
?I know you said the Calif Repub party sold out, but didn't the national party sell out as well.
It did indeed, but you have to understand the hierarchy.
However inept Bill Simon's campaign may have seemed, the worst of it was done by his own Party. Had the CAGOP supported their candidate wholeheartedly, Simon would be governor now, despite that ineptitude (which one has to question considering the way he crushed Dick Riordan). As it was, Gerry Parsky and the GOP leadership refused to raise the money promised when they took the job, withheld funds raised by President Bush until Simon's campaign manager (Sal Russo) signed the Log Cabin letter, Parsky refused to fund GOTV or registration efforts, and stipulated Simon hire Wilson/Jones (remember "Fire Gray Davis"?) and Ed Rollins (the famous fundraising photo) as campaign consultants. As a result, Simon lost by 350,000 votes when 1.6 MILLION registered Republicans didn't vote.
That Simon came as close as he did with those kinds of handicaps is PROOF that a competent conservative CAN win. That's the dirty little secret of the California Republican Party, and the one thing they don't want is for those who would otherwise support Tom McClintock, but don't believe he can win, to realize it.
Consider Bill Jones recent campaign. ALL of the funds raised and ALL of the organizational effort in California last year went to the Bush campaign. After Jones beat conservative Howard Kaloogian in the primary, he took the expected dive in the general election getting zero support from the CAGOP.
The behavior of GOP "moderates" during the Simon campaign is the principal reason I have so little patience for Arnold supporters when they demand I support him. They put up Riordan, lost, screwed a conservative in Bill Simon, lost, resisted the recall petition drive, lost, and then inserted their "centrist" excuse for a Republican telling us to support him while accusing conservatives of splitting the vote! They were perfectly happy to keep Gray Davis until conservatives succeeded in the petition drive despite them and then get crappy when we don't fall in line behind them.
So, let's say conservatives supported Arnold, will the GOP leadership EVER support another conservative candidate? The record says, no way. They'll expect us to keep giving them money, keep doing the legwork, and keep accepting the consequences for their "social liberalism," which ends up costing the State a fortune and manufactures ever more Democrat dependents... for what?
I especially like this piece of your comments in this post.
The behaviour of the CA GOP and their actions leading up to the Recall , in my mind at least, does nothing but reinforce the 'Trojan Horse' play that I believe was prepetrated on a gullible public with 'star' power. The sad thing , it played into environmental and financial interest more so, than it did the best interests of the state's residents.
Now I ask you, What does that say about the moderate movement and what they will stoop to?
This thread should be studied from beginning to end, including each reply, by anyone wishing to fully understand why the historic CA Recall election was rescued from the "Peasants With Pitchforks" by the "Powers That Be," and why such a strident battle broke out here on FR before and after it was all over.
Special thanks to Carrie_Okie and calcowgirl for working together to make reply #101 so absolutely revealing!!! (and disturbing to California Conservatives!!!)