You should have been here yesterday. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1532693/posts?page=43#42
Posted on 12/03/2005 11:25:15 AM PST by Kenny Bunk
Top California Republicans are wondering if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is moving left politically following his appointment to chief of staff of Susan Kennedy – a leading liberal activist and former aide to Democrat Gov. Gray Davis.
"We're not moving anywhere," Schwarzenegger says, insisting that he is continuing to go "in the same direction."
Some of his Republican colleagues wonder what direction that may be.
"I'm getting more e-mails off of this [the Kennedy appointment] than I do for Viagra," said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, in an interview with the L.A. Times newspaper.
"Since the special election, where we were very loyal [to Schwarzenegger], all we've heard about was a $50 billion bond and looking at clemency for [convicted murderer and gang leader Stanley] Tookie Williams." Asking if there isn't "even one Republican in the state to be qualified as chief of staff?" Spence said. "I think the Kennedy thing was just the last straw."
What especially irks GOP leaders is Kennedy’s popular standing among California liberals. She is a former executive director of the state's ultra-left-wing Democratic Party, a former top member of former Gov. Gray Davis’ staff and - to the chagrin of advocates of traditional values - an abortion supporter and admitted lesbian who recently "married” her lover in a Hawaiian civil union ceremony.
GOP officials aren't alone in their criticism of the appointment, as Schwarzenegger discovered during a radio talk-show appearance with conservative host Roger Hedgecock on San Diego's KOGO radio station.
Said Hedgecock "You have once again stirred up everyone in the whole state with this announcement. This woman seems completely incompatible with any Republican principles."
Not so, said the governor, who described Kennedy as a pro-business moderate who had supported him on all of his doomed special-election ballot initiatives, including one which was fiercely opposed by Democrats because it would have put a limit on spending.
"All of the things that I have done in the last two years she believes in and actually said many times to me during the last two years that she has become a big fan of mine because of the things that I do," he told Hedgecock.
While admitting that some Republicans will be "up in arms about" the Kennedy appointment, Schwarzenegger told his host "but I have to pick someone that I feel comfortable with. And I talked to a lot of people for this job, and she was the one who I felt most comfortable with." Not every Republican is appalled at the Governor's choice. Pat Dando, president and chief executive officer of the San Jose-Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce told the San Jose Mercury News:
"I would hope that they would look at her as an individual with qualifications that are important to do the job of chief of staff." He added that Schwarzenegger "appears to be more interested in finding well-qualified individuals to work with him on both sides of the aisle than sticking to a party line, and I think that's healthy."
That'll teach you ta git cute with me and my aging memory, you rascal!!!
Sacramento Bee
March 12, 2005
Parsky explores gubernatorial bid Regents chair hints he'll run, but only if the governor doesn't.
Amy Chance Bee Political Editor
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 if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opts to bow out.
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.
Despite his close ties to Bush, Parsky is a not a beloved figure in some quarters of the state Republican Party and is an untested statewide candidate.
But as a multimillionaire who serves as chairman of Aurora Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, he is considered capable of paying for the campaign himself should he choose to do so.
He also has recently sent signals that he doubts Schwarzenegger will succeed in a sweeping effort to pass several initiatives on issues ranging from the state pension system to state spending controls in a special election showdown with Democratic interest groups.
Last week, he came to Sacramento to tell a legislative committee that, as chairman of the UC Board of Regents, he cannot support the governor's proposal to turn government pensions into a 401(k)-style system.
Parsky, whose stint as chairman expires next year, said Schwarzenegger's measure as drafted could damage the university system's ability to recruit faculty and therefore hamper the California economy. Kingsley said he has offered to help Schwarzenegger negotiate a compromise with legislative Democrats.
A month ago at the state Republican Party convention in Sacramento, Kingsley - a longtime GOP activist who is close to Parsky - resigned from the party's Rules Committee to protest its decision to pave the way for an early endorsement of Schwarzenegger's re-election.
The action was aimed at giving the party room to spend money preparing for Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign without violating its bylaws. Delegates then endorsed the governor on a unanimous voice vote.
Party Chairman Duf Sundheim said the move was necessary because new campaign finance limits prevent Schwarzenegger from collecting unlimited amounts for his own campaign treasury. The party is not subject to the restrictions.
But Kingsley argued that the move violated longtime party practice and would discourage competition in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
A spokeswoman for Parsky and Kingsley said this week, however, that Parsky was not considering challenging Schwarzenegger should he decide to run for re-election.
"We visited Washington and met with Republican leaders and advisers, refreshing a dialogue with friends and colleagues inside the Beltway," spokeswoman Elizabeth Blackney said. "Mr. Parsky and Dora are both totally supportive of the governor being re-elected at this point."
Some Republicans said they found it amazing that Parsky would have the temerity to offer his name given Schwarzenegger's current popularity, but weren't surprised that he did, given his past interest in key political positions.
"That is truly astounding and utterly believable," said Karen Hanretty, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party.
Communications Director Rob Stutzman declined to comment on the possibility of a Parsky candidacy.
Party Rules Committee Vice Chairman Bob Naylor said any "anti-Schwarzenegger tone" to Parsky's interest would run contrary to the overwhelming support for the governor at the last convention. He said Parsky "probably didn't earn himself many Brownie points with the Republican grass roots" by testifying against the governor's pension plan.
"If this is the kind of exploratory effort that's a prelude to (a candidacy in) 2010, then it's just fine," he said. "Gerry Parsky would be on a list of very capable people out there when ... we have a very short bench. So I would encourage him to think about it, but not in 2006."
Naylor said he would be "shocked" if Schwarzenegger doesn't run for re-election.
"Everything in Arnold Schwarzenegger's lifetime suggests that he wants to be known as successful," Naylor said, "and I don't think he can be known as a successful governor given the depth of the problems of this state in only three years. The problems he is dealing with are so monumental and the political situation is so ideologically muscle-bound, it's just going to take more time."
Others suggested it might make sense to have a candidate waiting in the wings, given Schwarzenegger's unpredictable nature.
Schwarzenegger told CNN talk show host Larry King last November that he would decide whether he was running for re-election by spring.
But he hasn't repeated that statement recently, saying only that he is first focused on the policy proposals he hopes to put on the ballot later this year.
Schwarzenegger advisers say only that anyone who says they know what he will do doesn't remember his surprise announcement that he was running for governor in the first place, on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno in August 2003.
There remains, therefore, the risk that the party would be left without an obvious candidate for governor if the former actor decides late this year not to run.
But California political insiders are skeptical that Parsky could win a statewide election given his close ties to Bush.
Parsky served as chairman of the California delegation to the Republican National Convention in New York last year, but California voters decisively cast their ballots for Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in November.
Blackney noted that Parsky has received appointments from each of the past five Republican presidents, including stints at the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Energy under former President Nixon. He served in 2001 and 2002 on Bush's Commission to Strengthen Social Security.
"Whether it's President Bush or President Reagan, he's always served the state of California and the American people well," Blackney said. "I don't see that his relationship with the current president of the United States would be a hindrance in any way."
* * *
A title I'll take with honor!
Oh crap! I think I've burst a blood vessel er sumthin... Holy Toledo!!! Ha Ha Ha!!!
I agree.
I was gittin so mad at you for shaking my usual overly confident and adamant attitude, that I was lookin all around the room here for a bag of somethin warm, soft and smelly to hit that strange GVnana right up-side the head with!!! Shazzam!!!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1341905/posts
(CA) GOP to give its nod to governor
Contra Costa Times ^ | 2/12/5 | Lisa Vorderbrueggen and Dion Nissenbaum
Posted on 02/12/2005 1:29:29 PM PST by SmithL
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1342876/posts
Governor energizes state GOP
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 2/14/5 | Carla Marinucci, John Wildermuth
Posted on 02/14/2005 7:57:00 AM PST by SmithL
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1342635/posts
Calif. GOP changes rule to back governor (Schwarzenegger)
Seattle PI ^ | FEb. 13, 2005 | AP
Posted on 02/13/2005 9:18:22 PM PST by FairOpinion
Ever make a typo before, DL? Please forgive me--my fingers accidentally put an additional "i" in the word. Is commenting on typing skills a way to avoid answering my question?
Do you expect "unity" when a candidate does not embrace the principles of the party in which he chooses to run?
"and others who are here by due process" is tacit approval of our catch and release policies and consideration for our political persecution exceptions.
"and support federal efforts to stem it." is unequivocal support of Bush's policies.
Two things are apparent:
1)The CAGOP is a stepchild of the RNC with regard to immigration.
2) The CAGOP, while willing to attack and frustrate California's #1 financial enemy, the California legislative majority, is unwilling to even meaningfully address the #2 enemy, the legacy of illegal immigration.
The major problem with that stance and the fatal flaw in their platform, both for the Republican Party and for California, is that in a short amount of time the legacy of illegal immigration will become California's legislative majority.
Judging by today's standards, the corruption of this legacy will bode ill for the state. Currently, the majority leader of the Assembly, the Lt. Governor and the mayor of Los Angeles are prime examples of the legacy of illegal immigration run amuck. A butcher and two, immigrant labor leaders ready to share the spoils of California's wealth and welcome their cultural compatriots to the feast.
I'm in agreement. If that's the policy of the CAGOP then they're the problem, not the solution.
Thanks for both references.
---
What also struck me was the absence of any comments relative to illegal immigration enforcement (or at least minimizing the current incentives).
This was the stated platform under the category "Federalism"
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The CRP supports the President's efforts to abide by these clear constraints on federal power and reverse the federal encroachment upon the powers and rights reserved and delegated to the States and the people. We favor state determination, without federal mandates or subsidies, on all matters consistent with the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
I'm referring to the unity that might eventually get a Tom McClintock elected.
Unity of principle, as in code of conduct.
The kind of conduct that doesn't harass fellow freepers . It's annoying and unproductive, isn't it?
You should have been here yesterday. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1532693/posts?page=43#42
I was.
Don't you just hate havin' your tree shook?
I think abandoning principles is annoying and unproductive.
I'd rather stand in unity for principles, alongside freepers and a political candidate.
Parsky for Governor?
Sacramento Bee ^ | March 12, 2005 | Amy Chance
Posted on 03/12/2005 7:37:47 AM PST by VAGirlieGirlPresident Bush's Campaign Chief Explores Run For Governor
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | March 12, 2005 | Associated Press
Posted on 03/12/2005 3:40:32 PM PST by VAGirlieGirlParsky explores gubernatorial bid
Sacramento Bee ^ | March 12, 2005 | Amy Chance
Posted on 03/12/2005 4:37:33 PM PST by nickcarrawayCA: UC official decides not to make run for governor (Gerald Parsky)
San Diego Union -Tribune ^ | 3/15/05 | John Marelius
Posted on 03/15/2005 8:38:04 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Whatever it takes to get a Tom McClintock from co-pilot to pilot.
Turned out to be a great replacement for Gray Davis, didn't he?
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