Posted on 07/02/2006 2:49:06 PM PDT by calcowgirl
Paul Folino, 61, heads a major business, but still finds time to raise funds for colleges and the GOP, and be the governor's confidant.
From his mother, Paul Folino learned charity and the rewards of sharing ... That spirit kicked in when, in 2001, Folino's secretary announced — somewhat incredulously — that a guy claiming to be actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on the phone.
Folino took the call. After half an hour, he had ... committed himself to raise $10 million for an initiative to fund after-school programs.
The governor said he and Folino bonded over their desire to help children.
By the time they met, Folino had registered as a Republican and joined a fledgling group [the New Majority] of wealthy Orange County residents convinced that the party's right-leaning zeal on social issues such as abortion and gay rights was offending voters.
Folino now chairs the group that a more conservative former county GOP chairman dismissed as an "insurgency of misled millionaires."
With 150 members in Orange County and 85 in Los Angeles County, the New Majority is forming chapters in the Inland Empire and San Diego County.
Folino describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially tolerant, someone who focuses more on the candidate than ideological litmus tests. The New Majority has sometimes been at odds with the state Republican Party, supporting an open primary, for example. The differences haven't led to a breach between Folino and party leaders.
In six years, Folino has given nearly $1.4 million to Schwarzenegger's campaigns and has helped the New Majority raise $12 million.
The list of those making political pilgrimages for the group's blessing this year reads like a Who's Who of 2008 GOP presidential hopefuls: New York Gov. George Pataki, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, ...George Allen (R-Va.), ...Tommy Thompson.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Folino had registered as a Republican and joined a fledgling group [the New Majority] of wealthy Orange County residents convinced that the party's right-leaning zeal on social issues such as abortion and gay rights was offending voters.
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lol,, offending voters.. he ain;t seen nothing yet.
Looks like he is already looking beyond aRnold. Maybe he should just sign on as a liberal , vote dem and save us all the Big Tent drama.
I think Tom Fuentes summed it up pretty well. The New Majority doesn't care about those tedious Republican platform items like smaller government and the 2nd amendment. They're just such divisive issues, you know? [Join hands, lets enjoy this Kumbaya moment]
Will they be courting Villaraigosa (R)?
SACRAMENTO and Los Angeles are abuzz with speculation about the Kumbaya coalition of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both Schwarzenegger and Nuñez back Villaraigosa's effort to gain a say in running L.A.'s schools, and the three plan to campaign for passage of the November bond package to fund multiple construction projects in the state.
Then there's the chilly relationship between Villaraigosa and his party's nominee for governor, Phil Angelides. The mayor recently passed up an opportunity to endorse the state treasurer, a snub unusual in state Democratic politics.
Everybody expects Villaraigosa to run for governor. Schwarzenegger's reelection would better serve the mayor's ambition because the governor would be termed out in 2010. A Gov. Angelides wouldn't be termed out until 2014.
Amid rumblings of term-limit reform, the game of 2010 musical chairs has already begun.
Hey,, Just Win, Baby!
Don't Sweat the Details!
Firestone and libs registered Republican under a new name.
The only thing in a big tent is a circus and i'm sick and tired of a government run like a circus.
I read this article about a year ago w/ only the Hemet stuff added for today's release.
FWIW.
What Hemet stuff?
his 5 acres & 12 horses in Hemet that he visits on weekends
The whole effort has been to wipe out what's left of the support on the internet of the Republican's once conservative platform. And we all know there's no such thing as a 50/50 conservative!!! What a farce the so-called fiscal conservative/social liberal is!!!
They just want to dilute and pollute CA conservatism!!!
Ooops, sorry!
I didn't remember reading that the first time and when I checked, I forgot to check the second page.
Thanks!
Real conservatives.
Not the party-above-principle Big Tent GOP pretend-conservatives.
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