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Shrider: GOP needs to speak up on immigration issue (Caliifornia)
The Bakersfield Californian ^ | Aug 18, 2006 | Marylee Shrider

Posted on 08/19/2006 8:38:22 AM PDT by calcowgirl

The state's Republicans are partying hard this weekend at the California Republican Party Convention in Los Angeles, no doubt doing their best to cultivate a unified front for the November elections.

A commendable and necessary goal, to be sure, but it's going to take more than hand-rolled cigars and cognac to sway party conservatives, some of whom are still trying to figure out exactly where their GOP stands on the tough issues.

Apparently the convention's unofficial theme -- don't rock the boat, get Arnold re-elected -- doesn't cut it for the party's true-blue conservatives who are looking for definitive answers this weekend from party leadership.

"It's not that conservatives are trying to rock the boat, we're trying to recapture those days when we had principles that the majority of voters looked at and said 'Yeah, that's me, too,'" says Kern County delegate Tracy Leach. "It's wrong to try to be so safe that you're boring, to be so careful not to offend that you end up standing for nothing."

When it comes to hot button issues, there are none hotter than illegal immigration, a topic so divisive it's managed to knock abortion from the top spot. Conservative delegates, whose support of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is tepid at best, say they don't want to go home without knowing his, and their party's, bottom-line stance on the issue.

"On Monday, people will see headlines that say the GOP opposed amnesty or that the GOP takes no stand on amnesty," says Stephen Frank, a political consultant and conservative activist. "Those headlines will make a difference in voter turnout."

Frank and other conservative delegates, such as California Republican Assembly President Mike Spence, submitted resolutions they hope will force the party's hand on the matter of illegal immigration.

The resolutions are straightforward. Frank's urges city, county and state government officials to enforce laws already on the books in regard to illegal immigrants "just as government enforces the laws for legitimate businesses and individuals."

The Spence-authored resolution picks a finer point, asking delegates to oppose with one voice "any form of amnesty, permission or program that allows those who have violated our nations immigration laws to stay in our nation."

Not much to argue with there, but supporting the resolution will be a stretch for our governor who has already said he supports a guest worker program.

Wording of the resolutions may change somewhat in committee, but both Frank and Spence expect the resolutions to go before delegates pretty much intact. The resolutions, Frank says, are largely symbolic but send a clear message to the voters who better understand public policy when it's "painted in bold, vivid colors."

"People didn't always like Ronald Reagan's policies, but he gained their trust, as he said, by not painting public policy in pastels, but in vivid colors," he says. "The party needs to determine if it wants an intensity of voters or does it want to send the message it is not in the mainstream of California opinion at this time."

Polls show the governor is currently enjoying a comfortable lead against opponent Phil Angelides and the party is sure to squeeze some mileage from a Schwarzenegger ticket that includes popular Republican lieutenant governor nominee, Tom McClintock and Fresno Sen. Chuck Poochigian, the Republican candidate for attorney general.

Things are looking good for the governor, but the elections are still three months away and voters are still mulling over the candidates, the bond measures and propositions. Anything can happen, especially when a large segment of the governor's conservative base feels betrayed by his shift to center in recent months.

It's past time for the California Republican Party to take a stand on illegal immigration and other important issues. Pick a policy, GOP. Pick a color. Go out on a limb and make it bold.


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: aliens; cagop; cagopconvention; election2006; gopplatform; illegalimmigration; newmajority; rmsp
Marylee Shrider's column appears Tuesdays and Saturdays. For comments or questions please contact her at mshrider@bakersfield.com or leave a voice mail at 395-7474.
1 posted on 08/19/2006 8:38:23 AM PDT by calcowgirl
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To: calcowgirl
"It's not that conservatives are trying to rock the boat, we're trying to recapture those days when we had principles that the majority of voters looked at and said 'Yeah, that's me, too,'" says Kern County delegate Tracy Leach. "It's wrong to try to be so safe that you're boring, to be so careful not to offend that you end up standing for nothing."

2 posted on 08/19/2006 8:39:07 AM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: calcowgirl

Eye, yie, yie, yie... ya gots one too many "i's" in the title for CA!!! (grin)


3 posted on 08/19/2006 8:41:15 AM PDT by SierraWasp (I'm voting on everything except CA Governor this year cause there's NOTHING to vote "for"!!!)
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To: calcowgirl
There are a couple articles in the daily newspapers about conservatives being a problem for Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is the sort of thing you write when these conventions come up.

Bill knows his trade. Almost a dozen articles posted on FreeRepublic in the past couple of days

5 posted on 08/19/2006 9:10:29 AM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: Amerigomag

I agree the Dems are trying to stir it up. (And, of course, some of our resident liberals like to use those articles to badger conservatives.) While I usually think Bill 'gets it,' I don't agree with the rest of his assessment. However, he did make me laugh: "Will I capture video of Schwarzenegger with his very conservative running mate, Tom McClintock? " I'll be interested in reading his take on the convention.


6 posted on 08/19/2006 10:02:32 AM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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