Posted on 09/08/2007 9:00:23 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Political fissures divided state Republicans Saturday as they faced questions about the future of a party that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says has lost its way.
At a state GOP convention, a committee made only incremental headway trying to craft a new platform while some members angrily complained about being shut out or misled.
And a day after Schwarzenegger declared the party had lost the political middle ground and was "dying at the box office," state party Chairman Ron Nehring did respond directly when asked if he agreed with the governor's assessment.
"We are a big party," Nehring told reporters, without specifically commenting on Schwarzenegger's remarks. Nehring later added, "If any party has lost the middle ground in America, it's the Democrats."
Schwarzenegger on Friday provided a grim assessment of his party's standing in California, saying it needed to appeal to independents or risk being relegated to the political margins. He said the party had lost 120,000 registered voters in eight months, and more than 370,000 since 2005.
Schwarzenegger, a Republican centrist, argued that the party needed to attract new voters by tackling issues with broad public appeal, like global warming. Otherwise, voters "will look elsewhere," he said.
Reaction was mixed. The speech underscored long-standing differences between Schwarzenegger and conservatives in his party, who have differed on state spending, debt and social issues.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Republican Party have been a marriage of convenience from the beginning," said conservative Michael Schroeder, a former party chairman. "Nothing he expressed in his speech enjoys majority support in the Republican Party, and never will."
Asked about Schwarzenegger's speech, presidential contender John McCain, who addressed delegates earlier, said the party needed to "regain the trust of the American people."
"I don't think it's our message, it's our actions," McCain said, pointing to problems after Hurricane Katrina, corruption and runaway federal spending.
Schwarzenegger has urged the party to open its February presidential primary to the state's 3 million independent voters. Democrats allow independents to vote in the presidential primary, and in his speech Friday the governor warned those voters could be lost in November.
But a proposal to open the primary appeared unlikely to be considered at the three-day convention, officials said.
On another front, Schwarzenegger recently proposed distilling the state GOP platform - the party's statement of core values - into as little as a single page focusing on lowering taxes, limiting the size of government and building a strong national defense. That proposal, in a letter to party members, made no mention of abortion, gay marriage or other social issues that often divide party members.
After a long debate Saturday, a committee working on the platform agreed to send several competing drafts to a subcommittee for consideration. Some members complained about being excluded, or having little time to examine the drafts. Others questioned whether enough women or minorities were being included among those working on the drafts.
Committee member Alex Vassar said the meeting amounted to a "parliamentary stalling tactic" that left him disillusioned.
"The process is not working," he said.
Asked about Schwarzenegger's speech, presidential contender John McCain, who addressed delegates earlier, said the party needed to "regain the trust of the American people."
"I don't think it's our message, it's our actions," McCain said, pointing to problems after Hurricane Katrina, corruption and runaway federal spending.
The message is muddled too, John.
The lack of developing up and coming members of the party is what hurts the most.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is an idiot. It is the one thing the California GOP agrees on.
at this point , it is very difficult to see how he speaks for many on the right, even as he coddles so many on the left.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks at the California Republican Party convention in Indian Wells, Calif., Friday, Sept. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Thank goodness,, He ‘won’t be bock!’
Can we survive him much less afford him until 2010 is the question we ought be asking, imo.
The message is muddled too, John.That's exactly right.
A few things about the CAli “R” party.
1. Ahhnold is no Centrist, that is a media myth.
2. CA is the breakwater for the US on illegals
3. Republicans can win in CA, be smart.
In CA the rules are no one cares if there is Debt involved, no one cares (at least a majority doesn’t) about illegals.
If Ahhnold was on fire, I would not piss on him to put out the fire.....
Global warming? Schwarzenegger thinks the GOP should "attract new voters by tackling" a hoax perpetrated by the Democrats and their allies in the socialist-left "mainstream" newsrooms? Good grief. Yeah - - somebody has definitely lost his way. What a maroon.
How can they, all the GOP leadership are ex-dems.
Schwarzenegger on Friday provided a grim assessment of his party’s standing in California, saying it needed to appeal to independents or risk being relegated to the political margins. He said the party had lost 120,000 registered voters in eight months, and more than 370,000 since 2005. ____________________________________________________
God forbid that anyone state the obvious: the push to the squishy middle has alienated the conservative base.
Correct & AS stands for nothing but humself.
ROFL. That post #5 pic of RINOLD is a knee-slapper.
Ahnold could be consider a centrist if the two opposing ends are RINO’s and the Dems.
I know that the Republican party appears to be abandoning its conservative base in California. I know that I am tired of voting for the lesser of two evils when neither represent my point of view. I wish to heaven we had a good conservative alternative. I don’t care if the Republicans win if they act no different from liberals on the rural issues about which I care. I may sit out the next election for the first time since 1967.
“Political fissures divided state Republicans Saturday as they faced questions about the future of a party that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says has lost its way.”
Yes, I agree. It lost its way when it started calling people like Swartzenegger and Bloomberg Republicans!
I predicted this before the Davis recall. All that can possibly happen in CA is deficits and political insanity. The only question was, who would be blamed? The recall was a huge mistake. We should have let Davis take the state down with all branches firmly controlled by the left. Instead, we put a Dem (with an R label) in office and nothing has changed. The only difference is Republicans now share the responsibility for the mess.
The problem in CA is not the politicians. It's the voters. They keep electing idiots and expect different results than the last time they elected idiots. Until the state crashes with blame firmly affixed where it belongs, no change is possible in CA.
The Republican party in CA needs to firmly fix itself as the adult, opposition party ready to pick up the pieces. Arnold is making that impossible.
So long as the masses in L.A. and coast up to the Bay Area are wowed by the Democrats this state will stay locked into Democrat hands.
Better ... and more accurate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.