Posted on 11/04/2010 11:25:19 AM PDT by SmithL
alifornia Republicans woke up Wednesday with a political hangover. Nationally, they celebrated the GOP's taking control of Congress, but their dismal showing in California gave them a lingering headache.
Many of them wondered how they missed the national wave - and differed on which direction to go next.
They lost nearly every statewide office, drubbed by double digits in most of the races. Meg Whitman couldn't win the governorship despite straddling the political middle and spending a record $160 million. Carly Fiorina couldn't roust Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, despite tacking right and exploiting Boxer's low approval ratings.
For months, party officials boasted that their ticket was its most diverse ever. It included a pro-choice former corporate executive (Whitman); an anti-abortion ex-CEO (Fiorina); a pair of very conservative legislators (Tony Strickland and Mimi Walters); a not-so-conservative Latino who had been appointed to the job he sought (Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado); and a charismatic African American former NFL player turned businessman (Damon Dunn).
All of them lost....
Part of the reason, as Fiorina said in her concession speech Wednesday in Irvine, is that "we could not overcome the (2.3 million) registration advantage the Democrats have, particularly in Los Angeles."
Whitman started making in-roads among Latino voters by spending $12 million in Spanish-language advertising and outreach. But any goodwill evaporated in October after Whitman struggled to handle revelations that she had employed - and fired - an undocumented immigrant as her housekeeper for nine years.
"It's a white party" in an increasingly diverse state, said Robert Huckfeldt,... "What you saw in this election was a lot of partisan voters coming home to their party."
Every Republican paid for the Legislature's agreement to raise taxes as part of the 2009 state budget deal. "It damaged the brand,"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
"It shouldn't surprise Republicans that when they stand for nothing, the voters cease to stand with them," said Rep. Tom McClintock,And there you have it.
What’s to ponder? Republicans can not win national elections n California. It’s a money pit. Let nature take it’s course.
California has crossed the tipping point where way too many voters are on the public teat—either dependency programs or public workers. The dwindling productive class is no longer in control of its own destiny if it stays in California. They will be taxed to death until the Ponzi scheme finally grinds to a halt at some point within the next decade or two. Then, of course, they will scream for a federal bailout to keep the scam going. That is the battle we have to be ready for.
Every Republican paid for the Legislature’s agreement to raise taxes as part of the 2009 state budget deal. “It damaged the brand,”
Now that is rich..what do they think Moonbeam is going to do?
Idiots
Well, I can think of at least three reasons.
Arnold.
Arnold.
And Arnold.
The Terminator has presided over an absolute disaster. Worse than Gray Davis.
Ultimately, you can blame this one on Karl Rove, who persuaded Bush not to back Bill Simon when he won the primary against their chosen left-wing Republican. Then they put a DC RINO in charge of the California party. Then they jumped in and stuffed Arnold in as their designated candidate after real conservatives removed Gray Davis from office.
Why should Californians think that Republicans can fix their mess? How’d Arnold do at that job? Thanks, Karl. Great job losing that unique opportunity to turn California around.
TEA PARTY LOSES BIG IN CUBA!
Agreed - and the GOP should stop throwing good money after bad. I don't know why the party would waste another dollar running ads in that state; it's beyond hope.
AHNOLD The Gubernator.
His legacy - GOP vincibility.
The same can be said of Connecticut. We are still walking dead here!
To our good conservative friends in California:
Please get out while you can...
That’s what you get when you nominate extreme right wing tea party types like Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina instead of moderates like Arlen Specter and Michael Bloomberg.
John and Ken talk radio show became a bash Meg Whitman
every day, every hour event. I had to stop tuning in. They claimed not to like Brown either, but most of their rants were against Whitman.
Republicans ponder big loss in California
A more appropriate headline would be: Californians ponder future losses without Republican leadership.
Why did the NRSC spend 8 million on moderate Florina, alone. That money could have helped the ground game in NV & CO.
“In California, Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown have beaten Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman, two Republican candidates tailored for the Golden State, professional, centrist, and without any of that establishment-disturbing Tea Party craziness like certain lady candidates in Delaware and Nevada. And they both lost. I think we're seeing in California the limits of the democratic process in a Big Government state. The statist workforce and the dependency class can outvote the productive class. And, given the number of Californian small businesses who'll be ordering the U-Haul in the morning, that electoral gap will only widen in 2012 and beyond. California is Greece: The arithmetic does not allow for meaningful correction. The question is whether Texas and other non-insane states will volunteer to play Germany to Sacramento's ouzo-swiggers.”
http://www.steynonline.com/content/view/3564/
I think we're perilously close to this situation in Oregon and Washington too.
< /SARC>
There is no excuse for conservatives to stay in CA to serve as hosts to the exploding number of tax-sucking parasites who have infested their state. Take your money to a state that is sensible. There are many to choose from.
Some say we need more “moderate” candidates. Meg Whitman was a very consistently moderate candidate.
Some say we need more “conservative” candidates. Fiorina toed all the marks for a conservative.
So I don’t think it is the moderate vs. conservative question that is at play here.
I think the biggest factor is union politics. Large, heavily funded, very active in the voting effort.
Perhaps factor number two is illegal voting.
Feeling your pain in Northeat Ct.
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