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Yea, I guess Jesse Helms wants to retire, not participate in a legislative chamber that doesn't know what it wants to do. You are so right, DJ, about Willie Brown. Was it the strength of Brown or was it the total inepitutde of the CA Republican Party, which is at the point of near extinction as far as I can tell? I actually believe the Louisiana Republicans are a little stronger, not much, than the California Republicans.

Say what you want about Brown, but he may have been one of the most brilliant politicians in California in the last 50 years (along with the late Phil Burton). CA Republicans only rarely ever won a majority in the legislature and so hardly ever knew what it was like to lead. If you'll remember, when they won a narrow majority in '94, it took Willie by surprise, but he didn't take it lying down. Just like in NC, there were a few "Republicans" that were a bit hesistant to vote for a Conservative like Curt Pringle, who had been voted as the nominee in the caucus. Brown decided to have some fun, so he persuaded a quirky, though usually loyal, GOP Assemblywoman named Doris Allen and said he would make her the first woman Speaker in CA history. So she got seduced by the devil and Willie got all the 'Rats to vote her in, beating Pringle. She naively thought the GOP would accept her and that her constituents would be thrilled to have her serving as Speaker. She was wrong on all counts. Her district realized she was a puppet for Willie and recalled her (though it took 9 months to finally get her out). Willie had also a reserve nitwit, a brand new GOP Assemblyman from Fresno whom he persuaded that putting one of those "radical right wingers" would be the wrong thing for California. So Mr. Nitwit, Brian Setencich, got his vote and every 'Rat vote, beating Curt Pringle again (by one vote). Right afterwards, Willie was elected Mayor of San Francisco, so he had to resign his seat, and when that occurred, the GOP dumped Setencich as Speaker and finally elected Curt Pringle in January 1996, more than a year after they won the majority. The damage was done, though, as the GOP looked like the gang that couldn't shoot straight, and hardly had enough time to put forth an agenda in a 10-month period. With Clinton running strong there, they lost their majority again (never to get it back). And what happened to our players ? The classless Doris Allen after being fired mid-term after 12 1/2 years in office, denounced the GOP as a party run by white men with small penises scared of strong women (no sugar, we're not scared of strong women, we just don't like traitors and turncoats of any gender). She literally was run out of California on a rail after her comments, fleeing to Colorado. She died of cancer there almost 4 years to the day after they bounced her out of office. The fresh-faced Brian Setencich lost renomination 3 months after being booted from the Speakership and switched to the Reform Party. After his one-term stint in the legislature, Willie Brown gave him a job, that was until he was charged with multiple counts of bribery and mail fraud. He was acquitted of that, but then brought up on charges of federal tax evasion and went to prison for that. He hasn't been heard from since. Curt Pringle, who so badly wanted to show how the GOP could lead, but was largely denied that, soon was term-limited out of office and lost a race to succeed Matt Fong as State Treasurer in 1998. In a remarkable political comeback, he ran for and won in a multi-candidate contest, the Mayorship of the rapidly 'Rat-moving city of Anaheim just last November. As for Willie Brown, there he still sits in his last term (and year) as San Francisco Mayor. He is planning to succeed, yup, you guessed it, the brother of Phil Burton, John, the President Pro Tempore of the CA Senate (where he'll probably end up in that job). You've got to admire the man's no-holds-barred effort for his party, sheer cajones. Those sort of cajones is too often found lacking on our side, sad to say. The moral of the story is that being an apostate to the GOP can not only be hazardous to your health, for Mr. Setencich, it can be painful to your rectal cavity in the big house. Ayeeeeeee... =8-0>

We have to be better than california. I mean we have problems but sheeeeesh, no comparison, thank God. Give us a break!