Posted on 09/18/2003 2:42:37 PM PDT by FairOpinion
California Republicans converged upon the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel last weekend for the California Republican Party Convention. According to regular attendees, this convention was the biggest one in years, and by far the most exciting. No doubt the upcoming recall election was the main draw, because it dominated conversation. The convention took on historical significance, both for the Republican Party and for California, because of the split in the party between supporters of candidates Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom McClintock. If the vote remains divided, Republicans could lose the election, should Gray Davis be recalled.
While McClintock supporters held firm, the majority of the convention attendees rallied behind Schwarzenegger and what they saw as a winning, moderate platform. A straw poll was taken and although such polls tend to be unreliable, the results were still startling: 82% for Schwarzenegger. On top of that, by Sunday, various groups were publicly endorsing Schwarzenegger, including the Hispanic 100, who actually asked McClintock to step down. And perhaps most telling of all, in a memo distributed the same day, 33 out of 34 county chairs backed Schwarzenegger. There seems to be a real hunger among Republicans not only to win, but also to try and repair the damage done to the state by one-party Democratic rule, and Schwarzeneggers candidacy provides them with a glimmer of hope.
Nowhere was the excitement surrounding Schwarzenegger more evident than at his rally in the hotel parking lot on Saturday morning. It was attended by a huge crowd of enthusiastic supporters wearing ''Terminator for Governor'' T-shirts and waving ''Join Arnold'' signs. Schwarzenegger gave a crowd-pleasing speech, in which he detailed his fiscal priorities, as well as promising to repeal SB60 (the bill Gray Davis just signed that gives drivers' licenses to illegal aliens), and the car tax.
The crowd really went wild when the rally ended with the 80s heavy-metal band Twisted Sisters ''Were Not Gonna Take It.'' Even several members of the press, who seem to pride themselves on their glumness, looked as if they were having a good time. A few protesters, both from the right and the left, expressed their opposition to Schwarzenegger on the outskirts of the rally, but they were clearly in the minority. Even Democratic Assemblyman Mark Leno made an appearance, handing out flyers that attempted to raise questions about Schwarzeneggers stand on gay rights.
Last weekends convention conveyed a lot of energy and optimism, which would be a real shame to squander by continuing to split the vote. McClintock supporters often argue that Schwarzenegger backers are ''giving up their principles.'' But isnt it better to institute some of your political principles, rather than none? And what of the fate of California, a state that clearly needs a change of direction. If McClintock could see past his own candidacy for a moment, he would opt out for the sake of the party and the state. Despite the circulating rumors about backroom deals leading to him eventually dropping out of the race, he showed little inclination for doing so at the convention. He certainly will not find himself very popular within the party, should the Republicans blow it in the recall election.
If the Democrats do retain the governership, at least the Republican Party will have added thousands of new members to its rolls and energized its base for the next election, so all will not be lost. Only time will tell, and at this point, the wait could either end in October or be extended until March of next year. To quote Bette Dave in the film ''All About Eve,'' ''fasten your seatbelts, its gonna be a bumpy ride.''
¨ ¨ ¨ Cinnamon Stillwell, who attended the convention, is a contributing editor to ChronWatch. She lives in San Francisco and receives e-mail at: cstillwell@chronwatch.com.
The convention didn't sponsor a straw poll. A couple of Arnold groupies claimed to have done a poll in the hall.
It wouldn't matter. Arnold's apologists will excuse anything he says.
Some do, but I just spoke of his rise to power and how the RINOs where wrong. Your defensiveness about that speaks VOLUMNS about your character.
Listen, he was a great man, along the lines of Lincoln and the Roosevelts, but your idolization is not warranted.
Its a darn good thing I am smarter than you or I might have bought that strawman arguement. As I just said, I merely spoke of his defeat of the cynics, the nay sayers, and the Moderates by simply staying on message and not being browbeaten. There wasn't any idolization, but YOU WANT THERE TO BE, so that you can marginalize him and me. Just like you want to do with McClintock, and all of his supporters. This kind of Republicanism frightens you, because unlike your small, narrow, binary world of Rs and Ds, it is based on principles, which "republicanwizard" has no say in.
Your nit picking of spelling does for you; you are intellectually out of gas.
That's fine. We'll drive you out of the party. I'll be the first to say good-bye. If you go nicely, I won't say good-riddance!
Nope. Try as you liberals and moderates do, you always fail long term, because you have no platform, no values, no CORE convictions, and no Truth.
The irony is that either before the election, or after a (R)nold victory and subsequent complete failure, it will be my Wing that drives you Parasites kicking and screaming back to the Democrat party or the Gerald Ford wing of irrelevance where you belong, and I'll glady say good riddance.
You did 1 picture and now you are playing that game? Tell me, as someone at least trying to appear to be one of the biggest (R)nold Groupies for unknown reasons, how is it RINO!d went down after the Tonight Show, then has been stuck in the 20s ever since? 25% won't win the election, meanwhile my guy has been steadily moving up from unknown status.
Just as I supported Keyes until after the Primaries
You did all that for Mr 5% who NEVER EVER had a chance at anything other than SPOILER in this lifetime and you are trying to say McClintock's supporters are divisive against (R)nold? RINO!D makes George W Bush look like George Washington? MoveOn.org Minions makes less purposefully contradictory statements.
my obvious conclusion is that you and the ones you work with are simply moles working against the GOP party vote
This tired BS again, I honestly question more and more every day what the conclusion on you is, a vote for Keys was a vote for Gore. Your divisiveness probably led to Bush not having enough of a base to get the popular vote and all this consernation from the Left every since about '00, but then again perhaps you LIKED the Left having that issue against the zealots.
So Ronald Reagan is now a proslave Confederate Democrate? You don't even want me to bust out the Conservative ping list and expose you to the board as the strawman beater you are. You have sunk to a new low, even for you dithering, dishonest moderates.
Then it can rise again on the foundations which Lincoln built.
Spare me your profanements of the Great Emancipator, Gerald.
Thou shalt have no gods before Arnold.
Neo-confederate? You are trying that idiocy again, like you got traction last time saying Reagan was Confederate? LOL! You liberal/moderates are all the same- you have 0 issues, you can't be honest about your agenda, so you just call people names, eg: racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic pigs. It matters not that you pulled the confederate thing straight out of your posterior, it only matters that you know how to spell it.
Seriously, I would have pinged before, but this is a new low. I wouldn't waste my conservative friends TIME on your nonsensical name calling boobery. I thought you hateful tangents were a disgrace to Lincoln BEFORE, but now I think you are simply too high to even afront the name "republican"-anything.
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