California's GOP is Sinking Fast

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by Frank99

Good ole Arnie SchwarzenKennedy put the nail in the coffin.
Send up a true conservative ala Ronald Reagan after the upcomming Jerry Brown train wreck and we have a chance. There's more conservatives here than people think.

Here is a back door way of saying "lets give tax breaks to the rich" and they will spend the $$ on creating jobs. Hogwash! It was voodoo economics when Reagan tried it as President and its voodoo economics now! All it did when he was President was increase the deficit. Alot! Just like conservatives wont give Obamas policies a chance to work, they wont even let Jerry Brown take the oath of office before they call his tenure a "train wreck!" You sound like a bunch of Palin lemmings! Not only does the GOP elite tell you to jump of the cliff, they tell you which cliff to jump from. And you do it!

[KC6ZLV]

Originally Posted by californio sur

I actually enjoy discussing this subject with you, sav858 because you do present logical arguments but I think you tend to whitewash the Republican party. I have stated many times that the GOP was once a well-respected party in California and governors like Ronald Reagan were outstanding yet today the Republican party no longer values pragmatic individuals and, instead are captive to the Religious Right and the South.

I'm sure you are aware that the reason Campbell, a moderate Bay Area Republican, did so poorly in the primary was due to the perception that he was "pro gay marriage." That automatically made him suspect among Republicans even though the Democrats were pooping in their pants over the thought of Jerry Brown having to run against Campbell. But the Republicans did the dirty work themselves guaranteeing that they would lose another election since ideology is more important than winning.

If you don't recall the anger Republicans had with Arnold than I suggest you do some reading. He wasn't even welcome to speak before the state GOP conventions and booed by his own party members because he was viewed as too liberal on social issues and the environment. Schwarzenegger won because Democrats voted for him, plain and simple.

Hard core Republicans, who are the majority in California, held their noses when voting for Arnold and Whitman; so the enthusiasm was never there.

Democrats don't have to do wrong because they win anyway. The "anything but Republican" attitudes in California has to be a huge concern for the GOP but they are a dysfunctional and divisive party in California who may wake up some day and return to their old ways of nominating reasonable candidates. This may take a very long long time now that the Tea Party has shifted the GOP further to the right.

Most Republicans in California are moderate, and registered as Republicans due to the lack of an alternative. It is probably safe to say a lot of moderate Republicans may have liked Ronald Reagan as Governor, but didn't like him as President. So, be careful about the assumptions you make as to what Republicans like, stand for, dislike, and will not tolerate. Their political beliefs are varied as much as the beliefs among Democrats.

The majority of California Republicans aren't of the identical mindset as you see in some other parts of the country. With the exception of Fresno and Orange counties, the least religious counties in California have the highest percentages of Republican votes in the state. So much that a sure way for a Republican to lose is to take a Religious or anti-abortion position. The Republicans in this state have more of a libertarian mindset than you will see in other parts of the country.

And you have to do a lot more critical thinking when using pro-gay vs anti-gay in a Democrat vs Republican argument. Hispanics, who are overwhelmingly Democrats, overwhelmingly voted for Proposition 8, which was motivated by very conservative religious views. So, these things are a lot more complex than you have the ability to understand. Or maybe Hispanics like to vote for whatever is convenient for them.

[KC6ZLV]

The Republican Party's biggest problem in California is the candidates they have chosen in recent years. They have Carly Fiorina run for senate and Meg Whitman for Governor, then promote them as experienced business CEOs. Meanwhile, most of the voters are scratching their head over Carly Fiorina's outsourcing of jobs and almost tanking HP while she is talking about how she can help California create jobs. Meg Whitman pulled a similar stunt by saying she was going to get rid of the corruption in California after having a record of being less than reputable while running eBay.

[Reason42]

Originally Posted by Capt. Dan

Here is a back door way of saying "lets give tax breaks to the rich" and they will spend the $$ on creating jobs. Hogwash! It was voodoo economics when Reagan tried it as President and its voodoo economics now! All it did when he was President was increase the deficit. Alot! Just like conservatives wont give Obamas policies a chance to work, they wont even let Jerry Brown take the oath of office before they call his tenure a "train wreck!" You sound like a bunch of Palin lemmings! Not only does the GOP elite tell you to jump of the cliff, they tell you which cliff to jump from. And you do it!

...so the growth trends after Carter, and after the early 80's recession during Reagan's tenure, were due to deficit spending?

...is that not the exact line of argument Obama has used, and the Democrats continue to use?

(tongue firmly planted in cheek)

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by KC6ZLV

Most Republicans in California are moderate, and registered as Republicans due to the lack of an alternative. It is probably safe to say a lot of moderate Republicans may have liked Ronald Reagan as Governor, but didn't like him as President. So, be careful about the assumptions you make as to what Republicans like, stand for, dislike, and will not tolerate. Their political beliefs are varied as much as the beliefs among Democrats.

The majority of California Republicans aren't of the identical mindset as you see in some other parts of the country. With the exception of Fresno and Orange counties, the least religious counties in California have the highest percentages of Republican votes in the state. So much that a sure way for a Republican to lose is to take a Religious or anti-abortion position. The Republicans in this state have more of a libertarian mindset than you will see in other parts of the country.

Exactly! I'm one of those godless moderates you're describing, although I don't like to call myself a Republican because I despise organized political parties and voting the party line.

Originally Posted by KC6ZLV

The Republican Party's biggest problem in California is the candidates they have chosen in recent years. They have Carly Fiorina run for senate and Meg Whitman for Governor, then promote them as experienced business CEOs. Meanwhile, most of the voters are scratching their head over Carly Fiorina's outsourcing of jobs and almost tanking HP while she is talking about how she can help California create jobs. Meg Whitman pulled a similar stunt by saying she was going to get rid of the corruption in California after having a record of being less than reputable while running eBay.

Let's not forget the Republicans are doing it at the national level too (McCain/Palin) and I can only wonder if they will shoot themselves in the foot in 2012 and run Palin.

[simplesouthernman]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Exactly! I'm one of those godless moderates you're describing, although I don't like to call myself a Republican because I despise organized political parties and voting the party line.



Let's not forget the Republicans are doing it at the national level too (McCain/Palin) and I can only wonder if they will shoot themselves in the foot in 2012 and run Palin.

Maybe both parties will do a better job of concentrating on the primaries in the future. Afterall, isnt that where alot of better qualified candidates get shown the door?

[Riversidian]

I really think that "Fast" is saying too much. I have as much hope as the next progressive that the good democratic candidates will take more and more of the house seats and state legislature seats but due to two factors it won't be so.

A. We have dems in power now that are no good. Especially in the state legislature.
B. There are conservative districts that are here to stay for a while.

That being said there are certainly GOP districts that are becoming more and more vulnerable.


While population trends are moving east some previous gop strongholds namely Orange County, San Diego, Inland Empire cities are becoming more and more democratic every year.

2012 will be a very interesting year. I think republicans could pick up a seat or two in the house and as many as three to four in the state assembly (These are extremes). After 2012 prospects for the GOP look dim. While population is trending eastward and I expect these trends to hold for the most part there are other trends that favor democrats. These trends are the democratic trends of GOP districts San Diego, Orange County, Inland Empire area of trending more and more democratic by about a percentage point or two every year. If these trends hold the dems could be looking at a pickup of about 3 - 4 seats in the next 10 years making cal even more blue then it already is.

Anyway, Just random banter.