Wednesday, November 23, 2016

The California Republican Party: Still At War With Itself

Election 2016 has gone from bad to worse.

Wait? What am I writing about?

Donald Trump flipped traditionally blue states red:

Wisconsin, which had not gone GOP since 1984
Michigan an Pennsylvania, which had not gone GOP since 1988.

Republicans have trounced Democrats all over the country. They hold GOP trifectas in at least 25 states now!



Republicans took over the last Southern bastion, Kentucky, this election cycle.

So, why I am so blue?

Because California is so blue, and actually got bluer.

Orange County went blue.



Donald Trump lost Los Angeles by 48 points!

48!

Republicans did not turn out to vote in the primary, and apparently they stayed home during the general election, too.

What is going on?

Do voters feel that the California Republican Party has anything to offer?

Normally, when the majority party fails, the opposition gets a chance to make things better.

And yet ... Democrats have ruled the Sacramento roost since 1996.

Don't you think that voters would wake up and try to change this insanity?

Nope.

And what about the loyal, royal opposition?

Republicans should be storming the state capital by now.

Nope.

The infighting never ends. The tensions of moderating the platform vs. modernizing the message have never been tougher.

Apparently, this war within the California Republican Party is nothing new.

Check out this Letter to the Editor from the Washington Post in 1999:

At the semiannual gathering of the California Republican Party over the weekend, millionaire publisher and presidential contender Steve Forbes wound up his speech calling for a new birth of freedoms- -concluding with the ultimate freedom of all, "the freedom to be born."

And so it went. The Republican Party of California, the once mighty powerhouse, is reeling from defeat and debt, with a rancor so palpable that a reporter with a notebook has no trouble getting GOP activists on both sides of the social divide to call one another unprintable names.


Members of splinter groups, such as the California Congress of Republicans, were sporting blaring orange stickers on their lapels, announcing, "It's the platform, stupid." What they meant was that these moderate Republicans want the state party to strip from its platform the plank that demands an end to abortion.

This fight has to be settled.

But it has not been settled.

It's time for the Republican Party in California to be more conservative.

The party needs to be better connected, too.



It's time for conservative activists to raise their voices, work together as a team, and define the party standards.

What has been happening:

The infighting over ideological softness has been hurting the party.

It's time for political parties to make up their mind and stand.

Republicans should stop shifting left with the decadent, regressive counter-culture.

It's time to fight back!

It's time to fight for what is right!

Instead of freaking out over principles, it's time to reach out to more people.

We need leadership, enforcement, and a no-nonsense attitude on the necessary basis for a sound government which protects the rights of all and offers special privileges to no one!

If the proper forces don't take hold in the state of California, this will be the lingering fate of the California GOP:



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