HEARD ON THE TOM/TOMS
Steve Frank explains the current state of affairs of the California GOP.......Does the Word Disaster Come to Mind?
Paul Preston, President, New California State
“A people that wants to remain ignorant and free … wants what never has been and never will be” ~ Thomas Jefferson.”
LEADERS LEAD
The Big Story
If you are a delegate or a GOP’er wanting to attend the CRP convention May 1-3 at the MARRIOTT BY LAX, the Saturday night dinner is not happening. If you know the area of the hotel, it is about a mile to a nearby Denny’s. It is another quarter of a mile further there is a Taco Bell—and another ¾ of a mile away is a McDonalds. (If you choose this option go in a group because of the tents on the sidewalks and the area near LAX) If you’re a big spender (but not to the tune of $500 for appetizers), you can always get dinner in the hotel sports bar or café.
Instead of a Dinner event, the California Republican Party is doing this:
“We have a new event for the 2020 Convention: Join us for a special Saturday evening VIP reception for an intimate conversation with a distinguished speaker and have the opportunity for a photo with our guest of honor. Please note that there will not be a Saturday night dinner banquet following this VIP reception”
The event will go from 6:30 to 8:00pm. Buy your ticket now at CAGOP.ORG No speaker is announced. But the cost of this event is $500 (not a typo) and you can get a photo.”
Obviously, this is not priced for the grassroots delegates. The people who worked headquarters, walk precincts, hold meet and greets are effectively told they are not welcome to participate. While the California Republican Party needs to raise money, the convention is for the delegates. The more cynical among us may assume this is retaliation against those that supported candidates other than those chosen by party leadership for the current CRP Board.
The good news for rank-and-file delegates is that the conservatives are holding their regular Convention dinner—with good food and great speakers, surrounded by strong Trump supporters. That’s right, the “rest of us” are still going to have a home at the convention, stay tuned for more details on the event.
CONTENT
CAGOP did NOT endorse Prop. 13 on March ballot
2. Cathy Abernathy Endorses Trump/Opposes Prop. 13—CRP still has not taken a stand on either
Slate card misleads on CRP support of a ballot measure—be cautious
Past CRP chair Ron Nehring concerned about direction of current GOP Party leadership.
OMAR NAVARRO WATCH: Still in Jail—MOVED to long term facility
CAGOP did NOT endorse Prop. 13 on March ballot. Many in the State have received a slate card from an organization called CONTINUING THE REPUBLICAN REVOLUTION. It gives a big play, repeating the views of the unions and Democrats why we should vote YES on Prop. 13 on the March ballot. This is the $26 billion bond–$15 billion to “education”, $11 billion to Wall Street. It mandates union only labor, doubles the debt limits for already bankrupt school district (West Contra Costa is firing 250, Oakland firing 75, for instance). In the upper left corner of the front of the card these folks use the phrase “CAGOP’ as if the CRP Board endorsed this measure. Sadly, while many county committees have opposed it and NO county committee has supported it, the California Republican Party Board of Directors has been silent. They still have a chance to take a Republican position on the measure at the February 13 Board meeting.
Congrats to Cathy Abernathy, a long time political activist, commentator and legislative staffer for her endorsements for the March ballot. Here are two of them:
President: Donald J. Trump: The President’s 2020 State of the Union address says it best: “I am thrilled to report to you tonight that our economy is the best it has ever been. Our military is completely rebuilt, with its power being unmatched anywhere in the world …Our borders are secure. Our families are flourishing. Our values are renewed. Our pride is restored. And for all of these reasons, I say to the people of our great country and to the members of Congress: The state of our Union is stronger than ever before.
And
Statewide Proposition #13: NO: School Bond. (And do not be confused; this is not the “Prop 13” that we’ve known for years, this is just a number assigned to this proposal. The “Prop 13” change is on the Nov ballot, not this one.) This is a $ 15 Billion school construction bond proposal but with interest it escalates to a taxpayer cost of $27 Bil. As long as the Ca Legislature pushes “Project Labor Agreements –“PLAs”–the cost of building schools is outrageously high and competition is out of the picture. Project Labor Agreements cut bid competition and raise construction costs for the benefit of unions at the expense of taxpayers. Example: in one recent case, once the original bid process had PLAs inserted, the bids tripled for the electrical package.
VOTE NO.
You may have received a slate card from the CONTINUING REPUBLICAN REVOLUTION. It show on the front the word “CAGOP” pretending to be from the California Republican Party. The slate card spends a lot of ink asking people to vote for Prop.13 on the March ballot—the union grab of $15 billion and the doubling of allowed school district debt. The California Republican Party has NOT taken a stand on this issue,
It should be noted that NO county committee is supporting Prop. 13, most passed motions in opposition. As of this date, the California Republican Party has been silent on Prop. 13 and has not endorsed or recommended President Trump for re-election. Will they do this at the February 13 Board meeting?
Oh, in 2012 the CRP had to issue a cease and desist order for the same slate—using the CRP name, without permission.
Past CRP Chair Ron Nehring is also concerned about the leadership of the Republicans in California, from Scott Lays The Nooner, For the SDUT, Michael Smolens writes up the warnings from former California Republican Party chair Ron Nehring about the bad trendline for the GOP.
Stepping back from this momentum swing for the GOP was Ron Nehring, former chairman of the California and San Diego Republican parties. He took to social media on acquittal day to remind fellow Republicans — as he has regularly in recent years — that they need to focus on addressing long-term trends that do not favor the GOP.
He has lived under the storm clouds he sees gathering elsewhere. It really wasn’t that long ago that California and the city of San Diego, now both deeply Democratic, were reliably Republican. He’d not only like to see the GOP try to reverse that, but warns that shifting demographics are changing the politics in deep red states like Texas and Georgia.
In an interview, Nehring urged current party leaders to pay more attention to regional sensibilities and issues, and not simply apply the national partisan narrative to races across the board.
“We need to turn off cable TV and look at the issues affecting our neighborhood, city and county,” he said.
OMAR NAVARRO WATCH: yesterday Omar attended another SF court hearing. He has been in San Fran downtown jail since mid-December. He was not released, still has no trial date. But, he has been moved to the San Bruno jail. Why? That is where San Fran sends its long term inmates. Omar will need to request an absentee ballot to vote for himself for Congress. He will be in jail a long time before a trial—I should note that at his last hearing he waived his right to a swift trial—within 60 days. Remember, he is being charged with seven felonies.
LEADERS LEAD
(Periodically the California Political News and Views will publish tidbits of political news, to keep you in the loop of what the pooh bahs know. The phrase “tom/tom’s” comes from my mentor, Lorelei Kinder who never passed a rumor, just called to tell me what she heard on the “Tom/Tom’s”. This column is named in her honor.)
