by Jack Lee
“Whereas, the California Republican Assembly holds moral and ethical conduct to be of paramount importance.
Whereas, the California Republican Assembly is and should be, the highest moral and ethical example within the Republic Party.
Therefore, be it resolved that the the California Republican Assembly shall endorse only those candidates that solemnly promise before God to embrace our moral and economic principals and keep their personal and publican lives unsullied and above reproach while serving as our representatives.”
Can you believe that this humble resolution, that carried no weight of law, was once rejected by the CRA because it was felt by a majority of them that it would limit their candidate options? Limit their options to do what, vote for somebody who didn’t represent their ideals? Vote for a crook or a cheat? This is the kind of hypocritical crap that led to the fallout within the CRA and in a more general sense, the republican party itself.
The CRA lost it’s way and became more interested in internal political backstabbing and quid pro quo deals than they did about supporting good causes and good candidates. This all came to a head in a convention back in 2011 when about a third of the membership had enough of the games and quit in protest. And you know there’s something very, very wrong when that many decent people suddenly quit the team! The republican party is feeling the same kind of heat today and people are leaving them in droves.
Informed, conservative voters are fed up with the kind of marginal performance the GOP in Congress has delivered over the last three national election cycles and they are even more fed up with republican representatives who get caught up in scandals that violate everything the party says they stand for! This happens way too often.
When the voters handed the power over to the GOP under Bush, they controlled the House, the Senate and the Presidency… instead of seizing the day they rested on their laurels and turned a stunning victory into a humiliating defeat at the very next election. They’ve (GOP) never quite recovered from that embarrassing defeat because they never quite learned their lesson; even to this day they still don’t get it, as evidenced by the so called fiscal cliff bill that imposed new taxes and did next to nothing in cutting the national debt.
History provides valuable lessons; The mistakes made years ago within the California Republican Party slowly led to their utter demise as a viable political force in Sacramento. The GOP’s National Party is now following in their footsteps and once again we see as California goes, so goes the nation. The nation can’t afford to make the mistakes of California…it would be horrendously destructive and cause irreparable damage!
The only way to turn this around, to achieve true redemption and recovery is a revival of the Party of Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln set a high moral standard and a high standard for progress. His was the party that would move heaven and earth to do what was right, not what was popular or expedient. No cost was too great, no burden was to heavy, it was a matter principle and that mattered most above all else! And with that indomitable, righteous spirit the list of republican victories grew and grew and became part of some of the most inspired changes in the free world. It began thusly, the emancipation proclamation on January 1st, 1863 was signed by President Lincoln…
“By the President of the United States of America:
A Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
“That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.”
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit: …..”
1920 – Passed by a Republican Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, the next year. The 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest.
1938 – The First Asian-American US Senator was a Republican!
1940 – The Republican Party first called for ending racial segregation in the military: According to the blurb, the 1940 RNC presidential platform had a plank: “Discrimination in the civil service, the army, navy, and all other branches of the Government must cease.” FDR and Truman are then blamed for “refusing” to integrate until in ’48 Truman “complied” with the “Republicans’ demands for racial justice in the US military.”
1952 – A Republicans Integrated the University of Mississippi!
1954 – A Republican Wrote the Brown v. Board of Education decision: That’s California politician Earl Warren, appointed Chief Justice by Eisenhower in 1953, who forged a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Ed, which struck down Plessy v. Ferguson’s separate-but-equal acceptance …
1954 – Republicans Established the Federal Highway System.
1957 – Republicans Passed the Civil Rights Act!
1957 – Republicans Ended Racial Segregation in Little Rock!
1994 – Contract with America: Republican congressional candidates pledge to reform taxes, welfare, and Congressional exemptions to US law, and get a majority in the House for the first time since 50s!
Unfortunately the failure to follow through with their promises cost them dearly with voters (another painful lesson) and it’s been a slippery slope for the GOP ever since. But, look back on that noble legacy that began with Lincoln and you can see that there is still hope, if the party is willing to learn from history and respect the moral imperatives passed into their care. The GOP was once a great party of great visionaries. They achieved their greatness with a sort of humble eloquence. The courage of their convictions, their sense of decency and deep abiding belief in freedom won the battles, not special interest money and certainly not quid pro quo deals with bad people.
There can be no return to principles that made them great when people want to avoid endorsing ethics in lieu of keeping their options open for personal gain.
Jack you nailed it. The conservative people didn’t leave the GOP, we were abandoned. The party of Lincoln has morphed into the Democrat-light party. What the Grand Old Party once stood for doesn’t exist any more. Selling what we were by moving to the left in pursuit of votes has turned the GOP into a party that stands for nothing.
The GOP has no leader, it has no coaches. The people have no one to follow or believe in. During the 2008 election between McCain and Obama I compared it to a high school football team competing against the Green Bay Packers. The Packers went on to win the Super Bowl and the high school team got laughed off the field. The 2012 wasn’t much better, if at all. If it was any better it wasn’t by much. Butte Community College tried to compete with Green Bay again? Maybe? It sure wasn’t two equal potential Super Bowl competitors against one another.
The Tea Party would not exist if the GOP still represented the party of Lincoln. Conservatives got fed up because the GOP no longer supported its own platform. The party that freed the slaves let the Democrats rewrite history and convince the voters that they did and was also the driving force behind the Civil Rights Movement. And the GOP did nothing.
All the Tea Party needs is a leader and the GOP is gone. There is talk about another party. They’re even throwing around a name, which I don’t like. But, things are changing again from what I’m hearing. Like you said where California goes so does the nation. Conservative Republicans don’t exist in California any more in sufficient numbers to even elect a RINO. Conservatives are moving to conservative states lead by conservative governors because they have jobs and a balanced budget with even a reserve.
Just look at the red state vs. blue state election result map. Tell me if it doesn’t remind you of the Civil War map? The majority of red states are along the south and the heart-land. The blue states are north-east and the west coast. There are more red states, but the population and majority of electoral votes are in the blue states. So, what do you think would happen if conservatives in the blue states moved to Texas and all of the other red states? The electoral votes would eventually transfer, right? Leaving California, Illinois, etc. with a state full of liberals trying to pay for all the “free” stuff they voted for.
I think your heart is as broken as mine is to see what has happened to the party of Lincoln. But without another great leader and others willing to stand up for what the party once stood for a new party with real leaders is regrettably the only answer to stop the progressive liberals from destroying our nation.
I was at the 2011 CRA convention when they voted your’s and Pete’s resolution down. I was in shock at the discussion that took place on the floor to convince delegates to vote against it. I understand now why it failed and can see no change for the better in California’s future. How sad the same state that the great Ronald Reagan was once governor of ended up with Arnold S. who left in disgrace says just how the GOP changed according to their very own platform.
Thanks Peggy, I appreciate your support. It’s not easy for me to go after republicans when democrats are 10X worse, but it’s necessary if we are going to encourage change and its about accountability. I suppose you could call it “tough love”? You know… you have to hold your kids accountable or they will grow up to be weak and irresponsible…that’s the way I see the current GOP in Congress.
We are of like minds Jack. I do not want the GOP to be replaced. I want the leaders from Congress to the local levels to wake up. There are millions of us who do not want to belong to the RINO party so they got involved in the Tea Party years ago. Did the GOP leaders wake up? No! Instead they moved further to the left and changed their platform to win more RINO voters. Again, that’s why your resolution failed at the CRA convention.
The proof of the change is as I said in my above post. We had a real conservative leader in Ronald Reagan. His fiscal policies led this state and this country to a vibrant economic time after the disaster created by Carter. His social policies and moral behavior were biblically driven and personally followed. California’s last governor was Arnold S. who was the poster child of a RINO. My god he was married to a Kennedy. His fiscal and economic philosophies had to be influenced by his wife and her family. Then there’s the moral issue which regrettably can’t be ignored. Having an affair with his housekeeper, who bore his child, who lived with that child in the same house for years puts him lower in the moral gutter than Clinton with his affair with Monica.
We had the best with Reagan and the worst with Arnold. Question is did the people get the leaders they wanted or get we end up with what they were forced to accept? Did the GOP change over the years that much to where Arnold was the best of what was available or did the people really change and get who reflected their social and economic values? With the huge uprising of the Tea Party and other groups I believe it was the GOP party that changed.
The 2010 election brought a huge increase of conservatives to Congress. Will they do it again in 2014? Time will tell and it’s not that far away. Without a leader the people are becoming the leaders. They know what they want and are willing to put their own time and money into taking back their party one seat at a time. Will there be another Lincoln or Reagan-like leader amongst them? Time and prayers will tell. For the future of our country I hope so.
Jack,
In the words of our last great leader, “there you go again.”
Every so often you go on rants about the party. Years ago it was the money in the party you were against, a couple months ago you were leaving our party for some libertarian/decline to state scheme. Now you’re rehashing political battles within our party that you certainly had your own part in.
Our party has had plenty of infighting. Activist conservatives against the rich moderates, the party of Tom McClintock vs the party of Meg Whitman and Charles Munger. The question now is, will you spend your time rehashing and reigniting old fights or will you help find a way to rebuild? The TEA Party is a honorable effort, but most of their national candidates lost. We have several TEA Party groups in Butte County and they all have a different message, how can we win like that?
I’m looking for ways that our party can rebuild and win elections. Not for the party, but for the people who deserve a more conservative government. It would be nice to get folks like you and Peggy on board.
Instead of talking about why we lost, let’s talk about how we will win. Sean Morgan won in a liberal city, he might have an idea or two. Dan Logue’s college tuition bill (AB51) seems like a great way to reach out to younger voters. Marco Rubio has said some things nationally that will get people thinking. Let’s work to promote more of these ideas, rather than becoming our own worst enemies and always talking about how lousy we are.
I know you’ve got it in you Jack, keep your faith.
Steve, Just curious if you also sent your buddy Aaron Parks a similar comment, to the one you sent Jack, after he wrote the below article in his blog? Note the responses says there are no comments, so guess yours got lost in transmission if you did send one.
Dec 022012
CRP Update: Don’t treat a cancer patient with botulism
California Republican PartyNo Responses »
What?
Yes, the California Republican Party (CRP) is an invalid cancer patient. Everyone has theories. So, let’s start with the theories and the groups promoting them in ():
#1 Conservatives and their Pro-Life stances are the problem. (Moderates)
#2 Moderates and their meely-mouth consensus building squish-outs are the problem. (Conservatives)
#3 Statist Republicans should legalize drugs and allow chaos at the RNC Convention to attract young people. (Ron Paul)
#4 We should open the borders and that will get Hispanic votes. (Clueless idiots that don’t understand Hispanics)
I have set out to prove what I have learned in 15 years of political involvement. The problem with the GOP is not much different than basic human nature. Most politicians couldn’t care less about the facts and only care about what gets them re-elected. Period.
Why else would millions get spent on RvsR races versus where it needed to go?
The Consultant and Donor class have a completely different calculation – they want to support winners. There is no consideration whatsoever for the health of the GOP. Since these people control large parts of the GOP – it explains a lot of the decisions.
Charles Munger is just the latest symptom of the disease – except that he is extremely malignant and addictive. The crack addicts that want his money check all conventions of ideology and common team sense at the door and cash the checks.
The only thing missing is sex. (with all due respect to former legislators Mike “Spanky” Duvall and Roy Ashburn.)
We have a CRP Convention coming up. This is where the legislators, donors, consultants and the people that matter will clash.
For years the legislators and consultants have viewed the voters (aka activists, party volunteers, etc) with disdain. Witness the way many Tea Parties have been infiltrated by political operatives – or how the CRA had to fight WWIII to extricate Dave Gilliard et. al. from it.
And, here is the crossroads. The CRP had become dependent on big donors and consultants in the last ten years. This led to a decimation of the base of volunteer support who were disgusted with Arnold, Meg Whitman, John McCain (fill in the candidate with weak, unclear values here) and the like.
Now, we are being told that the solution is Tony Strickland, Jim Brulte, Guy Houston, Abram Wilson or someone like any one of them for CRP Chairman.
I have spoken to Jim Brulte a few times and I know he has some friends I respect that are supporting him.
But – allow me to say that we should not treat the cancer patient with botulism.
The attitude of the legislative / consultant class is toxic. Trying to revive a dead patient with poison is absurd.
Jim Brulte has an extremely difficult case to make. He has to convince activists who are used to getting lied to and tossed aside by an arrogant ruling class that they are going to be treated differently and regarded differently under his chairmanship.
Then, Brulte has to convince donors that the activists with pitchforks aren’t going to screw their interests because they care about ideological issues. After all that, he has to get people like Charles Munger who have made it clear they think there is no place in the GOP for 2/3 of its’ members to write checks.
Finally Brulte has to convince the consultant class that they aren’t going to lose their paychecks that they get from the CRP if the activists are re-empowered.
Jim Brulte could walk across Lake Tahoe on his way to Sacramento and I don’t think he could pull that one off.
For Steve Baric, the job is far simpler – hatch a plan, sell the plan and execute the plan.
Aaron Park’s Blog:
http://www.rightondaily.com/author/sgtyork/
Jack this is the perfect time to assert yourself and take on the Republican Party in California and nationally. We are not in the middle of an election so yes now is the time.
I don’t believe anything of substance will change unless the people and our media begin to treat our leaders with equal contempt or praise. I don’t think our country will be served as long as democrats are given cover or support. It’s little comfort to know that citizen republicans hold their leaders accountable when the other party never or rarely does…at least not over big issues.
One more thing Jack…Hypocrisy doesn’t lose elections for Obama and most democrats…clearly there is a bias in our nation.
Peggy,
Maybe Jack will appreciate this, but I read Post Scripts everyday. I honestly hadn’t checked out Aaron’s blog in a while, but I will give his comments some thought too. Thank you for posting it. If you’re trying to make the point that I am biased, you’re right. I’m as biased as everyone else in our party. Aaron writes some ugly, scathing reports and I’ve supported him because at least he’s supported the right candidates.
When moderates in our party came after our conservative party platform, Aaron Park called them on it. He was divisive and harsh about it and I should have told him to play nicer. The whole event still burns me that some of those who tried to take our pro life pro gun language out of our platform are called conservatives by people I regularly spar with too.
I am however trying to move past that and make peace. The Republican Party is becoming a dying breed, and we are losing the luxury of being able to kill each other off. As a conservative, I am going to have to learn to work with moderates in hopes of restoring the party. The moderates in our party had better start learning to accept our conservative base as well. Perhaps we can’t win without their money, but they can’t win without our votes. The McClintock Republicans vs the Mungers can’t keep going on.
As Aaron mentioned, there is a convention coming Peggy. As I am a delegate to that convention, what would you, as a Republican have me do there? Do you prefer we abandon our conservative principles or stand up for them? Should we support leaders with principles and ideas, or just support whichever candidate has the most money and a cowboy hat? Should we rebuild our party, or just continue the circular firing squad and beat each other up?
Thank you Steve. I did not expect this response from you, but want to let you know just how much I appreciate the opportunity to help if I can. That was my intent when I met with you in your office years ago.
I’m going to have my grandson spend the weekend with me, so am going to be unable at this time to give an honest and complete response. I’ll work on it when I can and get back to you early next week.
I will say my major concern is everyone involved in the GOP leadership needs to take a giant step back from the circular firing squad they’re in and put down their “arms,” before any improvements can be made. I believe our problems on the national level are a result of what is happening at the state and local levels. Congress, therefore, has its low level of approval because we’ve set them up to fail.
More later.
I will be posting an update on Mr. Brulte very soon. But, thank you for reading.
I have to get my talking points from Steve first.
And right here is where you need to do some work … philosophically speaking:
“pro life pro gun language”
Psycho … that is. And if you really can’t see it … really, really can’t see where the “psycho” comes in … we’re talkin’ “Third Party” … most decidedly Third Party, and providing secure employmnent for legions of HS employees for years to come.
Alright Libby, you got us there. Pro Life and Pro Gun do sound funny together. As a Christian I see that. But the reality is that there is nothing wrong with being the party that stands up both for unborn babies and for the peoples’ right to defend themselves. Maybe we’re still the party of John Wayne, but someone has to stick up for the innocent. Democrats sure don’t.