The California Republican Party Board of Directors met today with Governor Schwarzenegger to have a frank and free flowing discussion about his recent appointment of Susan Kennedy as his new chief of staff.They have their panties in a twist because the Gov. appointed a Democrat as Chief of Staff.
Schwarzenegger won - as a Republican - by co-opting a number of Democratic issues, interest groups, and practitioners. People like me.
I can't imagine ever calling myself a Republican, but I can't imagine a California Republican Party that can win statewide elections without the votes of a whole lot of people like me.
But the party is run by clowns with bad haircuts more committed to some fantasy of ideological purity and grade-school sandbox power plays than actually winning elections and serving the people of California.
The best service they could perform would be - simply - to become competitive with the Democrats so that the strident and foolish among the Democratic Party would get shoved far away from the levers of power.
Somehow, I don't see it happening very soon.
AL - The California GOP has real and serious problems - but it isn't the one you've just identified.
FYI, they have ther panties in a twist because he appointed someone they remembered as a highly partisan attack dog. If a Democrat appointed Karl Rove, I daresay there would be more than a little bit of grumbling in the ranks. It's called going out of your way to offend your base, and it's a bad idea.
Arnold may believe he is above politics and doesn't need a partisan base, but here's a newsflash - he isn't, and he does. No politician is above that, and all of them need one.
Unless he's trying to get back into acting real soon, he needs to remember that his campaign offices and machinery will need experienced staff, not just at the top but all the way down. And non-partisan feelgood stuff aside, those staff aren't going to be Democrats when election time rolls around.
Triangulation has its limits. You CAN jump the shark. Serious politicians - of either party - get that concept. At least, the ones who don't believe their political endings will be taken care of by a scriptwriter do.
You'd think the recent referenda might have taught Arnold that contrary to movie lore, he isn't bulletproof.
Guess not.
The Repubs have their panties in twist because their Governor picked a lesbian who had the huevos to marry her partner -- and to the top slot, fergoonessake!!!
Only one thing could have been worse than that: picking a queer man who has married his partner.
I did enjoy this post (a prepared statement responding to a prepared statement, which always starts the read off on a loverly note):
by Mike Der Manouel, Jr. Central California
12-15-2005 6:41 pm
Memo to all CRP Board Members: If you didn't discuss specifically how the GOP is going to overcome the political agenda of nurses, teachers, firefighters, cops and firemen, you have wasted your time. I don't care if Pat Buchanan or Pee Wee Herman is the chief of staff for the Governor, unless we begin to address tactical issues for winning statewide elections, its just hot air. Remember, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And the main thing is, how to we win elections? Micromanaging the Governor's staff selections isn't a strategy.
Joe, I couldn't disagree more. Rove and Kennedy are skilled techicians; if the Democrats could get Rove to play on their side, it'd be a coup.
What you're suggesting is akin ot saying that I should never hire a lawyer who's been on the other side from me. In my mind, when I've been part of a team and had someone on the other side do a skilled job of kicking me, I work darn hard to get them on my side the next time.
I'll also remind you that, as I keep saying, "we're all in the same boat" politically, and that excommunicating folks on the other side is a part of what's got us to this dire pass.
A.L.
And in other news, hydrogen continues to contain a single proton.... film at 11.
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(Marc, Joe, you're BOTH right. The one thesis does not contradict the other...)
Needs a little more nuance, Marc. Duf Sundheim (CRP chair) is a Silicon Valley type who is hardly an ideologue. He has the fun of dealing with a number of other leaders of the O.C. type who are. The Governator just made that job a little tougher, but that looks OK from here on multiple counts.
After having tossed a lot of his momentum by trying to do too much at once, he needs to focus on one or at most two key leverage points in the next trial at the polls. If Kennedy can advise where and how to fire rifle shots at key Dem vulnerabilities, more power to her. The CRP also needs to get to the center on social issues so it can win on economic issues. Since the COS is a personal appointment, Ahnuld can nudge that along with a certain amount of deniability at the intraparty level. Works for me.
Some posts from the Captains' Quarters blog are pertinent here. Ed Morrissey's thread concerned obviously stupid, self-defeating, actions by Illinois Republicans. Here are three comments from that thread:
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005059.php