Retaking California

[pastureofmuppets]

Why would you as a supposed gun owner repeat what sworn enemies to the 2 nd amendment say?

Because reading preach to the choir propaganda for your own cause does not give you any information on what the other guys are thinking.

Bottom line, middle California and enough of middle America to get us a Democratic president, see the Republican party as a religion based money grabbing anti-minority party.

The problem is, you add all those minorities together and guess what?

You don't have a minority anymore.

Then look at the difference in female voters, pro choice is a huge single issue voter thing... and look what the Republicans did in Texas. To the pro-choice movement, that's as bad as what the Dems are doing to 2A here. Considering the Supreme Court ruling on Roe Vs. Wade, that move was right out of the same textbook. A lot of people worrying Texas might go Dem, it's entirely possible that will turn out to be the straw that broke the camels back.

Sitting on your high horse bemoaning that people say bad things about Republicans helps no one. The question to ask is WHY, then tackle that.

The Dems in Cali don't need to because they rule here, for things to be changed the pressure needs to put upon them. Fiscally is going to be the largest part of that and fielding Republicans that aren't going to mess with the social side.

If they did of course, they would find the rest of the country see them as socialist elitist nannies intent on building the biggest government possible to legislate everything they can that's useful out of existence while taxing the working to pay for the welfare lifestyle of everyone else.

The independents of course are voting for the least worse from their point of view.


I believe if the Republicans had fielded an actual presidential candidate last time round, Obama would not be in the white house now. This time round after the mess Obama's administration has made I can't see a Democrat President next time round... so not Clinton thankfully.



The only way I see California being "taken back" is by the party that gets the right balance of socially progressive and fiscally conservative. So, unless Obama has done a serious amount of damage to the Dems, Cali Dems really screw up, or the Libertarians motor really starts humming and they field a whole bunch of serious candidates... it ain't gonna change.

Thinking about, if more people voted independently as opposed to their "team" both the D's and R's would have to seriously look at what they are doing... but good luck fixing the polarization of America in the not too distant future huh?

[Cylarz]

I agree, and The "New and Improved" Republican party needs to stay away (publicly) from the things they are against: Abortion, "Protection" of Marriage. Just stop. talking. about. that. stuff! If you want to court the evangelicals, you only need to be less-repulsive than the democrats, who else are they going to vote for?

They can stay home. That's the trouble with taking your base for granted. They can go third party, or simply not vote.

Sorry, but I am one of those evangelicals...and I will not vote for Republicans who are pro-2A but also just fine with slaughtering innocents in the womb, or okay with turning marriage on its head. I'm also not interested in listening to people who tell me that my values are archaic or that demographics are against me.

People who want to "revive" the GOP seem to talk a lot about how the party needs to "stop turning people off with these social issues" and just focus on being fiscally responsible, but that reasoning breaks down pretty quickly when you start to look at the issues of our day and realize that not all of them fit neatly into one category or the other. Illegal immigration is a good example - it's a social issue (it's changing our culture, it's undermining respect for the law, it's encouraging people to think they're entitled to come here)...but it's also a fiscal one (illegals are driving down wages, sucking our educational/legal/medical systems dry).

Your heart is in the right place, but I wish people would stop suggesting these overly simplistic answers.

[Cylarz]

I believe if the Republicans had fielded an actual presidential candidate last time round, Obama would not be in the white house now. This time round after the mess Obama's administration has made I can't see a Democrat President next time round... so not Clinton thankfully.


We tried. There were at least three decent, actual conservative candidates in the running when the race first got underway in late 2011, four if you count Newt. All of them were picked off by the voters one by one in early primary states, who together are something like 2% of the population and certainly not representative in our base. It was Romney, according to the pasty-white, squishy centrists pulling the lever in Iowa and New Hampshire. It was always going to be Romney. I have thought for some time now that if you're going to have a primary contest where states insist on voting right after Christmas, at least have it be one of the "big" states - Florida, Texas, New York, California, Illinois, etc that might actually be more representative of what our party wants as a whole. Not these little dingle berry states in the northeast or out on the prairie where hardly anyone lives. They insisted on nominating a man who hadn't been heard from in four years, and who'd implemented a slightly-less offensive version of Obama Care in his own state.

By the time the primary gets to California, we're left with no choice but to rubber-stamp the candidate the rest of the country has already chosen.

I saw them do the same *(&#@ thing to us in 1996, after four long years of watching Slick Willy drag our country through the mud - throw away someone that could actually distinguish himself from the Democrats, in favor of yet another "me too, only a little less" candidate. I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw who'd come out on top (Dole)...instead of an experienced businessman with a real track record for leadership and who had a real plan for job growth (Forbes). Then in 2008, instead of a real conservative like Fred Thompson, we got McCain...the weasel who'd spent his Senate career caving in to the Left. It is only by sheer amazing luck that we got Bush in 2000 (McCain ran but didn't get the nom that time.)

I'm sick and tired of moderates screwing our party over again and again. The primary selection process needs to be overhauled so they don't get such undue influence over the rest of the GOP. Make every state vote on the same day, or assign primary priority by population or something. I dunno. Anything but having obscure little states with 30 people in them, throw a tantrum if some other state tries to vote before they do.

I wanted Perry last time around. Yeah, the guy couldn't debate his way out of wet paper bag, so we nominated a guy who made the president look like a complete idiot in the debates and we still lost. We can't be nominating candidates who have ten years' real executive experience with a strong record on low taxes, job growth, low regulation and gun rights, can we?

I hope he runs again.

[DannyInSoCal]

This state is F'ed - And will continue to be F'ed -

As long as the union owned political hacks run things.

The solution is simple: Eliminate campaign contributions from unions and corporations.

When the government boot is on your throat -

Does it really matter if it's the left boot or the right one?

[vantec08]

Newt would have smoked the ****cago boy-wonder in debate. My community did a study on gas taxes among others and discoverd that out of every dollar sent to the state, less than 3 cents was granted to us. The politicos will NEVER let us go cause we are supporting big cities - L.A., frisco bay, san diego.

[ldsnet]

CA actually had a chance to have some say in the Republican Primaries; but what was Moonbeam's first order of business? Moved the primary 4 MONTHS to the right; REMOVING any chance of CA voters being heard in the decision.

Absolutely true - the smallest blue states should NOT be deciding who the Republican candidate is going to be.

[fanof1911forlife]

I don't think that is true. Minorities don't automatically fall into the category of I want free stuff from the government or the rich are bad let's take their money, or believe in a high taxes + high services, (aka Socialist) country or state.

In fact, the reverse is true with many communities and individuals. Since I am Asian, I'll speak from an Asian perspective...

Asians by and large work harder, take school more seriously and save more money than the average American. This is not my opinion, this is statistical fact.

• Asians HATE affirmative action -- the UC system for instance limits Asian enrollment because they are OVER REPRESENTED in the student population. With the same high school grades and SAT scores you are less likely to be admited to UC Berkeley if you are Chinese vs if you are black, Latino or White. Asians want to be allowed to compete on merit not the color of their skin.
• Asians don't generally like high taxes and loath the inheritance tax. When you stay in school all the way through a masters degree and make a good paycheck, you don't like the fact that you are working 5 months a year to pay your taxes while Anchor Baby moms get a few thousand dollars a month in welfare through their childern. When you live a frugal life and save every penny to buy a home or build wealth to pass on to your children, you don't like the Government taking 20% of that when you die.
• Asians by and large DO NOT support illegal immigration. You don't walk across the pacific from China or India to come to the US. Most Asian immigrants get here via a work Visa or applied through relatives. Most waited 7~12 years. Amnesty is a big slap on the face of Legal immigrants who played by the rules and waited out of country to pursue the American Dream.
• Asians think ultra liberal policies like allowing boys in girls locker rooms and toilets because they claim to identify with the other sex, is outrageous and ridiculous.
• Asians -- especially the older generation in their 40s or older who came from China saw the distinction between the poverty of Communism/Socialsm and the vibrance of a Market Economy. Most have no affinity for socialism.
• You'll be had pressed to find an Asian who thinks that unrestrained government spending or an exploding debt is not an issue of serious concern. It's like boasting about tens of thousands of dollars in your credit card accounts to a miser or a frugal family man, who had accumulated 300,000 in his savings account and never carried a credit card balance in his life, and trying to convince him that it's all cool.
• Asians, unfortunately, are less likely to be 2nd Amendment advocates because many grew up in societies where guns are highly illegal and never really had a gun culture. But, Asians aren't stupid either and don't subscribe to the rationale that if you ban guns or magazines in CA but they are freely everywhere else in the USA, the bad guys won't have them. So, Asian overwhelmingly do not fall into the category of single issue anti-gun voter either.

Why do they vote Democratic? First of all, Asians are also one of the least politically active groups and one of the least politically "interested" groups. There are many reasons for that. The focus on financial success is one thing. Then there is the fact that when you are brought up in an environment where political dissent and involvement is as pointless as it is forbidden, you have a culture that leans towards the believe that you can't make a political difference and that instead of trying (in vain) to change to rules, you should just play by them in the most effective manner possible. Just try to become wealthy and try to become highly educated. Your life won't be bad if you do that. Hey, if you are in the People's Republic of China, or Vietnam, or Singapore, or any one of those places, that's how you succeed in life instead of disappear into a prison cell some place. Many Asians don't vote. They don't pay attention to politics. They pay attention to their stock values, to getting next A in school or qualifying for the next scholarship, or finding extra hours to work at a restaurant so they can make more money, or looking for homes to buy.

When you don't pay attention to politics it is all to easy to fall for... "We are the Democrats. We are for the minorities and civil rights. They are the racists and they like war. Here register as a Democrat and vote for us. Most Asians do, you should too!"

I agree with every one of those bullet items except for the last one.

[sbrad39]

I believe that the Republican party could and should be able to win Asian voters, because, obviously, Asians have a lower rate of welfare and government dependence than whites do and Asians are devastated by affirmative action policies. It is puzzling why Asians vote Democratic at all. I have a few theories, but I don't know if that discussion belongs in this thread.

But Hispanics and blacks are very different from Asians. NAMs (non-Asian minorities) are heavily government dependent, and are solidly reliant on affirmative action and that doesn't appear to change despite any and all types of interventions, and they vote for more free stuff. This is unalterable. Hispanics will soon be a majority in California and how can the Republican party, which emphasizes low taxes, ever win their votes? It can't. People who live off the taxpayer will never want lower taxes.

Nonsense like this is why you are losing the war......

[Warrior King]

too many minorities in California; they'll always go Dem because that's where the goodies are. One guy at work voted for Obama because he wants his 6 year old son to go to college for free. They love that free health care too.

More and more all the time, not just Hispanics, but Eastern European, Indian, Persian, Asian, if any of them vote Republican they're traitors to their own people.

Republicans starting with Nixon tailored the Republican party to appeal to a single race ie the white middle class that Nixon called the "silent majority"

Every election cycle the Republicans have sent dog whistles to this silent majority or Sarah Palin's "real Americans"...shades of Willie Horten again and again. It worked for many an election when the demographics were there...that is no longer the case in Ca.

I'm not a Republican but I actually want a healthy and viable Republican Party in Ca. and the rest of the nation. Only an effective opposition can stop the gun control madness in Sacramento and on the national level, and protect our 2a rights.

The sooner the Republicans pivot away from being the party of the Jim Crow South ( Lyndon Johnson predicted the South would go Republican after he passed all the civil rights bills) and go back to their roots ie the party that helped free the slaves the sooner we can focus on the real issues rather than racial identity politics which disgusts everyone and is now a no win formula for the Republicans. I would love to see the radical Republicans again of 1865.

[ja308]

Republicans starting with Nixon tailored the Republican party to appeal to a single race ie the white middle class that Nixon called the "silent majority"

Every election cycle the Republicans have sent dog whistles to this silent majority or Sarah Palin's "real Americans"...shades of Willie Horten again and again. It worked for many an election when the demographics were there...that is no longer the case in Ca.

I'm not a Republican but I actually want a healthy and viable Republican Party in Ca. and the rest of the nation. Only an effective opposition can stop the gun control madness in Sacramento and on the national level, and protect our 2a rights.

The sooner the Republicans pivot away from being the party of the Jim Crow South ( Lyndon Johnson predicted the South would go Republican after he passed all the civil rights bills) and go back to their roots ie the party that helped free the slaves the sooner we can focus on the real issues rather than racial identity politics which disgusts everyone and is now a no win formula for the Republicans. I would love to see the radical Republicans again of 1865.

Please post some verification for your obviously biased statements.