For California GOP, November may be the cruelest month
The party meets in San Francisco to rally around John McCain and seek ways to win in a state that appears to be growing weary of conservative candidates.
By Phil Willon
Los Angeles Times
SAN FRANCISCO -- In a city where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces criticism for not being liberal enough, California Republicans gathered this weekend to repair deep divides over how to appeal to an electorate that continues to trend away from the steady diet of conservative candidates and issues served up by the state GOP.
The party leadership, meeting at its semiannual state convention near San Francisco Bay, appeared energized by Republican presidential candidate John McCain's prospects for victory in November, enough to salve conservatives still sore over his past support for bipartisan immigration and campaign finance reforms.
But that was a rare bright spot for a party facing serious political and financial problems.
The number of registered Republicans in California continues to dwindle, and the party's bench of viable statewide candidates is sparse. Democrats have a firm grip on both chambers of the state Legislature and California's congressional delegation. GOP lawmakers continue to throw fits over the maverick tendencies of the party's brightest star, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who by law must leave office in less than three years.
(Continued here.)
By Phil Willon
Los Angeles Times
SAN FRANCISCO -- In a city where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces criticism for not being liberal enough, California Republicans gathered this weekend to repair deep divides over how to appeal to an electorate that continues to trend away from the steady diet of conservative candidates and issues served up by the state GOP.
The party leadership, meeting at its semiannual state convention near San Francisco Bay, appeared energized by Republican presidential candidate John McCain's prospects for victory in November, enough to salve conservatives still sore over his past support for bipartisan immigration and campaign finance reforms.
But that was a rare bright spot for a party facing serious political and financial problems.
The number of registered Republicans in California continues to dwindle, and the party's bench of viable statewide candidates is sparse. Democrats have a firm grip on both chambers of the state Legislature and California's congressional delegation. GOP lawmakers continue to throw fits over the maverick tendencies of the party's brightest star, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who by law must leave office in less than three years.
(Continued here.)
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