As a Democrat, I am often grateful to the support shown to me by Republican friends.
However, California’s new Republican Party chairman may have taken support for a Democrat one step too far for the comfort of his party’s membership and the GOP contender in a local race.
A campaign committee controlled by the newly elected chairman of the state Republican Party donated $1,300 to Democrat Wendy Greuel’s Los Angeles mayoral bid.
Jim Brulte, who was elected chairman Sunday at the party convention in Sacramento, said he made the donation before he realized Kevin James was a viable Republican candidate.
“That was before I thought Kevin James had a great shot,” he said of the September donation. “At the end of the day, look at what the Democrats have done to that city. And I think Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry, who are good people, would be more of the same. Sometimes you have to find the least objectionable alternative.”
Brulte also insists he will “not wade into incendiary matters like immigration, climate change or same-sex marriage“. With leadership like Brulte’s, I project that there will be a dramatic change in the number of registered Republicans in the state, which now hovers around 29 percent. And it won’t be an upward trajectory.
Dr. Gary Gonsalves is a physician-turned-activist in 2009 and is involved with one of the large Southern California citizen groups, Stop Taxing Us. He says Brulte’s donation is one of the many reasons Californians need to become involved outside the traditional political party structure.
I’m not sure what is more objectionable; the idea that this “leader” was unaware of good candidate, that he donated to a democrat, or that he is stuck in this idea of labelling people as viable versus non-viable candidates. If we don’t all start looking outside the box and start supporting non-traditional candidates, our republic is doomed.
Tuesday’s election in Los Angeles resulted in Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel pushing ahead of six other candidates, including the Republican hopeful and entertainment lawyer Kevin James. Greuel, 51, would be the first female mayor of the city if elected; Garcetti, 42, is a fourth-generation Angeleno whose father, Gil, served as Los Angeles County district attorney from 1992 to 2000. The runoff election is in May.
No matter the final result, it’s hard to imagine anyone would be less suited to the job than current office-holder, Antonio Villaraigosa. In fact, Los Angeles Magazine (no conservative publication) has deemed the Villaraigosa a “failure”.
The subhed: “So Much Promise, So Much Disappointment.” It’s a common enough sentiment around town, even among Democrats, but a pretty startling turn given the early pro-Antonio leaning of the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Kit Rachlis. When my profile of Villaraigosa ran in December 2006, the headline read Pop Star Mayor and the editors put him on the cover. Villaraigosa was only 18 months into the job then and still seemed to be maturing into the role. Now writer-at-large Ed Leibowitz pens an open letter to Antonio that draws a line from his betrayal of his wife to the betrayal felt by voters “who believed you could love this city more than you love yourself.”
To rework a quote from Nietzsche applicable to my state: Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in California, it is the rule.
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Comments
The GOP in California is so wealthy it has money to spare to fund Democrats? Who knew?
My guess is that the donation was a down payment on a future quid pro quo. Get on the guy’s good side now and remind him you were an early supporter when you want something. Why even bother running a Republican candidate in LA? Seems like a waste of time, money and effort. Save it for elections (time/place) where chances of winning are at least as good as an ice cube’s chance in hell.
Republicans and third parties need to be very smart about California. Run in the cities and Congressional districts where they have a chance to win, don’t waste money where they can’t. They/we are never going to win West Hollywood, Marin, San Francisco, pretty much the entire LA basin. BUT, wins are possible in the interior counties and south of LA.
Point. But the GOP doesn’t have a prayer of outspending the unions. When you have very few resources, they must be allocated with care.
Sounds like the Demican/Republocrat party has finally come together as one in California. Now they can all share the blame for the State’s failing financial situation!
Good show! Vote 3d party!
Well well well. RINO’s are coming out of the closet in boldness. Just like McCain and Graham eating with the Furer while Rand Paul stood for something.
And people wonder why I advocate the founding of a SECOND Party in American politics. Liu2 kou3shui3 de5 biao3zi5 he2 hou2zi5 de5 ben4 er2zi5.
Does anyone else see a pattern here? On a national level, the highest elected leader of the Republicans in office, the Speaker of the House, consistently caves in to the Democrats on every major issue; and he and his personal coterie vote with the Democrats and AGAINST the Republican caucus to give the Democrats victory.
As Speaker, he has not only a “bully pulpit” but also the power to use funding to fight back; a weapon he refuses to touch. And he works actively to keep any in the House from using the institutional power of the House against the Left, purging Conservatives from positions of power.
In the Senate, it is only the Conservatives and even one Democrat who stand up against the Executive claim of authority to kill any American, on American soil, without charge, trial, due process, or warrant at will. And the mainstream Republicans stay carefully silent throughout. Afterwards the epitomes of Institutional Republican Senators, McCain and Graham, attack those who fought back and won; because it was “rude” to take the Left at their word.
In Colorado here, we have numerous examples of the Institutional Republicans working to elect Democrats when a Conservative Republican manages to be duly nominated.
Now in California, the Chairman of the Republican Party gives a large personal donation the Democrat candidate for mayor in Los Angeles; and we can be sure that neither the Republican candidate nor the party as a whole will do a thing about it. The Republican Chairman has just functionally declared himself and the California Republican Party as vassals of the Democrats.
Other than whose face is in the public trough, what is the difference between the two parties? Codavilla is right. 2/3 of the country has no representation in government.
Subotai Bahadur
Wow. Normally I advocate that teaparties work within the existing state’s GOP to advance their cause, as the GOP already has the political infrastructure needed to network, advocate, organize, etc.
Obviously, the CA GOP is so corrupted, that the teaparties there are going to have to start building their own networks and political infrastructure. Talk about your herculean tasks.
It *can* be done…but it’ll probably take a Huge Event to get them there. My parents labored my whole life for the conservative cause in Louisiana; it took Hurricane Katrina, though, to push that state red.
I think the TEA Parties need to work with both of the existing state’s major parties, and in some states, the libertarians. Granted, the GOP seems a better fit since the socialist nuts took over the Dems at the national level, but if you recall, Nancy Pelosi became majority leader because the voters selected Blue Dog democrats.
The TEA Partiers should not fall for the Democratic Party line that the TEA Parties are the extreme edge of the Republican party — it isn’t true, but it is a tool certain people in the Democratic Party are using to protect their personal paychecks. The TEA Party platform has room for the full American political spectrum, and its members would be wise to keep that thought in mind. Don’t fall for the slander from the the Democrats.
Just noting that if you replace the two uses of the word “Democratic” above, with the word “Republican”; the statement is still absolutely true.
Subotai Bahadur
[…] Eastman at Legal Insurrection has up a terrific post today on “California’s New GOP Chair Donates $1300 to Democratic LA Mayoral […]
Sometimes the Professor likes to compare the Rhode Island situation to California’s. EVERYTIME California out-stupids RI, everytime.
The head of the California Republican Party helps fund democrat candidates. Your move Rhode Island, but this one will be hard to top.
Bogus. Just bogus.
I used to think that California Republcians were just “fruits-and-nuts” lite. You can take away the “lite.”
It is not Democrats against Republicans. It is US against THEM!
Live it! Love it! Learn it!
Then and only then will things start to change.