the irish lass

BREAKING NEWS

California Republican Party Unanimously Endorses Re-Election of Governor Schwarzennegger


As moved by Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa

I would like to speak about the difference the recall makes:

This Governor puts taxpayers ahead of bureaucrats.

This Governor believes that it shouldn't be more lucrative to retire than to work.

This Governor thinks teachers who excel should be paid more than teachers who fail.

This Governor thinks people who work should live better than people who won't.

This Governor thinks workers compensation should go to injured workers, not "slip and fall" shysters.

This Governor thinks an official California Drivers License should be a privilege of citizenship.

This Governor thinks letting politicians draw their own district boundary lines is like giving the town drunk a bottle of scotch for safekeeping.

This Governor doesn't rearrange boxes, this Governor blows up the boxes.

And today, this party wants to tell this Governor, we think he's doin a heckuva job!

Two years ago, this party decided that we couldn't afford 3 more years of Gray Davis. This party couldn't afford to wait and so supported the recall. This party shouldn't wait now.

Mr Chairman, I move that TODAY, we endorse Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for re-election in 2006!

Seconded By Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (who has promised to send me his secondy speech - he was fired up - will post when received)

Wild Cheering and applause commences.

Chairman Duf Sundheim calls for the Ayes and Nos. It's unanimous! We endorse the Governor.

If you go after the King, you better kill him, or you'll be killed yourself.

Did Dr. Dora kill herself?

There was a teeny, tiny bit of controversy at this weekend's California Republican Party convention. The officer's elections were primarily uncontested, so candidates won by acclamation. The speakers were interesting and dynamic and were well received by the delegates. The Governor's speech was spectacular, and was greeted by cheers and multiple standing ovations. Deserving volunteers were honored. Committee work went smoothly.

But Dora Kingsley, longtime GOP activist and volunteer assistant to Gerry Parsky (Friend of the President and Bush/Cheney California Chair), provided a little bit of excitement by lighting herself on fire.

On Friday, Dora sent out a press release and a letter to members of the Rules Committee, resigning her membership on the committee. It was a symbolic move, expressing her strong disapproval of the plan by Party Chairman Duf Sundheim to have the party endorse the re-election of Governor Schwarzenegger.

Was she acting on her own or in collusion with Parsky? What positive result did she hope to accomplish? Would the White House intervene? How mad would the Governor be? Would this be the straw that broke the camel's back?

I was really the only one asking these questions. Most party members were unconcerned. A member of the Rules Committee told me "When you choke on a piece of bread, you don't always die, but it's a possibility", clearly believing that she was already dead.

Word is that the White House did intervene. Parsky flew up to Sacramento on Saturday, but remained holed up in his suite the entire time, meeting with just a handful of people. Dora no-showed the convention on Sunday.

The Contra Costa Times reported on Feb 11, 2005

Resignation over GOP rule for early Schwarzenegger endorsement

DON THOMPSON
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO - A proposal that would let the California Republican Party make an early endorsement of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and allow early party contributions to his re-election campaign led a longtime activist to resign from a key party committee Friday.

Dora Kingsley said the rule proposed by party Chairman Duf Sundheim for consideration at the party convention this weekend in Sacramento could bring criticism of Schwarzenegger.

The state Democratic Party allows such preprimary endorsements, but Kingsley said the GOP rules prohibit them "in order to protect the integrity of the nomination process."

Changing the rule could "lead to loss of the voters' confidence," she said in her resignation letter.

Schwarzenegger's record-setting fund-raising already has drawn criticism, while his California Recovery Team is joining a lawsuit seeking to overturn limits on how much donors can give to ballot measure committees run by officeholders.

Kingsley's objections are "completely without merit," said party spokeswoman Karen Hanretty. "These are one-time rules that would allow us to support Gov. Schwarzenegger and his reform agenda."

The procedural change "will basically allow the governor's and the party's infrastructure to merge" should Schwarzenegger seek re-election, an announcement he has yet to make. Besides discouraging challengers, Schwarzenegger could take advantage of the party's fund-raising and bulk mailing privileges.

Sundheim raised the idea, which Schwarzenegger supports, Hanretty said. The governor's office declined comment, and Schwarzenegger's political aides did not return telephone messages from The Associated Press.

Hanretty said the party "welcomes Dora Kingsley's resignation," and accused her of "trying to draw attention to herself" by releasing the letter publicly and resigning instead of working within the Rules Committee against a change she opposes.

Kingsley, however, said she was appointed to the seven-member committee by Sundheim and felt it was better to resign than to vote against his proposed change.

"This is not about Gov. Schwarzenegger, this is about Duf Sundheim jumping the gun," said Elizabeth Blackney, a spokeswoman for Kingsley. Kingsley, a conservative, is aligned with former party chairman Gerald L. Parsky, who has been in a yearslong running battle with Sundheim.

Parsky, who is President Bush's point person in California, did not return a telephone message from The Associated Press.