California’s GOP Is Near COLLAPSE

[Segami]

"..According to a report in the New York Times, California’s Republican Party is on its way to becoming a minor party. Only 30% of the State’s electorate is Republican, compared to 43% who are Democrats and 21% who are independents. A consultant to the GOP, Allan Hoffenblum, pointed out that the 30% figure means Republicans can’t win a statewide election. “You just can’t get enough crossover voters. They have alienated large swaths of voters. They have become too doctrinaire on the social issues. It’s become a cult.? Wow! And this is a guy who works for the party!




In spite of the fact that the state is embroiled in economic turmoil while all three branches of its government are controlled by Democrats, not a single Republican holds statewide office. The prognosis for change isn’t good, either. Another Republican consultant, Steve Schmidt, said, “The institution of the California Republican Party, I would argue, has effectively collapsed. It doesn’t do any of the things that a political party should do. It doesn’t register voters. It doesn’t recruit candidates. It doesn’t raise money. The Republican Party in the state institutionally has become a small ideological club that is basically in the business of hunting out heretics…When you look at the population growth, the actual party is shrinking. It’s becoming more white. It’s becoming older.”




On Sunday, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, told a crowd at a San Francisco fundraiser that, “Boy, somebody’s got to do something for California…the right leadership would make a difference here.” Not only doesn’t the ‘right’ Republican leadership exist in the state, but 30% of the electorate can’t even come close to delivering the California vote to Romney.




Instead of indulging in pipe dreams, Romney and his GOP boosters ought to be worried about this old saying: “As California goes, so goes the nation.” Hunting out heretics…shrinking…becoming more white…aging? Could California be signaling not only the demise of the Republican Party in the state but also (gulp) sounding its death knell nationwide?




http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/07/23/californias-gop-is-near-collapse/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. This prospect makes me very, VERY happy!

[cbrer]

24. ++

The American People will awaken.

[opihimoimoi]

2. GOPers = GONE ON PHOOLING.....

[Kolesar]

3. I recall that Fiorino and Whitman had "decent" poll numbers early in the 2010 campaign

...until their "negatives" became public knowledge.* My point is that there are more than 30% of the population to vote GOP. That was my observation.

I would like to move to the Sierras and do a lot of snowshoeing and skiing someday.

*Credit Jerry Brown for running a good campaign.

[meow2u3]

4. 1 down, 49 to go

before the greatest threat to America and Americans finally bites the dust. Yes, I'm talking about the GOP--and especially the terrorists better known as the Tea Party types.

[Chan790]

33. Really 2 down...

CT's GOP runs against the national GOP platform, is effectively socially-libertarian and a center-right party...and still can't win.

The last Republican to hold major office in CT was a pro-education, pro-women's-issues, pro-choice, pro-civil-unions Governor named Jodi Rell who ascended to the position when the previous governor went to prison and ran for re-election on a platform of strengthening the investigative and prosecutorial powers of the state ethics commission.

CT: 2/3 of our registered Republicans are more liberal than 1/3 of the Democrats in Congress.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Segami.

[nichomachus]

6. It doesn't matter who is registered as what

It matters what box they check on election day.

[warrior1]

7. Praise cheeus.

[abolugi]

8. In our local elections here

in No.CA in 2010 we had a tea party sweep. This year the Tea Party got a huge ass kicking and was thrown out of every local office and won NO elections.
We simply had enough of their hateful, divisive rhetoric.
Every county needs to do the same.

[tanyev]

9. Ahhh. Nice to get a feel-good news story.

[Spike89]

10. The poison pill they took in the 70s

Once abortion became legal, the GOP latched onto the entire "moral majority" platform and moved more and more into a split party of socially outraged fundies and financial elites. The two groups really had no (and still don't) true common ground. The fundies aren't concerned about banking regulation, and the elites don't care about abortion, gay rights, etc. They were simply useful to each other--the fundies need political power and the elites needed raw numbers.
Reagan could be the poster boy for the deception, except W did it even better. The idea was quite simple--the elites would throw scraps of raw meat at the fundies to keep them outraged and engaged. At the same time, they'd somehow try and convince them that their economic policies were somehow tied to their social agenda. It worked really well for decades, but it requires constantly whipping the fundies into a frothing rage while simultaneously keeping them believing that they were all on the same side.
They aren't on the same side at all. The fiscal elite has lost control of the mob and barely had enough power to fend off the Santorum/Backmann/Palin crazies in the primaries. The result is a GOP nominee who in essence is anathema to the zealots.
The GOP is collapsing because the plutocrats simply couldn't give the crazies the entire carcass at once and they've broken the trust that held that crappy alliance together for the last couple decades.
Sadly, I don't think it is a permanent rift. Some plutocrat (like W) will adopt a social crusader personna that the rabble can believe in, or just as likely, some fundie-favorite (like Santorum) will find supply-side Jesus and earn the trust of the banking class. Either way, the culture and economic war is far from over even if we rout the enemy this election.

[Yavin4]

13. Don't Forget Citizens United

I agree 100% with your analysis. However, the CU decision opens the door for the plutocrats to buy elections. They may not need the fundies any more or at least deny the fundies any money. That's what happened to Bachmann, Gingrich, and Santorum. All of them were far more ideologically aligned with the base of the party, but none of them could match Mitt's money and organization.

The fundies can make a lot of noise and get a lot of attention, but the plutocrats are in firm control of the party.

[XemaSab]

11. Yeah, in LA and the Bay Area

Meanwhile, in 80% of the state they dominate local politics.

You think they're gone you're a total fool.

[Magoo48]

12. Let's hope they're only the first to go...

[Initech]

14. We gave the world Darrell Issa, Dana Rohrbacher, and Rick Warren. Sorry America.

[tjwash]

17. Not to mention B-1 Bob Dornan

[zappaman]

20. I have a book of Dornan quotes

It's called "SHUT UP FAG!"
To be fair, his nasty wife gave the book the title, but it is astounding what a hateful imbecile that piece of shit is.
http://www.amazon.com/Shut-fag-Quotations-Congressman-president/dp/0964124106

[tjwash]

30. he used to grow a beard at times and look a lot like castro

He caused a lot of us to coin a new political archetype..."conservanazi from hell "

[99Forever]

15. Oh Hell yes!

“As California goes, so goes the nation.”


Let us hope.

[longship]

16. The sin of heresy! Bring out the... COMFY CHAIR!!

Our chief weapons are fear, surprise, a ruthless efficiency, and a fanatical loyalty to the Reagan. (I wonder where Ruth is.)

[A HERETIC I AM]

32. And next.....the SOFT CUSHIONS! N/T

[NNN0LHI]

18. More than 30 years too late

Wish this would have happened before they gave us Reagan.

Don

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. They are becoming irrelevent in CA. CA is too democratic. that's just the way it is.

[A Simple Game]

21. I've heard stories of the GOP collapse since Nixon.

Also a few stories of the Democratic Party's collapse.

I will bet 10,000 internet dollars that New York elects President Obama by a larger margin than California does in 2012!!! Any takers? New york has a lot of Republicans.

The GOP is not going away for a while, not even in California.

[lovuian]

22. the Republican party is dying

and completely imploding
It is fun to watch

[Raine]

23. Repugs made a BIG mistake with Prop 187, they've been going down hill ever since. t

[jmowreader]

25. For once I agree with Romney

Somebody DOES got to do something for California.

I differ with Romney: the something that needs to be done is to repeal Proposition 13.

[NRaleighLiberal]

26. California is just the first - GOP in general is on its way to extinction.

Demographics/age working against its relevance everywhere.

Whoooooeeeee!

[luv_mykatz]

27. Good!

Now, may this trend (collapse) spread to the other 49 states.

[NBachers]

28. This is great to see, but Issa's still the fly in the ointment.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. I invite these reporters to my back country

I seriously would not crow with glee.

[XemaSab]

31. +1

n/t

[Scuba]

34. Not a problem. The Koch's will just buy a new one.

[OnionPatch]

35. It always boosts my spirits to read this kind of thing.

Especially being in a red area of California, I sometimes forget how lucky I am to live in the state. My congresswoman stinks, but at least I have Barbara Boxer!

[Downtown Hound]

36. Maybe this means we can finally raise taxes on the rich

Which we've been trying to do for years, but have been blocked by a minority of Republicans in the state legislature because for some idiotic reason you need two-thirds majority to get anything done in this state.

I always want to strangle Republicans that point out California's budget problems as being the result of being an overwhelmingly Democratic state. Um, if the Republicans would let us raise taxes on the wealthy, which we've been trying to do, we would have had a budget surplus in this state long ago.

Stupid, idiotic Repukes! Good riddance to you!