For GOP,glow of victory may hide rifts only briefly; Conservatives seek reward

BAYAREA ^ | 10/09/03 | Jim Puzzanghera and Dawn C. Chmielewski

[Pikamax]

For GOP, glow of victory may hide rifts only briefly RIVAL WINGS: AFTER BACKING MODERATE, CONSERVATIVES SEEK REWARD: By Jim Puzzanghera and Dawn C. Chmielewski Mercury News

LOS ANGELES - In the wake of Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory, some Republican leaders say the state party's feuding moderate and conservative wings have learned to put aside their differences. But with the governor-elect already under pressure from conservatives who want to be rewarded for their support, it's not clear how long the GOP honeymoon will last.

After a string of recent electoral setbacks that left California's GOP in a shambles, Republican leaders and many conservative rank-and-file members put ideology aside and backed the socially moderate Schwarzenegger. They embraced the popular action star, a supporter of abortion rights and gay rights, declaring his fiscal conservatism good enough for them -- at least for now.

Moderates see Schwarzenegger pulling a fragmented party together, where it finally found victory again with the recall of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis on Tuesday.

``You have a party that understands that ideals are the bedrock of any party, but there are other considerations,'' said state Republican chair George ``Duf'' Sundheim. ``What we've shown by this election is somebody who doesn't measure up 100 percent on the litmus test not only can win an election but can be accepted by the party.''

An ongoing struggle

Brooks Firestone, a leading moderate and former assemblyman, had another interpretation. ``I think the people of California got ahead of the Republican Party as Republicans,'' he said. ``The people of California showed the Republican Party how to be Republicans. It's about governance. It's not about sermons.''

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Brooks Firestone, a leading moderate and former assemblyman, had another interpretation. ``I think the people of California got ahead of the Republican Party as Republicans,'' he said. ``The people of California showed the Republican Party how to be Republicans. It's about governance. It's not about sermons.''

[Support Free Republic]

How we have, and can, change the world

History of Free Republic

Click The Logo To Donate

[strela]

"The people of California showed the Republican Party how to be Republicans. It's about governance. It's not about sermons."

Wow, there's my new tagline (if it'll fit). Thank you.

[NeoCaveman]

``The people of California showed the Republican Party how to be Republicans. It's about governance. It's not about sermons.''

Flag on the play, ten yard penalty for premature celebration.

Firestone is a little early, they haven't governed anything yet.

[skeeter]

``He's got to hold the conservative wing of the party. He wouldn't have won without them. He cannot stray too far and he knows that,''

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Nah - I understand him, and it needed saying. It was one of those pointed comments directed at a few people who needed reminding of what they've wrought over the past 10 years.

[hobbes1]

Sundheim got it right.

``You have a party that understands that ideals are the bedrock of any party, but there are other considerations,'' said state Republican chair George ``Duf'' Sundheim.

[hobbes1]

YEs, we now have a term for them.

(SUCKERS: Short-sighted Uncompromising Conservative Kool-Aid-drinking Elitist Republicans)

I got from Hildy, who got it from someone she cannot recall.

Exceptionally accurate.

[NeoCaveman]

That is true. Callyfoinia will need to be weaned off socialism.

[ambrose]

Brooks Firestone seems to give an awful lot of sermons for someone who claims to be against sermonizing.

Some great early signs have come out of this victory - and one of them appears to be that the Wilson camp won't be controlling the strings. Sorry, Charlie. Arnold is more interested in governing than carrying the water for your anti-conservative Jihad.

[onyx]

Excellent. strela made it fit.

[Poohbah]

It's "Kollyvornia."

[NeoCaveman]

Thanks

[BearArms]

It's in Arnold's interest to keep social conservatives happy and onboard. There have been "moderate" Republicans, Riordan and Wilson come to mind, who have been hostile to the social conservatives in the past. But the vibe I'm getting is that Arnold wants to keep the party together and won't play into this intra-party warfare madness. That would be a very good thing.

[ambrose]

But the vibe I'm getting is that Arnold wants to keep the party together and won't play into this intra-party warfare madness.

Poor Palpatine will be "deeply saddened" if that were to be the case. He wants to see Stalinistic purges of the party, not a big tent.

[Kevin OMalley]

We Social Conservatives wish that you centrists would be more civil. I guess that's too much to ask.

Anyways, being a bit of a nymrod (see definition below), I came up with my own wry self-descriptive recursive acronym:

IDEALIST

Integrity Driven Egalitarian Activist Longtermview Idealogical Sincere Truists

nymrod
noun. A person who insists on turning every multi-word term into an acronym.

recursive acronym
noun. An acronym that refers to itself, usually by incorporating the acronym as the first word in the expanded phrase.

[onyx]

I think you first coined CA's GOP, Arnold's party. It is and it's a big tent.

[LPM1888]

Bump

[LPM1888]

"The people of California showed the Republican Party how to be Republicans. It's about governance. It's not about sermons."

Wow, there's my new tagline (if it'll fit). Thank you.

Great idea, but it won't. ( I tried)