As you suggest, it’s certainly true that the California Republican party is in deep trouble. But this article seems confused about the reasons.
No mention whatever of Gerald Parsky, I notice.
To this outsider, the basic problem with the California Republican Party is that it is split down the middle between the voters, who are mostly conservative, and the party pros and big donors, who are mostly Country Clubbers and Big Tent people. The party cannot regain its health unless these two factions agree to make up their differences and work together again. But that seems unlikely at the moment.
Bush, Rove, and Parsky came in and put the Country Clubbers in charge of the party. We have seen what the results of that have been. As head of the party, Parsky refused to help Bill Simon, and never did any money raising for him. Bush and Rove were in a snit because the party voters had voted 2-1 in the primary for Simon over ueberleftist Richard Riordan, their chosen candidate.
Arnold has betrayed both the fiscal conservatives and the social conservatives. So the base is disgusted. He won the reelection, but only by refusing to help any of his fellow Republican candidates, who all lost. When he leaves office because of term limits, he leaves a party divided worse than ever.
Unless the money people agree to accept some basic conservative principles, the Democrats will take over the whole state government and the Republicans will be out of it until the Democrats have become so corrupt, and made such a mess, that the people may finally vote them out. But it doesn’t look good for the conservative cause if the Country Clubbers continue to refuse to give up their pet agenda, which involves abortion, perversion, and uncontrolled state spending.
Agreed! Good post.