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State GOP convention: Blowup, outgoing chair accused of "thuggery" Republican State Sen. Sam Blaskeslee of San Luis Obispo, leading the charge against a conservative move to revise the party's endorsement of candidates, sharply criticized the outgoing GOP chair Saturday as a failed leader who has "resorted to thuggery." Blakeslee made the comment after walking out of a heated meeting of the state GOP Rules Committee at the start of a 3-day day statewide Republican Convention which brought 1,000 delegates to the Sacramento Hyatt. His comments come on the heels of efforts by outgoing GOP chair Ron Nehring, who has lead...

The pro-Republican wave in the rest of the nation on Nov. 2 is likely to pay dividends for the party for years to come, with the GOP so strong in the state legislatures, which control post-2010 census redistricting, that gerrymandering alone may yield 20 more House seats for the party in 2012. But in California, Republican prospects could scarcely be grimmer. Exit polls showed independent voters were overwhelmingly opposed to all but one of the statewide GOP candidates. Independents were key to Republican gains elsewhere. Meanwhile, the long-expected emergence of Latinos as a dominant voting bloc appears at hand. Exit...

Critics of Proposition 14 are eager to assail the ballot measure that would change California's primary system as a "backroom deal" that would derail the democratic process.But with less than three months until voters decide whether to abolish party primaries, there is no major campaign to fight the measure, which the Legislature placed on the ballot as part of last year's budget package.It's starting to look like opponents, including the state Democratic and Republican parties, aren't too eager to put their money where their mouths are. "What do I care?" asked California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton, a vocal critic...

A long-simmering controversy about the private life of California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring has erupted into a divisive conflict within the party. This week the San Diego Republican Party executive committee, led by Tony Krvaric, chair of the San Diego party, called a meeting for Feb. 8 to discuss the removal of Michael Crimmins, an ex-officio member of its central committee. The executive committee recommended Crimmins' expulsion, in part for sending an e-mail to state party leaders that raised concerns about behavior by Nehring and Krvaric. Crimmins, a retired Marine Corps officer and congressional candidate in the 53rd District...

It's confirmed that CA GOP Chairman Ron Nehring will receive a list of questions from me and provide answers I can publish on FreeRepublic. I've asked that he also come online and answer follow-up questions but that has not been confirmed. I plan to group the questions as much as possible by the classic three components of Conservatism. Based on some crucial questions raised, I plan three additional question categories for a total of six, not listed here in any priority: 1. Social/Moral Conservatism 2. Fiscal Conservatism 3. Sovereignty/Nationalism 4. Candidates, Primary & General Elections & Party Leadership 5. Constitutional...

FR EXCLUSIVE: RON NEHRING, CALIF GOP CHAIRMAN TO FREEP YOUR QUESTIONS! -- ASK AWAY! I was invited to participate in a strategic GOP meeting on June 5, during which many topics including the Internet, voter registration and fundraising were discussed from a tech/strategy standpoint. Durind the event I had the chance to speak with Ron Nehring, California GOP Chairman. I mentioned to him that GOP leadership is perceived as RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) by much of the grassroots. When I noted that an enormous GOP opportunity exists among both Republicans and Democrats on the issue of our borders, fighting...

What George Will missed: The decrepit state of the California GOP By Michelle Malkin  ?  May 4, 2009 02:21 PM George Will?s latest column on the sagging economy of California and the upcoming slate of massive tax-hike initiatives on the ballot only scratches the surface of what?s rotten in the formerly Golden State. The state GOP is a basket case. The party establishment epitomizes everything that is wrong with the Republican Party nationally: Cronyism, arrogance, waste, and leadership out of touch with its base. I reported on how grass-roots conservatives greeted California GOP chairman Ron Nehring with boos and heckles of ?Go...

California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring said Thursday he will convene an executive committee meeting next month to decide the party's positions on the May 19 ballot measures. The meeting comes as stark divisions remain within the state GOP on the proposals. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is spearheading the campaign drive. He is visiting editorial boards with Democratic leaders in tow, but also Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines and former Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill, who was ousted in a caucus coup right before the budget passed last month. While Villines and Cogdill have signed on to advocate for measures...

A former California Republican Party official's false-arrest lawsuit against U.S. immigration authorities has been thrown out of court. A federal judge in Brooklyn, N.Y., ruled last month that immigration officers did nothing wrong when they jailed Michael Kamburowski, 35, on a deportation warrant in 2004, three years before he was hired as chief operating officer for the California GOP. Kamburowski, an Australian citizen, had sued in 2005, seeking $5 million damages from the government. The lawsuit was pending when state party chief Ron Nehring hired him in March 2007 to oversee the state party's finances, but party officials said they...

A former California Republican Party official who resigned last year in a controversy over his immigration status had no valid visa or work permit during his high-profile career as a Washington lobbyist for conservative icon Grover Norquist..... Michael Kamburowski, an Australian citizen who served briefly as chief operating officer of the state GOP, worked from 1995 to 2000 as a vice president of Americans for Tax Reform in Washington, D.C., an organization headed by Norquist - an architect of modern conservatism who has advised President Bush and top GOP political leaders. For Norquist, Kamburowski lobbied Congress on dozens of issues,...

It’s fun to watch the Democrats desperately trying to spin how everything is so wonderful for their team as we head into the thick of this general election campaign. Lest we allow the pixiedust to have too much of an effect, let’s take a look at some of the major forces that are moving our way in California and nationally. Something clearly happened on Senator Clinton’s trip to her coronation as the Democrats’ nominee for President. The limo wheels have come off, and the campaign is in turmoil as managers are fired and new people brought into try to save...

Several months ago the San Francisco Chronicle exposed California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring for hiring a shadowy Australian immigrant to be Chief Operating Officer of the Party. I also detailed the scandal in widely published articles. When they appeared, Nehring’s fellow radical ultra-conservatives screamed in pain and anguish. They accused me of lying about and smearing Nehring and his intimate circle. Nehring’s crony successor as San Diego Party Chairman (Tony Krvaric) a recent immigrant from Sweden isn’t even civil with me even as I offer the Party FREE television time on my station. The truth, of course, is that...

The California Republican Party can’t fund some political activities just weeks before the Presidential Primary in February. It has no money. Some months ago, the Party faithful were shocked when it was revealed that new State Chairman Ron Nehring had hired illegal aliens for top state Party positions. Nehring diehards publicly decried my efforts and those of the San Francisco Chronicle that exposed the dry rot in the Party. Many of the state’s newspapers ignored the story and printed nothing about it until Ron Nehring’s illegal alien Australian hire for Party Chief Operating Officer resigned in shame and was replaced...

Ron Nehring, whose party is reeling with a roughly million dollar operating deficit since he took over at the state convention in Sacramento this past February, is in Israel now, in the midst of a 10-day tour, as reported in yesterday morning’s column. What’s he up to? You won’t find that out from California Republicans. You will, however, from Florida Republicans. Here, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party, Jim Greer discusses the centerpiece event of their 10 days in Israel. A forum featuring Greer and Nehring yesterday on, naturally, politics in the US and Israel. In this forum, the...

THE GOP has a guy problem. Even after Veep Dick Cheney shot a friend in a hunting accident, he still hunts. In California, GOP biggies injure their comrades in a less ballistic manner. State party chairman Ron Nehring is under fire for handpicking an Australian immigrant -- who was ordered deported in 2001, was jailed on visa violations in 2004 and has filed a $5 million wrongful arrest lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security -- to be the party's chief operations officer. Under Nehring, the party also sought an H-1B visa so that a Canadian citizen could serve...

Michael Kamburowski, the Australian immigrant hired as a top official in the California Republican Party, was ordered deported in 2001, jailed three years later for visa violations -- and has filed a $5 million wrongful arrest lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to U.S. District Court documents. Kamburowski was named in March to be the chief operating officer of the California GOP. He is responsible for the state party's multimillion-dollar budget and oversees campaign funds and financing for the nation's largest state GOP organization. As the state GOP's new operating officer, the 35-year-old Kamburowski was handpicked for...

California Republican Party officials might have violated federal immigration law by hiring an Australian immigrant for a top finance post without ever demanding to see his proof of legal residence, immigration officials said Tuesday. Ron Nehring, who heads the California Republican Party, admitted Tuesday that he -- and as far as he knows, any party officials -- never saw the green card that would prove that Michael Kamburowski, an Australian citizen hired as the state GOP's chief operations officer, was a legal resident. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division said Tuesday the...

The last few days there has been quite a bit of discussion about the sudden circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of the California Republican Party's Chief Operating Officer. To those who are still interesting in rehashing this matter... Get over it. It's time to move on. The guy omitted key information when he applied for the job. When it was revealed, he quit.

California Republican Party officials might have violated federal immigration law by hiring an Australian immigrant for a top finance post without ever demanding to see his proof of legal residence, immigration officials said Tuesday. Ron Nehring, who heads the California Republican Party, admitted Tuesday that he -- and as far as he knows, any party officials -- never saw the green card that would prove that Michael Kamburowski, an Australian citizen hired as the state GOP's chief operations officer, was a legal resident. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division said Tuesday the...

State Republican Chairman Ron Nehring has the distinction of being the first California Party State leader to go outside the United States to hire people to run the State Republican Party. Moreover, there appears to be a prima facie case that he has hired people to run the California Republican Party that may be illegal aliens or people who have fraudulently secured work papers, or both. There are two men, an Australian and a Canadian. We will discuss the Canadian in another installment. First, there is Australian citizen Michael Kamburowski – who runs the day-to-day Party for Nehring. He says...