Legislative Democrats are being arrested for election fraud to money laundering and international gunning running. The Capitol Democrats refuse to save the collapsing government pension systems, while continuing to allow the choo choo train to steal property. Guv Brown says we have a surplus, while the Democrat State Controller says we have a $14 billion cash deficit. You would think the Republican Party could win lots of elections in November in California.
Instead there is an internal fight over nominees between the rich/establishment that does not necessarily support the Republican Platform or principles and the conservatives that support GOP values and refuse to support those that do not. Neither side is able to sit down with the other and figure a way out of this mess. In the end it is the people of California that are the losers.
One issue does unite them, SCA 5. This was a bill to discriminate against Asians enrolling in the UC system—it would have cut their numbers, at least in half—bigotry George Wallace would approve. The GOP, unlike Democrats oppose all forms of discrimination—even government created bigotry.
““To scare the Democratic Party, we should register as Republicans. If 10,000 more [Asian-Americans] register as Republicans than Democrats before June 3, both parties will compete to serve our rightful interests,” S.B. Woo, president of the 80-20 Initiative PAC and a former Democratic lieutenant governor of Delaware, wrote to opponents of the affirmative action bill.
Republicans see the fight as an opportunity to reintroduce their party to many in the Asian community — and an opportunity to showcase the number of Asian-American candidates that are running under the GOP’s banner on the statewide ballot in 2014.”
California Republicans seek new blood
Republicans are desperate for anything to help their standing in California. | Getty
By BYRON TAU, Politico, 4/7/14
Republicans are hoping that a bitter education fight in California will convince Asian-Americans to give the party another chance.
In California last month, a vocal segment of the state’s Asian community made a rare showing of political strength, teaming with conservative activists to block a proposed constitutional amendment that would bring affirmative action back to public universities.
Republicans — desperate for anything to both help their standing in California and bring more diversity to a party that has struggled with minority voters — are moving to capitalize on the themes of education, preferential treatment and personal responsibility to a woo skeptical voters in a fast growing demographic group.
“This is a turning point for the Republican Party to really share their values with Asian-Americans,” said Peter Kuo, a Taiwan-born GOP candidate running for state Senate.
“It showed in a very short period of time how this issue could galvanize this community,” said Young Kim, a Korean-American state assembly candidate. “This has proven that when there is an issue, they can be a force to be reckoned with.”
Community activists, nonprofit groups and thousands of rank-and-file voters all mobilized swiftly and furiously against a proposed repeal of the Golden State’s longstanding ban on racial preferences in public college admissions. Many called it un-meritocratic and worried it would amount to reverse discrimination against their children.
The pan-Asian community makes make up 14 percent of the state’s population but is 38 percent of University of California undergrads. The UC system admits 73 percent of Asian applicants from the state — compared to 63 percent of all in-state applicants.
The state Republican Party quickly moved to capitalize on the discontent — dispatching top state officials and party leaders to community events and using the opportunity to for outreach, messaging and fundraising.
Anti-affirmative action groups like the Chinese-American Institute for Empowerment hosted top state Republicans at community events in both English and Mandarin — where the state GOP leaders came out hard against the bill, urging opponents in the community to fight it tooth and nail. A Chinese-American Institute event conducted in both Mandarin and English featured the top two Republicans in the state legislature, Bob Huff and Connie Conway, according to the Mercury News.
Community and nonprofit groups like the 80-20 Initiative, the Silicon Valley Chinese Association, United Asian American for Activism, the Backbone Foundation, the Civil Rights WeChat Group, San Diego Asian American for Equality and others all also mobilized against the proposal — sometimes going so far as to ask supporters to change their party registrations to prove a point.
“To scare the Democratic Party, we should register as Republicans. If 10,000 more [Asian-Americans] register as Republicans than Democrats before June 3, both parties will compete to serve our rightful interests,” S.B. Woo, president of the 80-20 Initiative PAC and a former Democratic lieutenant governor of Delaware, wrote to opponents of the affirmative action bill.
Republicans see the fight as an opportunity to reintroduce their party to many in the Asian community — and an opportunity to showcase the number of Asian-American candidates that are running under the GOP’s banner on the statewide ballot in 2014.
“We just have to show the face of the Republican Party — such as myself,” said Kim, the state assembly candidate.
The Republican Party has made made major strides in having candidates that “reflect the values of the community,” Kim said. “We may not have done a good job in the past. But we recognize that we need to do more.”
That’s an uphill battle for a party that holds no major state offices in California, and is badly trailing the Democratic Party in membership and voter registration numbers.
