When Tony Krvaric immigrated from Sweden in 1992, he was living up to a vow he made as a young man to someday live in the nation of the person who inspired him the most, Ronald Reagan. The thought never crossed his mind that someday he would be chairman of the Republican Party in one of that nation’s largest metropolitan areas, in the very county in which Reagan himself wrapped up two successful presidential campaigns.
Over the next several years, Krvaric built a financial advisory business, got married and started a family. In 2004, he became a citizen of the land of Ronald Reagan, the land of freedom. It took him less than three years as a new voter to become chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party.
Although such a story might jab daggers into the hearts of those claiming the GOP is non-accepting and non-inclusive of immigrants, it does prove a point many have known for some time. The Republican Party is very accepting of anyone that works hard and chooses to pursue citizenship through the appropriate means.
Tony Krvaric, however, is likely to fashion that message into one of America in a way that perhaps few others understand first hand. One of his greatest motivations is to ensure the United States does not become like Europe, which he calls “a continent devoid of any sense of initiative, personal responsibility or belief in anything greater than one self…a continent that has not created any net new jobs in the past 20 years – outside of the public sector…a system of government that traps people in the welfare state with hand-outs vs. hand-ups instead of making the economic climate one that would encourage free enterprise and competition.”
Tony credits the man he succeeds, Ron Nehring with teaching him much about the functions of the Republican Party. Having served as secretary and finance chairman under Nehring, the two were instrumental in putting San Diego on the map when it comes to effective GOP organizations. “The party is the only permanent campaign organization in the county,” says Krvaric, “and our mission is to create and maintain a countywide campaign organization that is as powerful as our Republican ideas. This will translate into more Republicans serving in elected offices throughout the county, in turn putting our ideas in to action.”
Perhaps only partially joking, he adds with a laugh, “I don’t think Democrats should be trusted with sharp objects or elected office."
Krvaric was elected chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party on Monday night, by unanimous acclimation. As Nehring now focuses his attention on his new role as chairman of the California Republican Party, he knows the local organization he built remains in good hands. And, he’s also tapped Krvaric as budget chairman of the State GOP.
On November 7, 1988, Ronald Reagan visited San Diego while campaigning for his soon-to-be successor, George Bush. During a rally at the Community Concourse, the President said, “This is a special moment for me in a special place and, yes, with special people. I closed both of my campaigns for the Presidency right here in San Diego. And you see, there was a reason for that. You see, when the parades have ended, the shouting is over, the speeches are done, and the final bell has sounded, a fighter wants to return to his corner and be with family and friends while he waits for the verdict of the judges. And whenever I finish in San Diego, I feel I’m with family, and I know I’m with friends.”
Tony Krvaric would have loved to hear the President that night, yet he was still four years away from taking a step towards a dream. He knows now, however, the verdict of the judges for him.
Tony Krvaric, it seems, has found his home.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:00 am
SWEDEN?! This is what the San Diego GOP considers a diverse representation of America’s melting pot? Sweden. The whitest nation on the planet. This explains why all those racist minutemen are on the border – they are afrain of all those illegal Swedes coming across. Come on my fellow Republicans. We are swiftly becoming an irrelevant party due to the influence of white, red-neck racists who joined with us after they were kicked out of the Democratic Party in the 1960s. We need more African, Asian and Hispanic Republicans and you don’t get that by going after the “Swedish bloc” in America.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Just so we’re clear, the SD GOP didn’t elect Tony chairman because he’s an immigrant, but they also didn’t reject him because of it. They voted him chair because of his work for Republican ideas.
That said, I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment that the party should be doing much more to attract minority voters. It has been given lip service for many years, sometimes with honest attempts, but rarely with real results.
Yet, even with that concurrence, Tony K. is the epitome of a person who chooses to come to the USA, works hard, and pursues legal citizenship. It’s a great story, regardless of the color of his skin.
What’s more, he worked hard for the GOP, and is thus deserving of leading the county party.
I hope no one suggests the GOP should have rejected him as leader because he is too white.
I’m the first to say the GOP should be encouraging more PEOPLE — Latinas, Blacks, Filipinas, Whites, and others — to join its ranks (and EXCUSE me if I used any currently inappropriate ethnic descriptions…since the rules change so often, I can’t keep up).
At the same time, true diversity means much more than skin color.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:00 am
I agree that diversity is more than skin color. But the current battle about illegal immigration fuels an awful argument that the Republican Party is a racist, whites only party when you see so much support for the minutmen and others of their kind from rank and file Republicans. I am sure the new chairman is a fine man and will do a good job. But if there was not a person of Hispanic or African lineage who could have been considered for the position, that speaks volumes about who is becoming active in the GOP. I don’t know why Mr. Krvaric decided to become a US citizen, or long he was here while awaiting citizenship, but I suspect he was not poor, oppressed, and struggling to feed his family the way so many from Asia and Latin America who yearn to come to this country are. I am a strong supporter of Governor Schwarzennegger, but his immigrant experience was nothing like those who risk their lives and then face racism in this country when they are no different than the pioneer immigrants who came here in the 1800s. I suspect Mr. Krvaric had a similar experience to the Governor and that also fuels the idea that we Republicans only want white immigrants. Our President understands this problem and it is why he is so unpopular with the ultra-right, anti- immigrant groups who as I said earlier are nothing but old George Wallace bigots who now call themselves Republicans but have nothing to do with the proud heritage of the Republican Party that I believe in and align myself with. We must rid our party of these types and the symbols of racism they represent, even if it means being in the minority for a while. They are ruining our party an I think the San Diego GOP lost a golden opportunity to showcase REAL REPUBLICAN values by not finding a person of color to be our new chair.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Well (in my best Reagan impersonation), I’ll just post the same comments about our new Chairman that I posted on Red County Blog earlier today. Tony Kvaric is a strong principaled leader. Sometimes, those of us fortunate to be natural born American citizens take for granted the freedoms and rights that being an American affords us. It takes someone like Tony to make you realize how truely fortunate we are to live in freedom (despite the best efforts of our Democrat partisains). Tony’s appreciation of his CHOOSEN country, and his zeal to advance our Republican Party’s ideas and policies bodes well for all of us in San Diego. Congratulations Tony, you have my support and appreciation for all the hard work ahead. Michael McSweeney
March 21st, 2007 at 12:00 am
Well, I was going to respond in detail now about the fallacy of mandating affirmative action on the GOP, since it seems a bit silly to suggest that it’s more important to have a chairman of color (so as not to look racist, apparently) than it is to have the best chairman, regardless of the color … but Mike McSweeney does such a nice job pointing out the strength of the Krvaric example, I’ll just leave it at that.
Michael, you’re a statesman.
March 21st, 2007 at 12:00 am
I believe the California Republican Party went down the road advocated by Bridgett, at least a couple of times. The results of promoting individuals based on gender or ethnic background regardless of merit were predictable.
I think Barry and Mike made the point pretty clear, but I’ll restate it again: we don’t need a Party Chairman who is a figurehead, and who by his or her mere gender or ethnic status will somehow magically reverse the views of non-Republicans. We need a Chairman who knows the job and who is committed to real programs that advance the GOP vote in communities where we are weak.
March 21st, 2007 at 12:00 am
To Duane, I am curious to know when the Ca. GOP went dow the road (as you put it) of promoting ethnic or gender candidates regardless of merit? Who exactly were you referring to? My experiences with the GOP (I registered as a Republican in 1980 to vote for President Reagan) has been a party that while absolutely right on tax and national security issues, has been dangerously non-committal about the founding principal of our party – that racism and inequality are morally wrong. This is what Lincoln stood for and it seems to me Nixon abandoned this value when he organized his “southern strategy”. The first Bush used this same racist tactic with the Willie Horton ads. I have been very proud of our current President Bush for his abandonment of this racist strategy and his clear committment to equality. But I think this is why so many on the right that are active in our party do not like him and that is a sad state of affairs. The Republican Party should always be the pro-immigrant party – even with so-called illegal immigrants. Who will make a more patriotic American than someone who has risked their life to get here? I’ll take an “illegal” immigrant wanting to work hard to raise thier family any day over some nativist, white-supremist who has no clue what real struggle is like. The American character is in the soul of the immigrant – whatever their legal status.
March 21st, 2007 at 12:00 am
Whatever happened to the days when illegal meant illegal?
I’ll take a LEGAL immigrant wanting to work hard to raise their family any day over EITHER the white-racist and/or ANYONE involved in ILLEGAL activity, regardless of how noble the moral relativists tell us the illegal activity is.
In actuality, the American character is not only in the soul of the LEGAL immigrant, it is also in the RULE OF LAW.
March 21st, 2007 at 12:00 am
To Bridgett,
I thought your comments had racial overtones and were very untrue. You said the “San Diego GOP lost a golden opportunity to showcase REAL REPUBLICAN values by not finding a person of color to be our new chair”. Who would you have chosen as a person of color? Why does the color matter?
Tony Krvaric is an outstanding leader, a proven leader. He will do an outstanding job as chairman. The Democrat Party is the one that is anti-immigrant, they support and embrace amnesty for illegal aliens. In fact it is the Democrat party that wants illegals to vote. These open border Democrats make every legal immigrant take a back seat to all the illegals pouring into this country. You have it all wrong, Democrats are anti-immigrant and they don’t have a humanitarian bone in their body.
I don’t blame illegal aliens for coming here, I blame us for not securing the border and giving them all the free benefits. What about all the people in line waiting to come here legally? All those people in line are Ellis Island people doing it the right way, waiting their turn. And when they get here they assimilate they learn English and become Americans. These illegal aliens you see waving foreign flags demanding rights, demanding Spanish, these are Not Ellis Island people. Illegal aliens are not immigrants, don’t try to confuse the two.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:00 am
Bridgett.
Go back and do some research. the Willie Horton ads were NOT run by Bush 41, but were an independent expenditure by a committee not affiliated with his campaign. Remember it was the Republicans in ’64 who gave the deceiding votes to pass the Voting Rights act. Where were Senator Dodd and Al Gore’s fathers votes? it was the Democrats who opposed the landmark legislation. In politics, as in life, acheivement should be based on merit, not skin color, gender, who you sleep with, how many friends you’ve got on the committee etc. If that’s your criteria for how we select a leader, then you might be in the wrong place (or Country). Tony has demonstrated and has the tools (and backing of his committee) to be an effective and passionate leader. Don’t be suprised to watch this county Party move up a notch on the effectiveness scale.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:00 am
That’s a ridiculous distortion of history concerning the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and any other of the Civil Rights legislation. The Democrats who opposed it for the most part were the very Southern Dixiecrats who I am now saying took over the GOP and are behind the debate to be so virulently anti-immigration. I would remind you that the GOP standard-bearer of that year was a staunch opponent of the Civil Rights Act (Barry Goldwater) and that the Republican Party (all 30 of the GOP Senators in that lopsided Democrat Majority Senate) were largely irrelevant. It was a Democrat Party debate and the authors of the legislation were all Democrats (one of the few shining moments for that party in recent decades). A few Republican Senators, such as Mark Hatfield and Jacob Javitz, were excellent and correct on the question of Civil Rights, upholding the great civil liberty tradition of our Republican Party. They of course paid a price for their votes by being castigated by the increasingly right-wing, Southern racist elements that joined the GOP, as “Liberals” (Javitz was defeated for renomination in 1980 by Al D’Amato, to give you an idea how the post Nixon GOP favored Republicans who were supportive of traditional, Eisenhower-Lincoln Republican positions. And as for the Willie Horton ads, they were put out by David N. Bossie and Floyd G. Brown – two very active members of the GOP. This is in effect what I am referring to – the inability of activist Republicans to break from the sort of racist Dixiecrat mentality that has sullied our Party. I am a proud Reagan Republican and will not stand for a party apparatus that has less to do with Reagan and more to do with Bull Connor and David Duke. I am part of the true Republican Party. The racist, minue-man mentality scum are the interlopers who should find a new home and stop sullying my party’s reputation.
March 24th, 2007 at 12:00 am
We would remind YOU that Senator AL GORE Sr. was one of those
who opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and backed the fillibuster which
aimed to kill it.
So by your logic, his son then “took over” the Democrat party to carry
on Daddy’s tradition.
Lyndon Johnson openly admitted that without the courageous leadership
of Republican leaders Everett Dirksen (Illinois) and Charlie Halleck (Indiana),
neither the Civil Rights nor Voting Rights Acts would have passed.
That’s because a higher percentage of Republican congress members voted
for both of those landmarks bills, than did Democrats.
Finally, the Presidential candidate who first raised the Willie Horton issue in
1988, openly challenging Mike Dukakis about it in a debate was…. Senator
Al Gore Jr.! Only after that New York Democrat debate did the GOP mention
Gov. Dukakis’ ill-fated early release program for convicted felons like Horton,
many of whom went on to commit more crimes.
March 25th, 2007 at 12:00 am
This must be some tactic that they teach at GOP blog school – obfuscation. Either that or your math skills are poor. A larger percentage when you are a tiny minority of a body is nothing to brag about. The Senate was almost all Democrat in 1964 – though they were then plagued by the same types who now plague my Republican Party. Dixiecrat Klansman like Strom Thurmond who poisoned my GOP in the decades which followed. And since I am a Republican, it is no attack on me to point out that the Gores have also used race in their campaigns. I am a Republican because of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Reagan – not Thurmaond, Helms, Gingrich and Lott. But I do think it is wonderful that you are praising Ev Dirksen and Charlie Halleck. They are exactly the sort of Republicans I align myself with and who would hate the racist tactics used by Floyd Brown, The Minutemen, Tom Tancredo, Roger Hexdgecock and Rush Limbaugh, et al. Dirksen and Halleck would probably not be very welcome in most Republican circles these days either. They would probably be labled “Liberals”. But I do hold out hope since you are so determined to defend Diksen and by comparison blast Goldwater (who later regretted his stand and became a real Republican when it concerned privacy and race relations). That means you probably support good, non-racist, non-hating candidates like John McCain or Rudy Gulliani. I hope you also approve of Governor Schwarzennegger as I do and want to purge our party of the likes of Limbaugh, Tancredo and company as the heretics to Lincoln they truly are.