Trust me when I tell you that the Orange County Republican Party’s governing Central Committee is anything but monolithic. While certainly dominated by conservatives, the Committee of around seventy members most of whom are independently elected from Assembly Districts all around the county, is a dynamic group that includes GOPers of all stripes. I say this because last night, in a packed meeting with over two hundred people in attendance, the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee formally opposed all six ballot measures that will come before voters in the upcoming special election in May, Propositions 1A through 1F – and the vote was unanimous – when OC GOP Chairman, former Assembly Republican Leader Scott Baugh, called for the two voice votes (there was a motion to oppose 1A and 1B, and a separate motion to oppose 1C, 1D, 1E, and 1F), the large crowd voted to oppose them all, with not one “nay” to be heard when opposing votes were called for.
Orange County Assemblywoman Diane Harkey flew down from Sacramento to give a rousing speech in support of the motion to oppose Propositions 1A and 1B, where she panned both measures. Harkey’s speech in opposition to those two measures came after Chairman Baugh and yours truly talked with the committee about the politics surrounding the measures. Baugh pointed out to committee members two startling and unfortunate pieces of information – the first being that it had just been reported that despite all of the economic woes that have caused so many layoffs in the private sector, the number of state employees in California has actually increased – and he also reported to the committee that the Legislative Analyst has already predicted an eight billion dollar shortfall – regardless of whether these measures pass, making the obvious case that these ballot measures do not even solve the state’s fiscal troubles.
The action by the OC GOP has been part of growing trend of Republican opposition to the measures. Last night, other GOP committees such as in Imperial County in the South and Fresno County in the Central Valley also came out opposed to the measures (Imperial did support 1F). Last week the Placer County GOP “split the baby” opposing Propositions 1A, 1B, and 1C while supporting 1D, 1E and 1F. Recently the venerable California Federation of Republican Women came out against the measures, as did the Lincoln Clubs of Orange and Fresno Counties.
**There is more – click the link**
March 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I hope San Bernardino County joins the movement against these propositions on Thursday.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Sell it by just saying VOTE NO on all of them….simple and easy to understand by public school educated Californians…they are good at understanding NO.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I am proud of Orange County’s principled stand on the ballot measures, but with all due respect, I think all voters should take a closer look at Propositions 1D and 1E. These two measures may have been part of the horrible budget deal, but they would have been supportable even if we had a large surplus. Unlike 1A-1C, 1D & 1E deserve a YES vote.
Republicans unanimously opposed Proposition 10 (Rob Reiner’s tobacco tax that created the unaccountable First Five Commissions) and Proposition 63 (Senator Steinberg’s 1% income tax increase earmarked for local mental health programs). Both of those ballot measures increased statewide taxes and directed the funds to special interests. Propositions 1D and 1E would make those earmarked funds available for more legitimate ongoing expenses that would otherwise be funded by the General Fund. The Legislature and the Governor would have more direct control over the expenditure of these funds. Even though we would all prefer the complete repeal of Propositions 10 and 63, the modifications proposed by Propositions 1D and 1E are both steps in the right direction.
Tom Hudson, Chairman
Placer County Republican Party
March 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I agree that we need to take a closer look at 1D and 1E before deciding to oppose them. Why is it a good idea to have taxpayer money automatically directed to specific worthless government programs, instead of to the general fund, where it may go to more worthwhile programs?
March 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Why is the CRP supporting these measures with dollars,when it is obvious the grassroots are opposed? Out of touch.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Good job!
I hope the CRP board also takes a “NO” position.
Productive Americans have got to put their foot down and say enough is enough. Whether it be the clowns in Sacramento or the clowns in Washington, they are flying this country into the ground. Adults across this great nation need to step up, grab the yoke from these juveniles and pull back before we hit the ground. We cannot continue in this trajectory.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:00 am
While I certainly understand those who see merit in Props 1D and 1E, it will be much easier to defeat the important measures 1A through 1C if we can simply advertise voting no on the entire slate. I think it is better to leave those funds where they are, not being used, than to re-direct them to the General Fund where they will be gone in a minute and then budgeted in for future years. Maybe someday (I’m dreaming now), a responsible government will return those surplus funds to the taxpayer, instead of wasting them.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Wow, I’m stumped. Again proof that rinos never hold the line on anything:
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2009/03/16/no-new-taxes-gop-dollars-support-campaign-republicans-abhore/12371/