Tomorrow, the 100-member Executive Committee (ExComm) of the California Republican Party will meet at the convention center in Downtown Sacramento. After several morning presentations on various party-building topics, at 2 p.m. the ExComm will go into session to consider only seven matters – six of them being whether to take positions on Propositions 1A – 1F which are on the special election ballot next month, and the seventh on having the party endorse a ballot measure aimed at reduce instances of voter fraud, the proponent of which is popular GOP State Senator George Runner.
With my profuse apologies to those who prefer long, drawn-out drama, I have to tell you that in my opinion, the results that tomorrow’s meeting – at least where Propositions 1A, 1B, and 1C are concerned, are a foregone conclusions. Just a couple of weeks ago, as a Board Member of the State GOP, I voted to approve a slew of appointments to the ExComm made by CRP Chairman Ron Nehring that overwhelmingly oppose these three propositions. This is in addition to those on the ExComm by virtue of a party position they hold under the bylaws – and my assessment is that this group also overwhelmingly opposes the measures. I think it is actually possible that those opposing the measures (at least 1A, 1B, and 1C) might make up as much or more than 80% of the membership of the Ex Comm.
To make the results even less surprising, Chairman Nehring earlier this week nominated, and the board confirmed a newly constituted Initiatives Committee, which is charged with reviewing the measures, and making a recommendation to the ExComm. The recommendation of this group matter because if they recommend supporting a particular ballot measure, then it takes only a simple majority vote of the ExComm to adopt that as the formal position of the State GOP. Like with his ExComm appointments, Ron Nehring has overwhelmingly packed the Initiatives Committee with folks that certainly oppose 1A, 1B and 1C – folks like Lew Uhler, Bill Leonard, and Mike Spence who was reappointed Chairman of the Initiatives Committee. This committee will meet telephonically this afternoon. It’s somewhat interesting to note that embattled Assemblyman Anthony Adams, who has served on this committee for years, was not asked to return…
Senator Runner’s proposed ballot measure will be unanimously supported.
In my mind, the only question of the day is what will happen with Propositions 1D, 1E, and 1F.
There is some division amongst GOPers on these measures. I would say that most Republican leaders to whom I have spoken favor the idea of opposing all three measures for the political reason that cleanly opposing all of the measures makes a very clear cut case to voters: The Republican Party says “Vote No on Everything.”
That said, it’s not clear to me whether those who have the sentiment of sending a unified message in opposition to all of the measure have the votes to carry the day. I guess we’ll find out this afternoon.
The real question is going to what boost an official Republican Party opposition to Proposition 1A will do for the campaign to defeat it. The State GOP is not flush with discretionary funds to spend – having recently emptied its coffers in last November’s elections (it takes time to build back from that). One would imagine that there be a lot of earned media about the vote, and there is a tactical consideration as well, which is that under the law, state political parties get to take advantage of substantially lower postage rates. Could this be an enticement for either Insurance Commissioner Poizner or former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, both candidates for the GOP nomination for Governor, both opponents of 1A, both coming to speak to the ExComm against the measure, to contribute funds to the party to help finance a major campaign to educate Republican voters about the massive tax increases associated with a vote for 1A?
Keep and eye on the FR blog tomorrow – we’ll keep you apprised of all of the results.Although as I said, the CRP’s opposition to 1A, 1B and 1C are a virtual certainty.
Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?
Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.