Republican Party in California Is Caught in Cycle of Decline
This would seem a moment of great opportunity for California Republicans. The state has become a national symbol of fiscal turmoil and dysfunction, the Legislature is nearly as unpopular as Congress and Democrats control every branch of government.
But instead, the state party — once a symbol of Republican hope and geographical reach and which gave the nation Ronald Reagan (and Richard M. Nixon) — is caught in a cycle of relentless decline, and appears in danger of shrinking to the rank of a minor party.
“We are at a lower point than we’ve ever been,” said Representative Kevin McCarthy, the No. 3 Republican in the United States House of Representatives. “It’s rebuilding time.”
Registered Republicans now account for just 30 percent of the California electorate, and are on a path that analysts predict could drop them to No. 3 in six years, behind Democrats, who currently make up 43 percent, and independent voters, with 21 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/us/politics/california-republicans-seek-a-turnaround.html?hp
Articles like this cheese me off. The democrats win elections in California despite their best efforts, and the fact that there are fewer republicans means we need to buckle down and get serious about winning elections in places like Fresno, but instead the party will get all self-congratulatory and use this article as an excuse to slack off.
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on outreach in the red(der) parts of the state. Particularly in rural areas. Look, I live here. I used to work with the Democrats. The local Democrats are more concerned with jockeying for position in the various committees as opposed to mounting a major voter outreach campaign (believe me, I tried). I BEGGED people from the state party to come to the central valley and give us support. They were good with promises but they never followed through. The reality is that Sacramento writes us off as ignorant hicks, hayseeds and "they all vote Republican so why waste our time?" Hell, these sentiments are REGULARLY expressed here on DU. It's an ignorant, elitist point of view and it paints an entire region (over 2 million people) with the same broad brush. I happen to be talking about the San Joaquin Valley but I'm convinced it happens exactly the same way in the other red(der) parts of the state.
Belittling people and then ignoring them based on some bigoted, elitist points of view is NOT going to win Democratic votes here. Good will, and honest voter outreach will.
