I had the honor and privilege this past weekend of attending and speaking at the California Republican Assembly 75th Anniversary Convention in Buena Park, California.
http://www.californiarepublicanassembly.com/content/cra-call-convention
Buena Park is in Orange County, and the event was held at the Knottsberry Farm Hotel.
While Knottsberry Farm is a well known amusement park that turns into Knotts Scary Farm on Halloween, the Knotts family is actually fairly religious. In addition to their spiritual beliefs, they were also great with food. The fried chicken and blackberry pie at the luncheon was from Mrs. Knotts’s very own recipes.
I would like to thank Ken Mettler, President of the CRA, and beloved CRA member Peggy Mew for the gracious invitation. Baron Night, head of the Buena Park CRA, had the responsibility as head of the host city CRA with making sure the trains ran on time.
The Saturday luncheon featured four speakers. Congressmen Ed Royce, Darrell Issa, Dana Rohrabacher, and me. Many people looked at me initially and probably thought about James B. Stockdale minus the heroism.
“Who am I? Why am I here?”
As I spoke, Gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner both sat at tables in the front. There is nothing like giving a speech and knowing that one wrong word could get me waterboarded by the next governor. Thankfully both of them had kind words for me.
I let the crowd know that the day after the primary, I will immediately fall into line behind the winner and support them in the general election. I hope all right of center voters do this without hesitation.
I did add a couple of new lines, including an opener, “Anybody who thinks that Barack Obama runs the world has never attended a meeting of the Republican Women’s Federated.”
Congressman Rohrabacher offered a stinging defense of American liberty. He is the original surfing congressman. He brought a surfboard with him to the stage, and publicly endorsed Steve Poizner for governor as they took a picture with the surfboard together. Congressman Issa offered his endorsement to Ms. Whitman.
On Saturday evening, a gala dinner had Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe as headliners. Hannah and James are the two young people that exposed criminal enterprise ACORN. Mr. O’Keefe has even been arrested in an attempt to silence any ACORN critics. Andrew Breitbart has taken them under his wing, as ACORN is suing him as well.
I had extensive amounts of time to talk to Hannah and James. They are good young citizens. The only people against them are those who still believe ACORN is a law abiding entity.
James O’Keefe has his legal defense fund up, and anybody that wants to support a young man exposing leftists corruption should help this young man.
I also managed to make friends with some of the Orange County Young Republicans, briefly performing for them at a late night party.
Sunday was the day for formal endorsements.
For the senate race to fire Barbara Boxer, Chuck DeVore easily defeated Carly Fiorina and Tom Campbell on the first ballot.
(DeVore and Fiorina both spoke to the Los Angeles County Young Republicans Friday night, and DeVore appeared to be the heavy favorite.)
The governor’s race required a second ballot, but Mr.Poizner got the endorsement.
In the hotly contested Superintendent of Special Instruction, Diane Lenning came out ahead of Lydia Guiterriez. George Runner got the nod for the Board of Equalization,
I had the pleasure of meeting Republican Assembly members from all over America, including the National Republican Assembly president and his wife. I even received an offer to speak at a San Juan Capistrano Independence Day Tea Party, in addition to speak in Rhode Island. I have never been to Rhode Island, so of course I want to go there because it is there.
Like good conservative citizens, we left the hotel as spotless as we found it as Baron Night made sure that every sign was picked up. We were not going to be like environmental protesters leaving our signs on the grass.
While there was plenty of serious politicking, and plenty of socializing, the best aspect of the CRA Convention was seeing old friends and making new ones that I will have for life.
Happy 75th Birthday CRA.
Well done Buena Park!
eric
Oh God no, not our good host too! “Mr. O’Keefe has even been arrested in an attempt to silence any ACORN critics”??? What the…??? He and his pals ere busted for entering a sentors office under false pretenses to commit a felony! Had they NOT done that, they wouldn’t have gotten arrested! In todays high-security world, ya’ can’t just go around surrepticiously or under false pretense entering official offices and poking around looking for dirt. The cops can’t tell if you’re a harmless prankster or a homocidal lunatic when you do stuff like that. Why would our good host so terribly misrepresent the FACTS here. What does he mean “”Mr. O’Keefe has even been arrested in an attempt to silence any ACORN critics”??? O’Keefe was arrested for what is essentially a B&E.
Are you intentionally misrepresenting the facts?
Are you saying the FBI and police are just lackies for the Left Wing?
Why are you saying something that is untrue right on the face of it?
Why would the CRA invite a couple of irresponsible kids who’ve just been arrested on felony charges?
Just how low has the RIght sunk in this country?
I’ll tell ya’ this – the Republicans of 75 years ago – erudite, educated, kings of industry – would ashamed of the Republicans around today.
JMJ
There are a lot of Republicans of today that I am ashamed of. I can’t say what the Republicans of 75 years ago would think I haven’t had a chance to talk to any of them so their personal opinions of today’s Republicans will remain untold.
There are a lot of Democrats of today that I am ashamed of also. I can’t say what the Democrats of 75 years ago would think, I haven’t had a chance to talk to any of them so their personal opinions of today”s Democrats will remain untold.
O’keefe is already guilty I guess. Lets see, was he caught on film committing an illegal act? No, but according to witnesses he is guilty so that is that.
How about Obama lying to us all on T.V. Oh, that don’t count unless he is under oath. Oh my gosh he is under oath, the oath of office of the President of the United States. Does that count?
Toma
Toma,
All you have to do is read from and about the pols of 75 years ago and compare them to what’s out ther today. It’s not that mysterious. Certainly it’s clearer than Constitutional Constructionism! Talk about reading minds!
75 years ago is a funny dating. It was 1935. The GOP was in disarray, and the roots of modern Republicanism took seed. Just the same, though there were similarities to today, there few pols or pundits on the mainstream Right that were as distasteful as what we have today. Even Robert Taft, a founder of the Conservative Coalition, barely resembled today’s GOP pols.
Comparing today’s Dems with the Dems of then is different story. Back then, there was a different political dynamic at play among the Dems. While the GOP was always the “party of business,” the Dems represented different things to different demographics. 75 years ago we see the the beginning of the end of Democratic control of the South. The party was beginning to split between northern liberals and southern social conservatives (segregationists). Often I hear conservatives complain that today’s Democrats do not resemble those of yesterday. I wonder for what it is exactly those critics are pining…
What did Obama lie about?
JMJ
What did obama lie about ??????
Eric, please excuse me, I’ve always tried to maintian my best composure at your place. I fail consistently but this has to be one of the occassions where I ask Mr. McJones if hes really serioius.
Dude… are you so far gone, that entrenched, that you’re not aware of the lies, deceptions, misrepresentations and continuous bs this presidebt keeps putting forth ?
Would you like to see the list of his inconsistancies, self conflictions and flat out lies that he has bestowed upon this country ?
C’mon Jersey….
Just give me a reason …
This CIC is the biggest liar as president thidscountry has ever seen/heard.
PERIOD !
And I will back it up, just give me the word
the s is always too close to the d
You miss the obvious point Jers. I specified “personal opinion”. Any body can read the “public” opinion its public record, history. Personal opinion is just that personal, private. I don’t know it and neither do you.
Do you have an example, Micky?
Toma, c’mon man. The old GOP was the party of Northern and Midwestern industrialists, bankers, and such. They certainly were not interested in pandering to the common rabble.
JMJ