Recently the buzz around the California Republican Party has been a demand for a debate between the major candidates for statewide office at the upcoming California Republican Party Convention taking place next month.
First there was the Young Republican Federation of California calling for a debate at the convention via an email communication earlier this week (Disclosure – I am a YRFC member). Now Flashreport publisher and CRP Vice Chairman South, Jon Fleischman is conducting a survey of CRP Delegates. But what is the real purpose of this debate? Who really has anything to gain or lose? Why is it really being called for? The answer is pretty simple: campaign strategy for the underdogs.
California State Senator Abel Maldonado has been serving under a temporary 90-day appointment to the Lieutenant Governor’s post while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been working to ensure he gets the approval of the Legislature to keep the job for the remainder of the term. In a vote of the California State Assembly today, Senator Maldonado missed the majority required for approval by 4 votes. In a 37-35 decision, the Assembly failed to get a majority to support the Central Coast Legislator for the permanent position.
Sunday Night the DeVore for United States Senate campaign once again asserted it’s technological dominance over the campaigns of its Democratic and Republican opponents. By using a “Tele-Town Hall” to meet with his supporters Chuck was able to easily reach many people in a single forum to easily communicate his message. The concept is really nothing more than a well packaged conference call, but by using email and social media to promote it, he was likely able to boost the attendance.
Yesterday the California State Senate, considered the more contentious house of the California State government, narrowly passed a proposal by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to release 27,000 inmate from prisons at a cost savings of $1.2 billion. California Republicans have argued that releasing prisoners is a threat to public safety. That may or may not be true, but the fact of the matter remains that the California Correctional budget is not so tight as to warrant to release of prisoners from incarceration. If the cost per inmate in California is compared to other states in its region, one may notice that the State pays far to much. Rather than release offenders lawmakers can utilize other budget saving options.
