Viable AV Candidates? All Republican

I can only imagine the pressure Valley Democrats must feel to wake up each morning and realize that in their most optimistic projections they are nearly two decades away from fielding a viable candidate for partisan office. I admire their dogged determination to produce a candidate for which can be taken seriously as a possible legislative contender.

I am impressed that they have come to the realization that in order to produce such an individual they will need to look to the Republican Party.

Spin all you like, the Republican Party locally, statewide and nationally is diverse and as strong as ever. In fact, Republican ideals are deemed more favorable by wide margins. Even the most liberal news channels are reporting polling numbers that are off of the charts for Republicans and their positions on the issues that really matter to Americans.

The Gallup Organization reported recently that Americans overwhelmingly prefer the Republican Party on issues relating to the economy, military, foreign affairs, public safety, taxes, immigration, and the federal budget deficit.

Locally, our grassroots organizations are seeing this groundswell of Republican support translate into record numbers of voters registering as Republicans. Many are first-time registrants and many are Democrats re-registering as Republicans. The conversations, which can be heard over and over again at the registration booths, include an overwhelming amount of pride for the job that our President is doing both domestically and abroad.

The Democrat Party, on the other hand, can best be described as a train wreck. Especially in California, where the likes of Governor Gray Davis, Congressman Gary Condit, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee have proven to be an embarrassment to the citizens of California.

In 1998, Gray Davis ran a campaign in which he pledged that his priorities would be education, education and education. He promised that if test scores did not improve in his first term as Governor that he would not seek a second term. Well, test scores have not improved in California, and Davis is still running.

The Republicans handed Davis a thriving California economy in 1998 with a budget that was not only balanced but was producing a record surplus. In 2001, Gray Davis single-handedly managed to raise our taxes, turn a $12 billion budget surplus into a $12 billion deficit, and see to it that all Californians will pay higher electric bills for many years to come.

It is easy for a politician to look good while the economy is thriving and the world is at peace. The true test of a politician is to see how they perform in times of crisis. In 2001, both Democrats and Republicans were tested by crisis.

First, Gray Davis was tested with an energy crisis. He floundered and flopped around aimlessly. He tried pointing fingers at everyone else to deflect the heat from his failure to effectively manage the crisis and then he hired professional Democratic spin-doctors, paid for by the taxpayers, at a cost of $30,000 per month to try to spin his way out of the crisis. It didn’t work.

The whole Gary Condit mess speaks for itself.

For those who don’t remember, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-D), she was the Democrat in the U.S. Congress that voted against using force to combat terrorism after September 11^th.

When Republicans were tested by crisis in 2001 they rose to the occasion. President Bush and Mayor Guliani rallied our nation to an unprecedented unity and sense of patriotism. There isn’t a rational Democrat out there that thinks Al Gore could have done a better job than George W. Bush in our war on terrorism.

One thing you can count on is that after the Democrats mess everything up, it takes a Republican to come in and fix things. Look at our nations two largest cities as an example. Mayor Rudy Guliani had to clean up the mess in New York City left by his Democrat predecessor and Mayor Richard Riordon had to do the same in Los Angeles. Both did miraculous jobs and both of those cities are thriving like never before.

I reject the charge that Republicans only embrace the most conservative party members for office. Republicans support the best candidate. This is most recently evidenced by the fact that moderate Gubernatorial candidate Richard Riordan has a commanding lead over other GOP contenders - preferred by 55 percent of those polled compared to 21 percent for Secretary of State Bill Jones and 10 percent for businessman Bill Simon.

If I were a Democrat, I would be looking at the Republican Party also to find competent political candidates. I think Sandy Corrales is on the right track. Her problem is going to be getting a Republican to switch parties. It won’t happen. Sandy is better off joining the Republican Party herself if you would like to see a member of her party make it Sacramento.