Part II: CAGOP Insiders Speak Out
Present Another View as to the Health of the Party
Typical of when your intrepid blogger writes and incendiary post related to internal CAGOP Politics, there are multiple responses. People whose opinion I trust and who I consider friends posited a lot of information confirming most all facts as presented, however offering a different conclusion about what they mean. They all asked to not be identified, but I had multiple conversations today with multiple people.
Confirmed: It appears that the donors donating to the CAGOP are giving less.
Confirmed: It appears that there are fewer donors to the CAGOP than previously.
No one is arguing that.
Confirmed: Over half the CAGOP staff is gone.
People are positing differing views of what that means. Most CAGOP insiders believe this was pre-planned before the exit of Jim Brulte and is not in and of itself newsworthy. It is possible a few staffers were terminated for losing or poor job performance? I have a hard time accepting that dumping 50-67% of your staff is in accordance with a plan, it appears to be anticipating cash flow issues.
Confirmed: Over half the CA GOP Assembly Caucus Staff and Senate Caucus staff are gone.
People offer differing views on that as well stipulating that to be a result of the loss of seats in the legislature and a corresponding reduction in the budget for staff. (For those of you scoring at home… that is -3 in the Senate and -8 in the Assembly since 2012) They are also telling your intrepid blogger that the Caucus carnage and the CAGOP Staff Carnage are separate issues. I am of the belief these things don’t happen in a vacuum.
Confirmed: Luis Buhler and someone who may or may not be David Reade are running a drill to eviscerate the CAGOP Platform and make it match the “Reframing the Message” agenda. Remember, both made several calls regarding Platform Committee Elections. I have been assured that Luis Buhler and crew do not have the support necessary to shred the CAGOP Platform and that they are operating independently of leadership. However, the actions of these men are draining time and resources away from other people that should be focused on the March 2020 Primary. (How many times have moderates like Buhler lectured Conservatives about intra-party warfare, yet here he is…)
Confirmed: some major consulting firms lost their contracts, (and/or exclusivity, preferential treatment for managing candidates) and still other consultants had their retainers slashed. Right on Daily can and will name names if necessary.
Confirmed: the disaster with the CAGOP Senate Caucus recruit in CA SD-05.
Confirmed: Most of the decision-makers and top paid consultants of the CAGOP (Pre David Carney) were and are Never-Trumpers. This sends one heck of a contradictory message (or perhaps a consistent message with those that want to shred the CAGOP platform) to the rank and file GOP voter in California.
Those that spoke to me were adamant that the CAGOP was not bankrupt despite the layoffs, reduced donations and smaller number of donors. While I was not offered a look at the finances of the CAGOP I was told by one person who claimed direct and detailed knowledge of the situation that the CAGOP “was in good shape”. This person is someone I have considered reliable for a long time.
As of today, no one has contested the claim that newly minted Assembly/Senate political director David Carney is being paid $25,000 a month. It is clear however that Carney is being selective in who he reaches out to or returns the contact of. While accounts of his job description differ and the accounts of the origin of his presence in California differ – since his arrival bodies have been flying and operatives are coming in from out of state. Out of State Consultants are getting key GOP races in California as well.
I have obtained an additional batch of information relating to the interpersonal relations, internal arguments and the like as it relates to the leadership. None of it appears to be anything abnormal and at this time I will refrain from writing about it. I will say that just because these sorts of communicative issues and leadership issues are normal, it does not make them right. I reserve the right to write about those in the future should they become noteworthy.
Having permanent residence on several people’s enemies list, I feel little restraint in airing news on this website. That said, the questions I asked several people I communicated with was how could I draw different conclusions based on what I have observed? I have demonstrated in the past that I will retract information proven demonstrably false.
There is also a concerted effort to strangle the intelligence coming out of the insides of the CAGOP, usually this sort of effort is run in an attempt to both control an outcome as well to keep political advantage for potential news. My sources for the negative news about the operations of the CAGOP are impeccable. The traffic on this blog indicates that few, if any on the inside of the CAGOP are ignoring the information presented here.
This gets me back to the platform. The lack of leadership on this issue by Jessica Patterson, in my opinion tells me volumes. Either she wants the platform to be shredded or she is unwilling to cross swords with the crazed Luis Buhler. This when juxtaposed with the secrecy, separation, reduction in donors/donations and the surface circumstances of multiple layoffs is the body of evidence my pessimism is based on. Jim Brulte stamped out Luis Buhler’s effort to gut the platform in 2015.
I am also frustrated with the persistent cancer of #nevertrumpers in CAGOP leadership who derisively look down their nose at the #MAGA people. I worked for Ben Carson because I wanted to see Trump lose the 2016 GOP Primary, then Trump knocked Carson out of the race and the day Carson endorsed the President (March 15 2016) I did too. That seems to be too much to ask of a whole crew of hacks whose egos have never recovered from the loss of control they felt in the 2016 CAGOP primary that have made a career out of losing election races. It is the opinion of this blogger that there is a connection between this crew and the effort to gut the CAGOP Platform in to a mushy unrecognizable mess.
Further evidence to support my conclusion is presented if you’ve seen the new brochures made for voter registration. On the brochure, the issues they present in order to “Motivate” someone to register Republican are watered down failed experiments of a rigged focus group. The content of the Brochure was so uninspiring and “safe” that it was difficult to read – it was clearly guided by the reframing the message blather.
While I respect those that reached out to discuss facts and my read on them with me, I disagree with their conclusions (But will still report on what they tell me in confidence) and will continue to have a negative opinion (the reasons why I have stated clearly) until facts and occurrences prove otherwise. Anyone is welcome to reach out and have a dialogue and present facts, evidence and their opinion on things political. You can remain anonymous.
P.S. I am not being paid to write about anything CAGOP post Feb Convention, this is all activist blogging
