Mediaboss Marketing

A recurring theme raised its head at last weekend's California Republican convention in Los Angeles: How to curtail the party's evaporation in the state. Fifteen years ago, 35 percent of registered voters were Republican. Today, 28 percent are.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), there to rally the crowd (and lay more groundwork for 2016), even cracked a joke about the party's woes, according to the Los Angeles Times. "He said he'd heard that Republicans might have suffered a few recent losses in California, drawing chuckles from a crowd that's grown accustomed to getting clobbered," the paper reported. In a separate column, the Times explored the party's challenges.

What's interesting about California, though, is that voters aren't abandoning the party to become Democrats. They're largely abandoning the party for either third parties -- or for no one.

This isn't a new phenomenon; it's been written about as a national trend in the past. But what's happening in California differs dramatically from trends in other states.

Here's the trend there, according to official records from the California Secretary of State.

Compare that with the much smaller state of Wyoming, which has records going back to the 1960s.

In California, the Republican party is eroding and it's mostly among decline-to-states, the state's I-don't-want-to-choose option. (Though not entirely; more on that below.) In Wyoming, the Democratic party has withered -- and Republicans have seen the entire gain.

Now, look at New York.

New York also has a no-party option, but a decent chunk of the drop in Republican registration has been eaten up by the Democrats -- thanks in large part to a surge in 2008. Since 2004, Republican registration dropped 3.5 points; Democratic registration went up by 3.

Read this article:
The Fix: Californias Republican party is almost nonexistent. But, why?

Holding the shotgun in my hands, I braced the butt of the gun into my shoulder and yelled out, "PULL!"

The orange, clay pigeon leapt out of the thrower and sailed through the air until...BAM!

How did I end up shooting gun in rural Seminole County?

Blame it on Michelle Ertel, Republican strategist and political commentator on News 13. Ertel lives in Geneva and suggested we shoot guns for the latest episode of "Catch Up with Busdeker."

A former print news reporter, Ertel, who's originally from Pennsylvania, moved to Central Florida in 2004, later helping launch the community newspaper theSeminole Chronicle.

Today, Ertel operates her own government relations firm - Florida Strategic Advisors - and is a political analyst on News 13 both appearing on TV and writing an online column.

(If the name Ertel sounds familiar, you may know her husband, Michael Ertel, the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections.)

On a recent morning, Michelle Ertel met me at the Danville Bed and Breakfast in Geneva to see who is the better shot. As we fired at clay pigeons and empty plastic jugs, we chatted about Florida politics, her job on News 13 and her thoughts on the upcoming election in November.

To see who hit more clay pigeons, watch the video "Catch Up with Busdeker: Michelle Ertel, straight-shooting Republican analyst."

And don't forget to check out the previous episodes of "Catch Up with Busdeker."

Go here to read the rest:
Catch Up with Busdeker: Michelle Ertel, straight-shooting Republican analyst

A recurring theme raised its head at last weekend's California Republican convention in Los Angeles: How to curtail the party's evaporation in the state. Fifteen years ago, 35 percent of registered voters were Republican. Today, 28 percent are.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), there to rally the crowd (and lay more groundwork for 2016), even cracked a joke about the party's woes, according to the Los Angeles Times. "He said he'd heard that Republicans might have suffered a few recent losses in California, drawing chuckles from a crowd that's grown accustomed to getting clobbered," the paper reported. In a separate column, the Times explored the party's challenges.

What's interesting about California, though, is that voters aren't abandoning the party to become Democrats. They're largely abandoning the party for either third parties -- or for no one.

This isn't a new phenomenon; it's been written about as a national trend in the past. But what's happening in California differs dramatically from trends in other states.

Here's the trend there, according to official records from the California Secretary of State.

Compare that with the much smaller state of Wyoming, which has records going back to the 1960s.

In California, the Republican party is eroding and it's mostly among decline-to-states, the state's I-don't-want-to-choose option. (Though not entirely; more on that below.) In Wyoming, the Democratic party has withered -- and Republicans have seen the entire gain.

Now, look at New York.

New York also has a no-party option, but a decent chunk of the drop in Republican registration has been eaten up by the Democrats -- thanks in large part to a surge in 2008. Since 2004, Republican registration dropped 3.5 points; Democratic registration went up by 3.

Read more:
Californias Republican party is almost nonexistent. But, why?

Cuyler Walker, the Republican candidate for the 158th District state House seat, withdrew from the race Monday, more than a month after the deadline to withdraw. Walker cited unspecified personal issues.

The Chester County Republican Committee expected Walker to win by a wide margin against Democratic candidate Susan Rzucidlo in the race to represent nine municipalities.

In a statement, Brian McGinnis, chair of the Chester County Democratic Committee, accused the Republican Party of "trying to substitute a handpicked candidate" instead of one elected by voters in the primary race.

"The public has a right to know why, at this late date, with ballots printed and already being sent to our military personnel and those living overseas, Cuyler Walker has abruptly decided to abandon his campaign and those that supported him," McGinnis said.

Val DiGiorgio, chair of the Republican committee, dismissed those claims. "The fact is we would have loved to see Cuyler run and win, but it's not a good time for his family," DiGiorgio said. "Obviously, my thoughts go out to him and his family and whatever issues they're dealing with right now. I wish him all the best."

Some members of the Republican committee would like to see Rep. Chris Ross (R., Chester) run for his seat again. Ross announced in November that he would leave office after 18 years.

Commonwealth Court must decide whether to allow the Republican committee to replace Walker on the ballot since the deadline for candidates to withdraw was Aug. 11.

The Republican committee expects a ruling this week. Before next week, committee members plan to convene a meeting to discuss a replacement.

Read more:
GOP state House candidate withdraws after the deadline

Republican Hatred of Obama Clouds Senate ISIS Hearings
Muslim Terrorists EBOLA Immigrants: How Fox, GOP Wing-NUTS Scare Old-White-Bigots Racists: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard/Article/Muslim-T...

By: politicalarticles

Here is the original post:
Republican Hatred of Obama Clouds Senate ISIS Hearings - Video