Steve Foley considers running for Congress. We can learn from him.

Thursday, September 29th at 10:00PM EDT

22 Comments

Steve Foley, a member of the RedState.com community for six years and later founder of The Minority Report, has formed an Exploratory Committee to consider a challenge of Loretta Sanchez in California District 47.

Loretta Sanchez is an unabashed racist who originally won her seat from Bob Dornan through electoral fraud that the House of Representatives swept under the rug, and used every racist plea she could come up with to find a way to beat Van Tran in 2010. But on the plus side, she’s one of the Democrats whose campaign funds were stolen by embezzling treasurer to California Democrats Kinde Durkee.

Update: Even better news is that the new 47 is an open seat.

So if Steve Foley can, he’ll run against her, and I hope he gets far. Win or lose, this is a new way forward for conservative activists to gain further influence in the Republican party, and through the party, to change the country.

Some say the only way for activists to make a difference is to become precinct committeemen. This is false, at least in California and states with similar rules. According to Section 2.01.01 of the CRP standing rules and bylaws, the state central committee will include as delegates “current Republican Party nominees for each of the following partisan elective offices: Member of the State Senate; Member of the State Assembly; Member of the United States House of Representatives.” A similar provision can exist at the county level, for example in Article IV, Section B of the Orange County GOP Bylaws. Therefore, running for these offices, especially where the Democrat might otherwise run unopposed, is a great way for an activist to gain influence in the party.

And of course, consider that it’s possible for some of our activist candidates to win, getting to the state legislature or the Congress, and becoming a voice, a vote, and a force for our views for a term of office.

Conservatives must not neglect any of the tools in the box. Becoming precinct committeemen is only one option we have. Running for office is another. Even beyond the opportunity to get someone like Steve Foley on the ballot, someone I’ve worked with and for in the past, and who in all my dealings has been unfailingly kind, humble, and honest, running for office is a great way to shape the party as well.

Let’s do this more often. We can’t start getting our people nominated and on the committees until we start getting our people to run in the first place.

22 Comments Leave a comment

Forgive me for saying it.

NeoKong (Diary) Thursday, September 29th at 11:32PM EDT (link)

Being kind, humble and honest ain’t exactly a political plus in California.
From what I have seen, slash and burn, cheating and lying and voter fraud are the rules of the playing field.
Sanchez is a piece of work and dislodging that corrupt little tic won’t be easy.
If I remember correctly in 2010 the Dems held every single seat in CA.
It was a sweep.
I hope Mr. Foley can play hard ball and the GOP support him.
It’s gonna’ take more than money.

Follow me on Twitter.

CA Has about 16 Rs in Congress

Ron Robinson (Diary) Thursday, September 29th at 11:52PM EDT (link)

Neokong – you’re close, but there are a few Es in our congressional delegation and we have a pretty strong R minority in the state senate.

Perhaps what you are referring to is the fact that CA currently has no R state constitutional officer (such as Gov, AG or SOS) and the Rs upset not a single D in office in Sacramento in 2010 – why we say that the red tide of 2010 stopped at the CA border.

________________________________________
Ron Robinson
Chair, AD 49 Republican Central Committee
California Republican Central Committee
PROCINCT Author/ Founder
The Precinct Project
Unified Patriots – How-To: Activists Taking Action!

Close, but not quite that bad.

toothpick (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 12:00AM EDT (link)

In 2010 the Dems won every STATEWIDE election (gov, lt. gov, treasurer, sec state, att’y general), as well as Senate (Boxer, ugh). But they didn’t win every SEAT, assuming you mean by that Congressional seats. McCarthy, McClintock, Issa, Hunter, Nunes are among the R’s representing CA in Congress.

In fact according to Wikipedia R’s hold 19 out of 53 seats. So the Dems are up 34-19 – a substantial lead, but hardly a sweep.

I meant just the Dem seats.

NeoKong (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 12:20AM EDT (link)

They held every single one as a red tide swept the nation.
I should have been clearer.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/19/opinion/la-oe-meyerson-redistricting-20101219

Despite the most favorable electoral climate Republicans have had in decades, Democrats swept the state last month. Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer defeated their gazillionaire opponents by 1.3 million and 1 million votes, respectively. Democrats held every one of their congressional seats, and actually increased their margin in the Legislature.

California rejected the GOP big time.
The whole state is going backwards.

Follow me on Twitter.

No argument there

toothpick (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 12:53AM EDT (link)

You got that right, the state is going the wrong way. The best that can be said is that we’ll serve as an example to other states of the danger of allowing the Progressives to take over. Eventually all of the productive people will move to the Red states, and the leeches will be left to suck on each other out here in CA.

Thanks for clarifying, I misunderstood your point about holding seats.

Old state nickname: The Golden State.
New state nickname: The Cloward-Piven State.

No grass roots candidates in california

californiagold Friday, September 30th at 1:11AM EDT (link)

In a previous thread, I explained why republicans lost in CA during the 2010 cycle. Whitman ran a joke of a campaign, had tons of money but no message, and hired an illegal alien.

The experiment of running moderate republicans in California is not working. Nor was it a good idea to run two wealthy business women in 2010 at a tine when the state and country was in an anti-Wall St. mood.

CA-47 was redistricted, right? It's not the same district Sanchez has had her way with?

usdebateboard Thursday, September 29th at 11:40PM EDT (link)

That will help.

Van Tran is a great guy, but as someone who works in that district, I can tell you it would be a while before the critical mass of his community could take down her poliitcal machine.

Steve Foley, 2012, and new borders for CA-47 could be a perfect storm, a whole new ball game.

I believe all the OC districts

freemanja1991 (Diary) Thursday, September 29th at 11:55PM EDT (link)

Including her’s got or at least lean republican. Is Van going to run again? And I think there is one open one as well.

Neil is correct...

Ron Robinson (Diary) Thursday, September 29th at 11:47PM EDT (link)

… the only path to power is not thru the central committee and being a PC – a congressional candidate gets not only an ex-officio seat, but can also appoint state GOP delegates – whether he wins or not.

Alas, not all of us are willing or able to run for Congress or other office just to get those seats and appointments – it’s a nice plus, but what we really need are more citizen legislators like Steve in Congress. Steve does not have a political history and is owed no favors by CA politicians who have been in the game for years – correspondingly, he does not owe those favors, either.

A scan of the Federalist Papers reveals that the likes of John Adams, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton were vocal about the need for ‘citizen legislators’ rather than legislators that come from the political class. This is a perfect opportunity to send one to DC and allow the red tide that stopped at the CA border in 2010, reach the beach in 2012.

As Neil says, we must not neglect any of the tools in our toolbox. One of the tools you have is your pocketbook, and using that tool could help convince Steve to move from ‘exploratory’ to ‘candidate’. Steve has a moneybomb going now that will kick off Sat and run thru Tue. You can pledge now at http://bit.ly/nBvppn

(Ed. note: Ron, I made your link live… bs)

Important comment here by Ron

Neil Stevens (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 10:19AM EDT (link)

Not all of us can be PCs. Not all of us can be candidates. Not all of us can give to important causes.

We can do what we can do.

RS contributing editor and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
Read the RedState Posting Rules

Unlikely Voter: Poll Analysis, Election Projection.

“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder

Thanks Neil...

Steve Foley (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 12:12PM EDT (link)

…for the thoughtful remarks.

Here’s some good news… the new CA-47 is an open seat and Loretta Sanchez will be defending the newly drawn district CA-46 which consists of Santa Ana, Tustin, Orange and Anaheim. I hope Van Tran mounts another campaign agaist her for CA-46

The New CA-47 encompasses All Long Beach & Signal Hill (LA County), Catalina Island, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Cypress, Stanton, Garden Grove, and a sliver of Westminster. So far my opponents are mostly career politicians Republicans Gary DeLong (Long Beach City Council) Steve Kuykendall (former US Rep.), Troy Edgar (Los Alamitos City Council) And one Democrat former state Senator Alan Lowenthal who represented Long Beach.

The district is fairly even R vs. D so marketing and name recognition is going to be the key to victory here.

The Minority Report Network / The HinzShight Report / TMRB.tv / MFOB

Oh that's interesting (nt)

Neil Stevens (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 12:16PM EDT (link)

…

RS contributing editor and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
Read the RedState Posting Rules

Unlikely Voter: Poll Analysis, Election Projection.

“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder

Two County CC Seats?

Ron Robinson (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 12:37PM EDT (link)

About a third of Steve’s district is in Orance County and the remainder in LA County – so if the OC has rules like LA, and Steve raises enough $$ to file for the office, he will have county ex-officio Central Committee seats in both the LA and OC Central Committees.

… plus a few delegate appointments he’s allowed to make to the state GOP committee.

So if you can, please pledge now for the moneybomb that starts Sat Foley Moneybomb

Long Beach won't be a day at the beach

usdebateboard Friday, September 30th at 4:18PM EDT (link)

But if you can split there and mop up in the OC communities, you’d do fine.

I hope Van runs again, too. Is there a PC way to say this? There is no community harder working and more industrious than Van’s. They almost work too hard to be politically active.

A question about Foley.

Melody Warbington (rwm52) (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 12:55PM EDT (link)

Does anyone know if he is pro life? I couldn’t find anything online, and this is a personal consideration for me in my decision to donate.

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things. (John 4:25)

rwm52, he has a diary

lineholder (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 1:03PM EDT (link)

on the list stating his positions. You might check there.

Sorry, just checked, not included [nt]

lineholder (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 1:05PM EDT (link)

But I bet you had already thought of that, hadn’t you? LOL at myself right now.

This will be expanded soon

Steve Foley (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 2:12PM EDT (link)

Over the coming weeks I plan to deploy an issues page.

The Minority Report Network / The HinzShight Report / TMRB.tv / MFOB

Thanks for the info, Steve

lineholder (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 2:23PM EDT (link)

And just in case rwm52 doesn’t see this soon, I’ll give her a heads up via email. Best wishes for your success (and ours!)

I've always advocated for Life

Steve Foley (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 2:10PM EDT (link)

I believe Roe vs. Wade to be bad law
Like most things, I believe abortion as a political issue is a States Rights Issue and not a Federal one!
I would never vote for federal $ to be spent, in any way shape or form, for abortions… Period!
I would defund planned parenthood!

I hope that answers your question

The Minority Report Network / The HinzShight Report / TMRB.tv / MFOB

Thank you, Steve Foley.

Melody Warbington (rwm52) (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 4:03PM EDT (link)

I look forward to your issues page.

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things. (John 4:25)

A note to righty bloggers- Quit yer bitchin', and start yer pitchin'

streetwise (Diary) Friday, September 30th at 3:20PM EDT (link)

Yes, we all have felt that no one notices us in the GOP establishment, let alone the media.

Just imagine what a successful Foley bid will do for our collective enterprise.

So pitch in, and donate if you can!

Or do I have to send a Teamster to motivate you? (checking schedule – Gianni is free)