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Republican Party to Stiff $3,000,000Contributor? Will Financial Bankruptcy Follow G.O.P.’S Moral Bankruptcy?

Party Official Blames Governor for Debt, Who Sticks it to the Party

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By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

The California Republican Party is in financial trouble. According to the SF Chronicle,it owes $3.4 million in unpaid bills. And while it has $3.2 million cash on hand, it owes a major donor $3 million of that in a loan now due.

The loan is controversial. Party official Jon Fleischman claims the debt should be put on the Governor’s shoulders as the money was used in his reelection campaign.

The Governor denies owing any money. His spokesman notes that the Party voted to accept the obligation – including now Chair Ron Nehring. “The Governor is not responsible for settling the loan” says the Chronicle story citing Adam Mendelsohn, advisor.

The contributor in question is reportedly demanding party officials take specific actions to “get a finance chairman, operations committee person and a Team California chairman to oversee major donations for the party”. Also requested was “accountability in developing a detailed business and political plan to address issues such as voter registration, (and) getting voters to the polls”.

Pretty basic stuff. But the story quotes “one GOP source” as saying the business plan demanded by the Party’s creditor has yet to be produced.

Is receivership in the offing?

He who pays the fiddler, calls the tune. The fiddler in this case – the $3m donor –is demanding the party open it’s primary to otherwise unaffiliated registrants as the Democrats do. A way of getting them into the habit of voting Republican.

But declined-to-state voters are moderate in ideology. If allowed to vote in primaries that might help out moderate or liberal Republicans (like John McCain), thus ending the dominance of Goldwaterism and restoring Rockefeller Republicans to their traditional position of authority within their Party.

Fleishman, an opponent of such moderating reforms, and his fellow party officials must now choose between appeasement of their creditor or moral bankruptcy. Or, if the creditor chose to get tough, the $3m note could be sold to a Democratic consortium that would have fewer scruples about attaching the GOP’s assets to fulfill their obligations.

Bill Cavala was Deputy Director of the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services where he worked for over 30 years.

He attended undergraduate and graduate school in the 1960’s and received a doctorate in political science at UC Berkeley. He taught political science at UC Berkeley during the 1970's while he worked part-time for the State Assembly.

Cavala left teaching at UC Berkeley and went to work for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown in 1981 until his tenure as Speaker ended in 1995, and he has worked for his five successors as Speaker up to and including Speaker Fabian Nunez.

Mr. Cavala manages election campaigns for Democratic candidates.

Posted on February 17, 2008

Comments

fixs the prison laws and stop broking calif

Posted by: edde at February 17, 2008 01:36 PM

fixs the prison laws and stop broking calif

Posted by: edde at February 17, 2008 01:37 PM

Bill,

Yourself and Frank sure have a lot to say as of late about the republicans "moral bankruptcy" but turn Nelson's blind eye to your own party...

-How about the Clinton's getting campaign contributions from various Chinese agents? Didn't Bill sell/allow them missile technology via Lockheed/Martin which not only put a Chinese Astronaut in space, it increased their ICBM and anti-satellite accuracy by leaps and bounds...and which are pointed at us? Are you OK with that?

-Yet again no mention about the voters rejection of democratic legislative "leadership" (Perata and Nunez) getting the boot via the rejection of Proposition 93.

Isn't Nunez in question for his use of campaign cash on himself, his PERSONAL self? And yet you take the republicans to task here? Such brass...

You never replied to your earlier article about the "First Amendment" here. I'll paste the essence of my question from there below as it relates to your article here:

"Bill,

Help me out here. Is the thrust of your article in essence saying it is OK for Speaker Nunez to spend campaign money however he wishes, such as on personal perks for himself, or is it the governments job to regulate or have oversight on it?

Of course, the government in this case is the legislature is it not? Therefore, how could we reasonably expect for it to police itself?

By the way, as someone who worked for Nunez, did you have the chance to discuss with him his use of campaign donations?"

I would appreciate and enjoy your rejoinder!

Posted by: Jay Gould at February 17, 2008 02:40 PM

The point Dr. Cavala is making is that surprise-surprise Republicans are not prudent in their expenditures and waste money.

Mr. Dodge from a Google search appears to be an Independent film person. In Hollywood the minute you are known as a chump, watch out.

In this situation, Mr. Dodge for his own reputation should either sell his note or hire lawyers to take appropriate action.

My recommendation is that if he decides to sue, he should use Meister, Seelig & Fein's LA office (Chassman & Seelig). They diod a great job for my sister (Barbara Greenwald) and I on my father's estate.

Posted by: Irwin Nowick at February 17, 2008 03:55 PM

The point Dr. Cavala is making is that surprise-surprise Republicans are not prudent in their expenditures and waste money.

Mr. Dodge from a Google search appears to be an Independent film person. In Hollywood the minute you are known as a chump, watch out.

In this situation, Mr. Dodge for his own reputation should either sell his note or hire lawyers to take appropriate action.

My recommendation is that if he decides to sue, he should use Meister, Seelig & Fein's LA office (Chassman & Seelig). They did a great job for my sister (Barbara Greenwald) and I on my father's estate.

Posted by: Irwin Nowick at February 17, 2008 03:56 PM

Mr. Nowick,

I am aware of what Bill's point here is supposed to be...

I just wanted the esteemed political scientist to use his similar skills to examine a very similar poor use of money by those in his party. Using his expertise there is:

- A very good explanation for it

- No good explanation for it

If the latter, then we have the stereotypical "pot calling the kettle black" scenario here do we not?

Posted by: Jay Gould at February 17, 2008 07:51 PM

It seems that the point of this article revolves around the party's failure to acknowledge a moderating Republican voter. But it's not clear what the consequences are of acquiescing to the creditor's viewpoint.

I mean, we are talking about defaulting on a debt here, right? By the Republican Party. You must be pretty set in your ways if you are willing to default for the sake of ideology.

I guess between socially or fiscally conservative, we won't have to worry which the Republican Party stands for anymore!

Posted by: Adam at February 18, 2008 01:55 AM

It has been my experience that in terms of campaign expenditures of those candidates that I know of who are Democrats are that they do not waste money.

Posted by: Irwin Nowick at February 18, 2008 02:24 PM

Mr. Nowick said here:

"It has been my experience that in terms of campaign expenditures of those candidates that I know of who are Democrats are that they do not waste money."

Mr. Nowick, I assume you don't know Democrat Speaker Fabian Nunez nor his use of campaign cash on his personal self as of late...

Posted by: Jay Gould at February 18, 2008 04:02 PM

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