SACRAMENTO, Cal.—The 2007 California Republican Assembly (CRA) held its Presidential Endorsing Convention this past weekend at the Hilton Hotel in Sacramento, closing on Sunday with the endorsement of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
The CRA, California's largest and most conservative organization of political volunteers, made the recommendation in a two-ballot contest.
The first ballot showed Romney leading a group including former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, former Ambassador to the United Nations Alan Keyes, and California Congressman Duncan Hunter.
A second ballot between Romney and Thompson gave Romney the required two-thirds vote. Even Senator Tom McClintock's support for Thompson, as well as an electrifying speech given by Alan Keyes, and spirited Ron Paul advocates could not turn back the Romney tide.
Romney's superior organization and financing helped earn him the endorsement. Prior to the vote most CRA leaders felt that the organization was too divided to make an endorsement.
If Romney does not stumble, the CRA's backing gives him a boost in California's delegate-rich February Republican Primary.
Although no significant financial support comes from the endorsement, it adds credibility to those claiming conservative credentials in a closely contested GOP primary.
Rudy Giuliani, nationwide front-runner in most polls, received only two percent of the delegate votes. Senator John McCain, Congressman Tom Tancredo, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckaby also had no presence and received little to no votes.
Ballot Proposals
In addition to the presidential race, the CRA took positions on many ballot proposals. Some of the measures receiving support included:
- Proposition 91, which tightens up the requirement that gasoline sales taxes be spent on transportation.
- The Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act, an initiative by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers' Association, which is being circulated to protect property owners from condemnation of their private property to benefit another private party.
- A referendum to overturn SB777's teaching the equality of homosexual and heterosexual family lifestyles.
- Indian Gaming compacts that allow nonunion employment practices.
The CRA also voted against other proposals:
- Proposition 92, which mandates reductions in community college tuition.
- Proposition 93, which extends the terms of existing incumbent legislators.
- A League of Cities initiative to compete with and counteract the Jarvis property rights petition.
- Mandatory fluoridation of water.
Special Guests at the Convention
Chris Simcox, founder and president of Minutemen , a citizen political action group that assists the Border Patrol in defending the national border with Mexico, was in attendance last weekend. He mentioned that 110 Minutemen chapters exist now all over the U.S.
"Illegal immigration is the greatest threat of national security. The next president of the U.S. should on his first day in office deploy 30,000 National Guard troops to our borders," Simcox insisted.
Simcox also tried to dispel the notion that illegal immigrants are only coming from one country: "There is a large percentage of the people crossing the border who are not Latino. A survey was done to find that people from 144 countries were crossing the border to the U.S. from Mexico. They are coming from Iran, Syria, etc."
Another interesting participant at the convention was a group of Chinese-Americans promoting their 15-hour-a-day broadcasts of censor-free news into Communist China—the Sound of Hope Radio Network .
Sound of Hope president Allen Zeng had a chance to address the audience and explained the radio station's point of view: "The Chinese Communist Party is mostly afraid of their own people learning the truth. Our goal is to bring freedom of information to China and show the people of China the values of the American democratic system."
Other activists at the conference were promoting and signing up participants in a planned Human Rights Torch Relay protest of the Olympics directed at the Chinese communist regime which persecutes Christians, Falun Gong, Buddhists, Muslims, and others.
Asked to comment on China's human rights violations ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games, Congressman John Doolittle said: "China can learn a lot from Taiwan."
While supporting peaceful protests in China during the Olympics, Congressman Doolittle also mentioned how the Human Rights Torch Relay is a rare opportunity to put the pressure on China directly before the Olympics. "The issue of human rights should be raised with every opportunity and in every way possible. These fundamental human freedoms should be first and foremost."
The Epoch Times also had a unique opportunity to conduct an in-depth interview with presidential candidate and former UN ambassador Alan Keyes.
Asked how the 2008 campaign is different from his 1996 and 2000 runs for the presidency, Dr. Keyes commented that his September campaign began as he noticed a lack of conviction and principle in the other candidates.
"It is being said that money and media control the outcome of elections. Yet it is the people that count. So, we are working on a grass roots campaign. It is hard in the beginning, but we are working hard to make it happen," Keyes declared.
Roger Canfield, a delegate to the conference, contributed to this article.
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