httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T68j5WPT9M
I went to a garden party under the guise of hearing what Salley Pipes from the Pacific Research Institute had to say about healthcare reform to the establishment wing of the Republican Party (AKA Lincoln Club). For me all the public policy talk is just blah, blah. I was there to have a few drinks and some laughs with some old friends and former comrades from campaigns past. When the invitation was extended to me and I saw the guest list on Facebook I thought of Ricky Nelson’s Garden party as it was held at a beautiful estate in Orinda. I have known many of these folks for years. I thought it would be a good chance to see some old friends and have a few drinks.
In many ways over time I have transcended the GOP. But as the song says “you can’t please everyone so you have to please yourself.” To that extent I was interested to see how these non-tea party Republicans were living with the age of Obama.
At the start of the program there was the usual shout out to any electeds and candidates in the audience followed by statements from the latest viable AD-15 candidate. San Ramon Mayor Abram Wilson who is doing a remake of his AD-15 candidacy got up and spoke a few words about how lucky we all were to be living in Orinda and this part of California. Well at least he kept his remarks short.
Sally Pipes, the featured speaker of the evening, spoke of the failures of the Canadian Healthcare system and why we did not need it in America. Not sure if I agreed with her but the audience was rivited to her comments. As she went on my eyes glazed over and I went to the kitchen where I met a fellow who is running against Nancy Pelosi for congress. Enough said.
Later I met David Harmer. I was listening to him talk to some supporters who were basically telling him how much they liked what he was doing in the campaign. After these folks moved on I had a word with him. He said he was from San Ramon. I asked him why was he running for a congressional district with a 19 point deficet in registration? Why don’t you run for the San Ramon city council? He really did not answer. He said something about Abram was there already.
Harmer is an impressive figure, tall handsome with a nice voice. I can see why conservatives like him so much. He reminds me of former congressman Duncan Hunter. That said, I just don’t see that he will appeall to enough voters in that district with his conservative values and huge Republican registration deficit.
Remember even in good election years for Republicans in California, the Republican candidate in CD-10 usually loses by over twenty points. Harmer is trying to be compelling and he seems to be rallying the conservatives but that won’t be enough to win the seat.
I hate seeing talent going down the drain for lost causes. If Harmer did not want to run for San Ramon city council he would have been an interesting candidate for AD-15. He certainly would have given Wilson a run for his money in the primary. But as John Garamendi just proved again the value of being on a ballot for years can be decisive. Wilson’s big advantage is his name ID in San Ramon.
Then I met Brad Goehring. A CD-11 candidate. I have to say he was the most compelling candidate of the evening. Even though he hired Richard Pombo’s campaign manager, Carl Fogliani, he seemed like a reasonable fellow. A wine grower from the valley. I always have a soft spot for wine growers. Like Pombo, he will need to make himself more relevant to the more suburban parts of the district. We had a good laugh about how Pombo supported whaling. I think he will be somone to watch.
All in all I found the event enjoyable. It seems that these Republicans are feeling better about themselves than they did during the G. W. Bush years and the suprise of the evening was that the Lincoln club is becoming more proletarian and lowered its under 40 membership dues from $1600 to only $500 a year. Well their heart is in the right place.
I was glad to see them throw a garden party in the East Bay and they seem to be have more energy than they had at the end of the Bush years.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_exY9ptMbA