From Demise the Rise: The Golden State's Future

From the conservative columnists to the confrontational bloggers, I have heard the same songs of death: California is doomed, and the California Republican Party is the first to go.

I wish that more people would stop reading the papers and look at the window.

Republicans gained three – three – state senate seats. They gained four assembly seats. These outcomes were unprecedented.

Republicans hold a strong majority of the city council and locally elected offices. There are Republican mayors in Gardena and Hawthorne, CA, two deeply Democratic cities. Republicans have taken back the entire Palos Verdes city council, and a Republican won a seat on the school board in the same city.

There are more reasons to rejoice, in the South Bay and throughout the state. Let us not forget that Democrats must hold or fight for ten Congressional seats next year.

Once again, I have to ask: is anyone paying attention?

Now, the California Republican Party needs to embrace not refrain from embracing its core values. Outreach needs to focus on diverse ethnic groups, not divergent views on issues. I just hope that leaders in Sacramento heed these lessons in the next two years.

Is the Golden State doomed? How many more conservatives are willing to stand and fight rather than give up and take flight? Where else can we find better whether and richer natural resources than in California?

Is this state a done deal? Should we throw up our hands and give up?

Not me. I am looking past the demise. I want to see California rise again.