Thank you for providing the articles on how the GOP establishment is trying to shut out the Ron Paul supporters. None of this is at all surprising. Back in 1994, I served as a regional director in the Proposition 187 campaign. As you may recall, Proposition 187 was the first statewide initiative in any state in our Union that called for an end to most state benefits for illegal immigrants. It passed overwhelmingly and then was thrown out by a single judge on specious constitutional grounds. Nevertheless, while the initiative did not last, it was rather popular with the rank and file voters of both parties, in spite of near total media oppositions and regular denunciations of Proposition 187 advocates by the "politically correct" crowd in academia and in the La Raza lobby as "racists" and "bigots." Indeed, it was only after the Republican Governor Pete Wilson came out in favor of Proposition 187, in the final stage of his re-election campaign, that he finally started to move up in the polls against his popular, Democrat opponent, Kathleen Brown. There is no doubt that Wilson was re-elected in large part because of Proposition 187. There was a ripple effect in that Republican victories in a few "swing" legislative districts (all by Republicans who came out for Proposition 187 as a result of Wilson) actually allowed the GOP briefly to take control of the State Assembly (a leadership that was soon squandered by a turncoat "Republican" Speaker who handed over her gavel to Democrat Willie Brown and essentially allowed the Democrat to preside over a State Assembly with a majority of Republicans). All in all, the California Republican Party was greatly helped by Proposition 187; and Republican politicians were lifted as well.

So how did the California Republican Party respond to this enormously popular initiative of the time that clearly aided its own electoral prospects? Well, right after the 1994 elections, the powers that be immediately started to distance themselves from Proposition 187; and in time the California Republican Party watered down its own anti-illegal immigration plank in its platform (a move that has been only recently overcome, thanks in part to the efforts of Republicans for the National Interest at the latest CRP Convention). Dan Lungren went so far as to denounce it altogether (along with the neoconservative leadership in the RNC, like William Bennett, who regarded it as harsh, and of course Rudy Giuliani). Lungren lost very badly in his attempt to win the California Governorship in 1998; and since then the electoral prospects for the California Republican Party statewide have been dim (apart from our own Governator of course, who may scarcely be called a Republican at all). In caving into lame, weak kneed political correctness, the California Republican Party chose the "safety" of the media and political establishment liking them, versus the courage of standing with a clear majority of the people on a pivotal issue. The result: good conservatives started to leave the party in droves, and the party started to lose a strong connection with its own base. There is no doubt in my mind that a lot of our failures at the polls result from that disconnection.

Well, the same lame, weak kneed behavior by the California Republican Party "leadership" once again is present in how you and other patriots are being shunned. You see, you and your brethren are committing a grave sin in their eyes: you are trying actually to politicize a political party on the county central committee level. If all you wanted to do was have lame speakers appear every month at boring meetings, and focus on non-political social events rather than promoting a clearly conservative political agenda, then you would be welcomed with open arms. As far as the "leadership" is concerned, you would know your place, which is to clap on cue for every pansy pastry that descends from the California Republican Party to give you guys the monthly pep talk about nothing more controversial than "lowering taxes" or "supporting the troops" (both of which of course are laudable positions to take, but which hardly may be thought of as "cutting edge" issues). Nevertheless, because you are not so lacking in courage or imagination, the "leadership" fears you and will set out at every stage to defeat or to discredit you. Like Proposition 187, what you represent may actually (God forbid the thought) grow the Republican Party and form coalitions with working class patriots in other parties (which was the same coalition building that proved instrumental in electing Ronald Reagan in 1980). There may actually be a change from lameness, and a few stuffy heads may lose their perches on top of an irrelevant party (but at least one in which they are still on top). For that reason alone, you and other patriots will face opposition; and when those in power feel overwhelmed, they will change the rules or postpone meetings just to defeat you in the short term (even though the long term effect is to discredit themselves).

My advice is to remain on a war footing. What that means is that, while you truly can and should form coalitions with other Republican activists and Central Committee members in which you find some common ground, you should be careful to maintain your own separate identity within the Republican Party. Your Constitutional Republicans website is very good; I urge you to keep it going even after the June primary, regardless of how well you guys do in running for the Alameda County Republican Central Committee. Finally, focus always on the long term goal, in this case winning enough votes within the Central Committee to beat whomever the RINOS propose as a Chairman for next term. If you do not win a majority in the June primary election, then you will need to work on coalition building with whomever is already on the Central Committee there who is at least somewhat conservative, because a well constructed coalition may be good enough to win the Chairmanship next year.

One other point: I urge you and your brethren to remain "as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves," as we are reminded in the New Testament. Unless you know that a member of the Committee is really on your side, be suspect about how much you share with him with regards to your next moves. In politics, everyone talks; and many people will provide good information to your political enemies, just as a way of trying to score points with them and then promote their own political ascendancy.

Also, be careful of falling for hair brained schemes. From what I have learned thus far, the write-in campaign orchestrated by proservative.us may be backfiring badly. The Ron Paul people behind the idea have not delivered in terms of recruiting write-in candidates, at least not in sufficient numbers in many counties; but the RINOS have managed thus far to do a great job at counterattacking, by tapping into their own networks to recruit write-in people of their own. Often, the RINO write-ins are outnumbering the patriot write-ins, which I know even has afflicted your efforts in one of your districts in Alameda County.

In the future, I urge you and your brethren to be suspicious of any well meaning organizers who "promise" that they can deliver on recruitment. Offering advice is one thing; but doing the hard work of candidate recruitment is something else entirely and is best done by the people within the local community, rather than by some organization elsewhere. Also, be weary of anyone who thinks that they can win by stealth. There is no stealth for very long in politics. Once the race begins, everyone at some point is going to learn about it; so it is best to proceed openly and smartly, rather than banking on maintaining stealth until votes are counted. Of course, planning may and should be done in stealth; but once the race is underway, just presume that everyone else knows what you are trying to do and thus act accordingly. It is just too easy for people in political circles to talk, and they will do so.