Libertarian Republican Meg Whitman Starts Run For Governor Of California

Self described "Libertarian" and registered Republican, Meg Whitman former CEO and President of eBay Inc, announced today February 9, that she has formed an exploratory committee for a campaign to win the Republican nomination for California governor in 2010.

Former California Gov. Pete Wilson, who lead California through an eight year economic recovery through his terms, will be campaign chairman. The co-chairs of the exploratory committee are Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), chief deputy Republican whip, and fellow Republican representative Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs), along with state Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks), state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego), Republican whip, and former State Assemblywoman Sharon Runner of Lancaster.

“After careful consideration and with tremendous loyalty to our Golden State, I have formed an exploratory committee, the first step in the process of running for governor in 2010,” Whitman said. “California faces challenges unlike any other time in its history — a weak and faltering economy, massive job losses, and an exploding state budget deficit. California is better than this, and I refuse to stand by and watch it fail. Now is the time for people across the state to join in a cause for change, excellence and a new California.”

Whitman, 52, retired from eBay, which has grown to be a cultural free market phenomenon, in March 2008 after a decade with the company. During Meg's time with eBay the company grew from a start up with 30 employees, 300,000 users and $4.7 million in revenue, to a global behemoth with operations in 38 countries, more than 15,000 employees, almost $8 billion in revenue and more than 300 million registered users, including more than 12 million eBay users in California alone.

Whitman, in the coming weeks, through speeches in Silicon Valley, Orange County and at the California Republican Party Convention in Sacramento, will offer a vision for the Golden State, she said.

Republican Congressman Anh Cao Comes From Strong, Libertarian Like, Self-Relient Background

Anh Cao knows communism. Anh "Joseph" Cao fled South Vietnam as a boy in 1975 when a Communist invasion threw the last remnants of U.S. influence out of the country. He, like many anti-Communist Vietnamese refugees, also became a Republican.

On December 6, 2008, Anh Cao defeated incumbent William Jefferson, an African American in a primarily black district, in a total congressional surprise to most. Cao was virtually unheard of until that moment.

Here is an excerpt from the Huffpo's latest blurb about Cao:
Cao (pronounced "Gow") is the first Vietnamese American elected to Congress,but only the fourth Asian American to join the House as a Republican. A child of refugees, his father served as an officer in the South Vietnamese Army, fighting communism alongside American troops. It's all too easy to portray Cao as a Vietnamese American with conservative views that stem from a legacy of anti-communism. Here, the obvious comparison can be made with right-wing Cuban Americans of southern Florida. But Cao's New Orleans East -- home to the largest concentration of Vietnamese Americans of Louisiana -- is no Little Havana. And Cao is no Republican ideologue. A political independent until only recently, Cao, who once trained as a Jesuit seminarian working with the poor in Latin America, described his politics as "walking the middle line" in a recent New York Times article.

But by holding fast to the middle, Cao isn't merely playing it safe as the first House Republican to represent New Orleans since Reconstruction. The middle line is proxy for the nuanced political and racial location that Vietnamese Americans of New Orleans occupy, a location that doesn't quite conform to traditional left-to-right political ideologies. Indeed, the Vietnamese Americans of New Orleans pride themselves on self-reliance, yet they also demand government accountability, especially when confronted with injustice. They seek to advance themselves politically and economically, yet seem to do so without sacrificing solidarity with other racial groups, particularly neighboring African Americans. Nowhere were these values more clearly on display than in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Less than six weeks after the storm, the Vietnamese Americans of New Orleans East returned to their homes, doing so over the objection of local and federal officials. Their leader was Father Nguyen The Vien, a political firebrand and head of Mary Queen of Vietnam church (MQVN). "Before the storm, I guess you could call us libertarians," Father Vien said. "Our attitude toward government was: 'you don't bother us, we won't bother you.' But Katrina changed all that. We had a responsibility to speak out." And so with each step of the rebuilding process, the priest and his congregation battled those who stymied their efforts: foot-dragging FEMA officials, The Waste Management Corporation that sought to dump Katrina debris in their backyard, city leaders all-too-eager to sell off New Orleans East to developers. Through it all, the priest was surrounded by a coterie of experienced community organizers, policy wonks and attorneys.


Finally! Someone to speak the conservatism that the Republican party has been lacking! Enough with the religious right and the wing nuts. Let Cao speak for the real Republicans that are left in this country so we can begin rebuilding our party.

Things are looking up in GOP land.

An Alameda County CA Judge Comes Through For Ron Paul Republicans

Read the story in it's entirety at the SFgate


An Alameda County judge has thrown out a lawsuit contesting the election of a handful of supporters of libertarian Republican Ron Paul, a former presidential candidate, to the county's Republican Central Committee.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch dismissed the lawsuit brought on by the Republican Central Committee and committee Chairman Paul Cummings of Oakland, a former Democrat, seeking to overturn the election of a group of Paul supporters. The opposing group won 12 of the committee's 30 seats in the election held on June 3, 2008, and Cummings alleged that seven of them did not meet the party membership requirements for candidates.

Cummings contests that Judge Roesch "got the law wrong".

The lawsuit was the result of an attempt to win control of the committee by passionate supporters of Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican congressman from Texas who sought the party's presidential nomination this year and who urges major reductions in government and overseas spending as well as a stricter interpretation of the Constitution.

One of the defendents, Stanley Livermore, had this to say. "We're looking forward to getting involved with the Republican Party and helping the party to stay on track".


I have one important question for Mr. Cummings. Why on earth, in such a tumultuous time for the Republican party, would he be considering blackballing a sub-group of his own party from a committee?? If the Republican party has learned anything from the bumpy last two elections, it should have been that we need new ideas and fresh blood in our party. Any supporters of the Conservative cause should be welcomed with open arms.

I for one applaud the 7 men who stood up for what they believed in and refused to back down from the political establishment. Bravo Fellas!

OK You Guys, Jokes Over. Bring Back The REAL Republican Party! Its Conservatism Stupid!

I can't believe all the yammering going on within the Republican Party after our big loss on game day this year. I have heard so many of my fellow Republican friends, blame the lose on John McCain's inability to distance himself from Bush.

I say... ummm... no.

As a diehard Republican (who admittedly leans a bit to the Libertarian side), I can tell you what sunk McCain was his inability to distance himself from his own party (lead by George Bush). Republicans have been getting a bad wrap lately and I really don't even wonder why. We used to be the party of small government, personal responsiblilty and individual freedom. Now we are seen as the party of big expensive wars, the party that will turn the other cheek to big corporate corruption and irresponsibility and the party that tell you who you are allowed to invite in your bedroom.

From The North Florida Daily News
"In 1980, the Regan Revolution was launched on conservative principles. Reagan clearly stated the need for decreased taxes, a slimmer government, free people conducting themselves in freedom and self-discipline, a strong defense, and government simply regulating what was mandated in the Constitution. Reagan won.

In 1984, when the Gipper ran for reelection, he was clobbered by every media outlet in the nation. All he did was campaign on the need to continue his policies. In case you forgot, he lost only Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Eleven electoral votes."

If we, as a party, ever expect to get out of this hole and reclaim our stake, we must get back to our roots. And we have to do more than just talk about it. We have to prove it. We must use the next 4 years working our asses off to prove that we haven't lost our Republican values.