REPUBLICAN WAKE UP CALL IN CALIFORNIA

Yesterday Republican Brian Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine Busby. On the surface this five point margin of victory may not sound like much but to the Republican Party this victory is a loud and very clear wake up call from the GOP electorate concerning what is expected from the Party and GOP elected officials and candidates. In case you have been under a log Bilbray and Busby were running to fill the seat in the House vacated by GOP Congressman Randy, "Duke, "Cunningham. Cunningham as you may recall was convicted on several corruption charges and is currently serving a jail sentence as a result of that conviction. From a political stand point regardless of the party affiliation, when a sitting Congressman or Senator is convicted of a crime especially one that involves influence within the office that they held, it usually creates a death sentence for retaining that seat by the party of the convicted representative. Needless to say this made for a considerable up hill climb to win Cunningham's seat for Bilbray and a distinct advantage for Busby since she already had a platform to run on because of Cunningham's conviction. Bilbray then presented his platform a strict Reagan conservative platform calling for strong defense, smaller government, a tough stance on illegal aliens and immigration, border security and less taxation. Though the district up for grabs is traditionally one of the few California districts that leans GOP the conventional thinking was that this would be a Republican loss because of the Cunningham stigma. Yet Bilbray stood strong on his conservative platform and gained a GOP victory. How then does this election pave the way for the November mid terms ? The answer to Republicans is obvious. If Bilbray can overcome a tremendous challenge to gain victory by standing on conservative ideals in dealing with current issues then the Republican Party and the leadership within the beltway should follow suit! Conservatism is what gained the GOP majority status and the Presidency and conservatism will win the day in November. The question is whether the GOP leadership will heed this wake up call or continue with business as usual. Personally after observing the actions of the leadership lately I cannot be sure if they have listened to this obvious call from the electorate. I can only hope that someone in Washington and at party headquarters has and will adjust GOP tactics accordingly as well as the direction of this current Congress. Time will tell but the voting trend in the GOP throughout the country is following the voice of the California district that elected Bilbray. To the leaders in my party and in Congress all I can say is that it is past time to wake up and smell the coffee. Conservatism put you in office and conservatism is what the electorate demands!

Ken Taylor