GOP appears in deep trouble in California

[n2doc]

With their registrations sinking and their political clout withering, California Republicans have come out of the November election in danger of slipping into political irrelevance across much of the state.


"There's been a broad repudiation of traditional conservative Republicans in California," said Tony Quinn, a former GOP analyst and co-editor of the California Target Book, which focuses on political contests in the state. "There are almost no areas in the state that can be considered safely Republican anymore."

Since 2004, Republican registration has dropped by more than 317,000 in the state, while Democrats have picked up 563,000 new voters. Five previously GOP counties, including San Joaquin, Stanislaus and San Bernardino, now have more Democrats than Republicans.

Things aren't any better in the Legislature, where Democrats hold commanding majorities in both the Assembly and state Senate. The Democrats picked up three seats in the Assembly last month, including the last partisan post held by a Republican in the nine-county Bay Area.

And with Democrats moving to eliminate the two-thirds majority requirement for passage of a state budget, the GOP could lose the last bit of real power it holds in the Legislature.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/08/BANA14I7MF.DTL


"Endangered species"