California Republican Assembly
The California Republican Assembly (CRA) is a group of conservative Republicans in the US state of California who are considered lobbyists on the far right of the political spectrum.
It arose in the 1930s in opposition to Earl Warren , the then governor of California , who, in the opinion of the founders of the CRA, was too liberal and was close to the Democrats ; for this reason the aim was to ensure that he received no support from the conservative side. In 1964, the CRA supported the presidential Application of Barry Goldwater and helped him for the nomination on the Republican National Convention in San Francisco . That same year, the CRA sponsored George Murphy , a former film actor and close friend ofRonald Reagan , in the election to the US Senate , before she helped Ronald Reagan himself in his election as Governor of California in 1966.
The group claims a large share in the so-called Reagan Revolution , that is, the political changes under the presidency of Ronald Reagan . In contrast to other conservative groups, it does not claim to be non-partisan; according to its statutes , only Republican candidates may be supported. Your only goal is to influence the Republican Party in terms of conservative politics. In particular, it stands up against abortion and for classic values such as family and supports a government policy to cut taxes and dismantle state regulation. In the 1990s she founded a national offshoot, the National Federation of Republican Assemblies , which now appears in about 40 states.
The members of the CRA dominate the Republican Party of the State of California and many of its affiliated regional organizations. Critics, also in Republican circles, hold against her that since the beginning of her dominance within the Republican Party no Republican has been able to win an office in the state of California; At least this was true until Arnold Schwarzenegger won the new elections for governor in 2003, which he achieved without the help of the CRA because it supported Tom McClintock , who ultimately came third. In the opinion of these critics, the program is far too conservative to ever win a majority in the entire state of California; as long as the CRA did not give up their positions, the Republicans would always be in the minority there. The members of the CRA counter that without their influence the Republican Party in California would come too close to the Democrats and thus, especially for the conservative voters, there would practically no longer be any real election alternatives available.