Kevin McCarthy tries to rebuild the California GOP

House GOP Whip Congressman Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy is working to rebuild a shattered and nearly worthless Republican Party

• Except for a two year period under Gov. Reagan, the GOP has been a minority in the state legislature since 1958.
• It would help if the GOP actually believed in something, but that is for another story.

People's Republic of California Congressman Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield is setting his sights on his home state and looking to rebuild a Republican Party in desperate need of repair.
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McCarthy has launched Trailblazers, a program aimed at grooming candidates running for state legislative office. McCarthy, the House majority whip, hopes these recruits will someday be ready to run for statewide office reports Politico.
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The Trailblazers Program is closely modeled after Young Guns, a largely successful effort spearheaded by McCarthy during the 2008 elections, which supports GOP candidates seeking House seats. Young Guns was revived for the 2010 midterms, allowing McCarthy to introduce himself to many of the Republicans who would win that year and is being used again in 2012.

Defend the Bill of Rights

Trailblazers is just getting started. So far, it’s held two candidate workshops — what it calls “campaign colleges” — in Sacramento and Los Angeles and has inducted 41 candidates. Those overseeing Trailblazers said only the most polished candidates will meet the benchmarks needed to rise through the program and receive support.

McCarthy insisted that his ambitions remained in the House for which he serves as the top Republican vote-counter and is regarded as a go-to figure for many of the House freshmen who rely on him for political and legislative advice.

“I think it’s difficult for me to run statewide from where I’m at. I’m not from a major metropolitan area. I don’t view running from Congress as a good platform. It’s got to be something you want to do as well. I like what I do here,” McCarthy said. “But I think I have a responsibility at the same time to help build the Republican Party in the state. This is something I’ve always done.”

“I think this is part of a rebuilding process for the California Republican Party,” said Phil Paule, a Trailblazers participant who is running for an Assembly seat in Southern California’s Inland Empire area. “I think [McCarthy] wants to see more Republicans in the state Legislature. He had a model in Young Guns he wanted to implement here.”

“If you don’t have candidates who can win races for state Legislature, how do you run statewide?” said Peter Tateishi, a Trailblazers participant who is running in a competitive race for an Assembly seat based in Sacramento. “I think this program addresses that.”

(Politico)

Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger did his very best to destroy the Republican Party with insane Big Government spending, abolishing the GOP primary in secret back room deals and raising taxes.