L.A. Times: California GOP Must Reinvent Itself to Survive

See, "To Survive, State GOP Must Reinvent Itself":

With the unveiling of the state's new political boundaries last week, California Republicans are contemplating their very survival: Without a course correction, they could be headed for the wilderness.

Drawn for the first time by an independent commission instead of Sacramento insiders, the proposed new voting maps suggest the GOP could lose as many as five seats in Congress. Moreover, Democrats may be positioned to win two-thirds of the state Legislature, potentially robbing the minority party of its ability to block tax increases, the last vestige of its governing power in the state Capitol.

Between now and next year's elections, Republicans must scramble to reinvent themselves, recruit more moderate candidates and find common ground with more Californians if they are to be at all relevant in Golden State politics, according to independent experts and partisan analysts alike. Then voters in the considerable number of new swing districts that the maps show could opt to elect moderate Republicans just as easily as centrist Democrats.

There's more, but you get the drift.

It's almost comical. Here's the Los Angeles Times, still a respectable paper, but hopelessly left-wing, arguing that the state's GOP should be moving left, becoming more moderate than it already is. And that's after 7 years of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who did virtually nothing to repair the state's battered fiscal existence. And for decades we've had surging immigration, especially illegal immigration from Mexico and Latin America, that has formed a steady supply of future Democratic Party voters. And for what? Much of California is run down and governed like a Third World kleptocracy. Recall that I was briefly in a funk after last November's election. I spoke semi-seriously about relocating out of state. And I might be dropping the "semi" over the next few years as I approach retirement. Communists are everywhere. Moral bankruptcy and rampant corruption fill the schools, and unions are fiscally bankrupting that state. That's not to say there aren't lots of conservatives, but as the Times points out, they won't have much of a voice in government if trends continue. I'll have more on this. My sense is that right-wing activists have to keep doing what they're doing, and work on mobilizing newcomers to the state, and young people, to conservative values. And then encourage these people to hold the state's GOP accountable to limited government principles. There's no other way, really, short of pulling up the drawbridge to stem the tide of illegal immigration's revolving door and the permanent radical voting block that's consolidating. It's ridiculous.

RELATED: At New York Times, "Redistricting Offers Republicans Few Gains in 2012."

Supreme Court Allows In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrants

At Los Angeles Times, "Supreme Court allows California to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants."

And also, "Supreme Court ruling on California immigrant tuition rates could affect other states' policies."

And checking that link we see a picture of students with "DREAM" signs, like "The DREAM is Coming." More like the open borders nightmare is coming. See: "America’s Bad DREAM."

RELATED GRAPHIC: "Illegal immigrants and state universities."

Supreme Court Upholds Legal Arizona Workers Act of 2007

At Los Angeles Times, "'Business death penalty' for hiring illegal workers is upheld by Supreme Court." (Via Memeorandum. Also at New York Times, "Justices Uphold Law Penalizing Hiring of Illegal Immigrants.")

The Supreme Court on Thursday gave Arizona and other states more authority to take action against illegal immigrants and the companies that hire them, ruling that employers who knowingly hire illegal workers can lose their license to do business.

The 5-3 decision upholds the Legal Arizona Workers Act of 2007 and its so-called business death penalty for employers who are caught repeatedly hiring illegal immigrants. The state law also requires employers to check the federal E-Verify system before hiring new workers, a provision that was also upheld Thursday.

The court's decision did not deal with the more controversial Arizona law passed last year that gave police more authority to stop and question those who are suspected of being in the state illegally. But the ruling is likely to encourage the state and its supporters because the court majority said states remained free to take action involving immigrants.

Thursday's decision is a defeat for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, several civil-rights groups and the Obama administration, all of whom opposed the Arizona law and its sanctions on employers. They argued that federal law said states may not impose "civil or criminal sanctions" on employers.

PHOTOS: "South O.C. Patriots Rally for Arizona!"

The Case for Voter ID

From Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, at Wall Street Journal:

Voter fraud is a well-documented reality in American elections. To offer a few examples, a 2010 state representative race in Kansas City, Mo. was stolen when one candidate, J.J. Rizzo, allegedly received more than 50 votes illegally cast by citizens of Somalia. The Somalis, who didn't speak English, were coached to vote for Mr. Rizzo by an interpreter at the polling place. The margin of victory? One vote.

In Kansas, 221 incidents of voter fraud were reported between 1997 and 2010. The crimes included absentee-ballot fraud, impersonation of another voter, and a host of other violations. Because voter fraud is extremely difficult to detect and is usually not reported, the cases that we know about likely represent a small fraction of the total.

My office already has found 67 aliens illegally registered to vote in Kansas, but when the total number is calculated, it will likely be in the hundreds. In Colorado, the Secretary of State's office recently identified 11,805 aliens illegally registered to vote in the state, of whom 4,947 cast a ballot in the 2010 elections.
Evidence of voter fraud is present in all 50 states, and public confidence in the integrity of elections is at an all-time low. In the Cooperative Congressional Election Study of 2008, 62% of American voters thought that voter fraud was very common or somewhat common.

Fear that elections are being stolen erodes the legitimacy of our government. That's why the vast majority of Americans support laws like Kansas's Secure and Fair Elections Act. A 2010 Rasmussen poll showed that 82% of Americans support photo ID laws. Similarly, a 2011 Survey USA poll of Kansas voters showed that 83% support proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration.

Kobach is pictured above speaking at the David Horowitz West Coast Retreat. After than panel (video here) the secretary and his wife met with a small group of participants for a meet-and-greet session. He's a great guy. Friendly and down to earth, I expect he'll be a rising star in Kansas and national politics for some time.

Herman Cain Responds to President Obama's Border Speech

I'm beating The Other McCain to this one.

Plus, Wall Street Journal has the speech, "Text of Obama’s Speech on Immigration." And at Pundit & Pundette, "Obama: 'That fence is now basically complete; They'll never be satisfied'." (At Memeorandum.)