(California) State GOP suddenly dumps newly hired evangelical lobbyist

[deadparrot]

Ben Lopez, the chief lobbyist and spokesman for the Traditional Values Coalition -- the Anaheim-based evangelical advocacy group led by the controversial Rev. Lou Sheldon -- has been fired from his new job as an outreach worker with the California Republican Party, sources said Tuesday.

Lopez's hiring had been hailed by conservatives, who have been concerned about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's moves to the political center, when it was made public late last week as the state Republican Party opened its convention.

But gay and lesbian groups criticized the decision by the state Republicans to add Lopez, a well-known evangelical advocate, to the party's payroll and called on Schwarzenegger to renounce Lopez and Sheldon as intolerant.

Mike Spence, who heads the conservative California Republican Assembly, said the decision to dump Lopez brings "frustration that the governor's organization is not about the whole team effort. We're supposed to be unified behind the governor's staff like (Democrat) Susan Kennedy, and yet they fired the only person who could do church outreach."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/23/BAGF5KNFKK1.DTL

[w4rma]

1. The Governator has been doing some pretty good stuff recently.

Very non-Republican stuff. But, I've only seen this on environmental issues and social issues.

[silverweb]

2. Don't be fooled.

He's playing to the center, but it's all Hollywood-style window dressing just for the upcoming election. He's really still a reTHUG and needs to be kicked out of office ASAP.

[apnu]

3. Of course the gropenator is. He saw what happened to his numbers when...

... he tried the normal neo-con line of bullshit and Californians wouldn't stand for it. He's just doing all this so he can fool the rubes that 'voted' for him in the first place into voting for him again. What he's doing now is no different than the shit he shoveled in the recall.

[Tempest]

4. Election year moving to the center because of low approval ratings

He'll move back to the far right if he's re-elected.