California Republicans meet to ponder their relevance

Source: San Jose Mercury News

... As activists descend on the Bay Area this weekend for the state GOP's spring convention, the California Republican Party has been struck with a few hard realities:

The Republicans' registration numbers are down to an all-time low: 30.4 percent. They're almost broke. And Gov. Jerry Brown began the year announcing he would pursue a tax-hike initiative and dismissed Republicans as politically irrelevant, after pursuing them like a desperate suitor in 2010.

... Republicans have to increasingly rely on "angel" donors. As of Dec. 31, the state GOP had only $439,000 in the bank. The state Democratic Party had $9.3 million.

... And California Republicans can't even get any luck in picking a keynote speaker for the convention. When Republicans selected Gingrich several weeks ago, he was hot, the prime alternative to front-runner Romney. Now, the former U.S. House speaker, who will address delegates Saturday in Burlingame, appears headed to an also-ran spot in the GOP presidential primary sweepstakes.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_20033043