I had the honor of attending my first California Republican Convention this past weekend. It was held at the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim, CA, 18-20 September. Upon entering the registration area, I was pleased to see such a diverse group of people of all ages in attendance. I saw that the claim that the GOP is the party of old white men is definitely a liberal meme.

I joined the Tea Party California Caucus where I was briefed on the breakdown of the state’s party. There are 58 county chairmen that represent the 58 counties in the state of California. The liberal establishment (RINOs) outnumbers the conservatives 2/3 to 1/3 (no surprise). Every four years the state party platform is revisited for revision. This convention fell on the fourth year; therefore the main objective for the delegates was to adopt new revisions to the California Republican Party platform.

It was clear from attending the different committee meetings that immigration was high on the agenda. The dispute on the language in the immigration plank of the platform is between the conservative Tea Party California Caucus and the more liberal establishment branch of the state party. Delegates from both conservative and liberal branches of the party submitted revisions to the platform planks. The liberal branch of the state party objects to the TPCC more conservative submitted plank revision to the platform. The platform committee came to a consensus on a language revision in the immigration plank and it was voted on during the General Session on the last day of the convention (instead of the platform committee meeting the day before). There were copies of the revision available for everyone in attendance at the General Session. The California Republican Party Chairman, Jim Brutle, gave a ten-minute recess to allow everyone a chance to read the new revision before it was presented and voted on. The majority voted in favor of the plank revision and it passed.

The only Republican presidential candidate that attended the convention was Gov. Mike Huckabee. He was the guest speaker at the executive Committee Luncheon. Gov. Scott Walker was originally scheduled to attend the convention but he had a schedule conflict. The only presidential candidate booths at the convention were Ben Carson and Ted Cruz. One of the candidates for the U.S Senate (Barbara Boxer’s seat), Rocky Chavez, spoke at the California veteran’s committee meeting. Deborah Pauly, candidate for Orange County Assembly, also spoke at the veteran’s committee meeting. Both candidates are military veterans. Talk radio host Larry Elder was the guest speaker at Friday night’s Tea Party dinner. The mayor of the city of Irvine (the city where I reside) Steven S. Choi, sat next to me during the General Session Sunday morning.

The convention was very informative and entertaining. I connected with a lot of people who are involved in grass root groups that are working hard to get Republicans elected in this liberal bastion.

Christian Commentary (http://patriciascornerblog.com), or contact the author at patdickson@earthlink.net. Follow me on twitter@Patrici15767099.