California Republican Party Convention Watch: No BLOG Press Credentials

Justene from Calblog and the Boi From Troy live blog the Bear Flag League Salon of Candidates Forum.

Boi From Troy: CRP cuts off nose to spite face

The rise of two ultra-conservative weblogs in California has made “blog a four-letter word at the California Republican Party. Now they’re running scared from the Internets at precisely the time they should be embracing it.

At the Fall 2005 Republican State Convention, the Bear Flag League, with help from Insurance Commissioner Candidate Dr. Phil Kurzner organized a salon for bloggers where down-ticket candidates such as Tony Strickland, Gary Mendoza and Eric Siddall came to talk about their vision for California and the State Party.

Then-communications director Karen Hanretty caught wind of the plan and offered to issue press credentials to bloggers for the Anaheim event. That weekend in Anaheim, John Fleishman and Steve Frank announced that they planned on starting their own blogs. Little did anyone know what would happen next.

Actually, Steve Frank announed in July 2005 that he was starting his blog as an extension of his weekly e-mail newsletter. And Jon Fleishman’s new website and blog had been long in the making.

But, nevertheless because either the Governor or the CRP Executive Board decided they might FOSTER MORE criticism during an election year they pulled the plug on bloggers obtaining press credentials.

Will this stop bloggers attending the CRP convention in February. NOPE.

Fleishmann and Frank will have access to the convention regardless of what the CRP does, yet the other bloggers—who may just provide a balancing perspective to their anti-Arnold vitriol—will be silenced by the Party’s reaction to the media’s love-affair with the California Conservative blogger.

Other bloggers WILL have access and YES the CRP has shot itself in the foot AGAIN.

Flap suggests the CRP and Governor Schwarzenegger reconsider their decisions………

SactoDan my press room buddy at the Fall 2005 CRP Convention opines here.

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