With this Father's Day I'm taking a few moments to thank my father for his role in my being an American, the reasons I choose to be a Republican, and why they are so closely linked.

My father, Henry Nehring, was born and raised in a poor farm town in rural Germany during the Great Depression and the Second World War. Receiving only the equivalent of a 10th grade formal education, he made up for it in the determination to see that his children would have a better life than he did.

It was that determination that led him to finally escape his rural home town by joining the German merchant marines, traveling the world for years on board one cargo vessel after another, and in the process picking up the skills he would use later in life as a mechanic on both land and sea.

His travels also allowed him to experience a world that he would otherwise have never seen outside of books, magazines and television. After six years of traveling the globe, then leaving the merchant marines and meeting and marrying my mother, my father determined that of all the places he saw, he wanted to raise his family not in his native land, but in the freedom he saw in the United States of America.

For years my parents worked in a German food store in New York lived in a small apartment above a garage in the back. After the requisite seven years, citizenship classes, and learning English (much of it from cartoons on television and interacting with customers), they very proudly became American citizens. I was born a few years later.

My father joined the Republican Party on becoming an American citizen because he believed it was best suited to protect those qualities in America that brought him here: individual liberty, freedom, and a free enterprise system that allowed people to reach their full potential. He was equally drawn to the strong leadership Republicans demonstrated during the Cold War, and the passionate belief in the American system over the alternative offered by the socialists and communists during that time.

Although he is no longer with us, I remain thankful to my father for giving me the gift of being an American, and the foundation to conclude that I, like he, would find a home in the Republican Party as the best defender of those special qualities that make America that "shining city on a hill."

State Republican leader says latest polling shows Democrats can't win battle of ideas, but GOP must be prepared with superior organization in 2010

BAKERSFIELD -- Citing the sharp turn in voter attitudes against higher taxes and more government borrowing, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring today said the mission of the Republican Party must be to provide real, alternative solutions to the challenges facing families today, and to build a superior state campaign organization in time for the 2010 general election.

"Voters are increasingly concerned over the higher taxes and dramatically higher government debt Democrats are leaving to future generations, and people are now looking for an alternative, and that presents Republicans with an opportunity to lead in 2010," said Chairman Nehring in comments to the California Republican Assembly state convention in Bakersfield this morning.

In results released this week, the Field Poll found that 67% of Californians prefer the state's budget deficit be solved "mostly through spending cuts," while only 23% favored a solution "mostly through tax increases." The portion of voters favoring spending cuts is now 4% higher than 11 months ago, while support for tax increases dropped 3% over the same period.

Democrats in Sacramento are out of touch with members of their own party as research shows even a majority of Democrats oppose making it easier to raise taxes by lowering the threshold needed to pass such increases from two thirds to a simple majority of the legislature. "When 58% of their own members oppose the Democrats' idea to make it easier to raise taxes, it shows their team has disconnected itself from reality," said Nehring.

As voter attitudes against taxes and borrowing have grown, so has Republican performance in generic ballot tests. "For just the second time in more than five years of daily or weekly tracking, Republicans now lead Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot," indicated Rasmussen Reports this week.

"Our opponents are not going to be able to compete effectively on the issues as voter attitudes shift against them. The Republican challenge is to build the campaign organization necessary win on the battlefield, neighborhood by neighborhood," said Chairman Nehring. "When our opponents can't rely on issues, they turn to organization, and that will be our challenge."

In the last four weeks the California Republican Party has launched a series of initiatives aimed at increasing the party's organizational strength for the 2010 general election campaign, including a permanent coalition building effort called Networks, a Technology Leadership Initiative, and a grassroots educational program called Roadshow.

WASHINGTON -- Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele announced today the appointment of California Republican Party (CRP) Chairman Ron Nehring to be the chair of the State Party Chairmen Committee.

"Ron's experience and dedication makes him a valuable member of our team," Steele said. "I have no doubt that he will help bring the voice of every Republican state party to the national table."

Nehring is the Chairman of the largest Republican state party in the United States. He was first elected Chairman in 2007 and was recently re-elected on a platform of ensuring that California is a leader in utilizing new and innovative technologies, empowering local Republican committees and using state party resources to strengthen volunteer organizations. Before serving as State Party Chairman, Nehring served as President of the California Republican County Chairmen's Association. For nearly 20 years, Chairman Nehring has been dedicated to leading Republican campaigns and advancing conservative principles in government.

"Chairman Michael Steele's mission is to promote the rapid growth and expansion of our party by sharing ideas and best practices across all of our state parties so innovation in one state can be quickly picked up in others," Nehring said. "I'm proud to assist Chairman Steele in his relentless focus on building strong parties in every state and territory: making the Republican Party the national leader in the use of new technologies, building coalitions into communities that don't yet benefit from Republican leadership, training a new generation of Republican activists, and putting Republican ideas into action at every level of government."

Republican leaders around the country are networking on Twitter and I encourage you to join us.

If you're not familiar with Twitter, it's a free, easy, innovative tool that helps people communicate what they're currently doing/working on. Republican chairmen, activists, members of Congress, legislators, and online warriors are now directly following each other, sharing information and alerts on Twitter.

You can follow me on Twitter and sign up by clicking here:
http://twitter.com/RonNehring

If you don't know what Twitter is or why you should care visit the official Twitter FAQ page. You can also check out a great online guide for conservative activists here: Twitter 101 guide.

You can post and read Twitter updates through your computer using your web browser, your cell phone, and your Blackberry using its web browser or a great application called Twitterberry.

As you can see, we've updated this site to integrate with Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Blogger. Taking full advantage of new technologies is key to our party's success. Please join me.

Thank you for your leadership.

As 2009 opens, I wanted wish you, your family and friends a happy and prosperous New Year.

Working together, we will seize the opportunities the new year will bring, and create new ones for our state and the nation. The economic times are challenging, but history has shown Americans have a tremendous capacity and resilience that is so often underestimated by some observers at home, and abroad.

As our state and nation rise to meet these challenges, the Republican Party's mission is to put government on the side of advancing real solutions, not creating more problems. We want to remove the roadblocks to entrepreneurship and private enterprise, not impose new burdens. We want to make California, and America, the best places in the world to do business and create jobs, not watch as people and businesses flee elsewhere to escape government's heavy hand.

The Republican Party is now free to define what it stands for, and demonstrate that we are on the side of the people, not the side of heavy handed government. Our party must be the party on offense, offering the positive, alternative vision to where the Democrats would take our country, and challenging them when there is a better way. We know that when solid Republican principles of lower taxes, limited government, promoting personal responsibility and a powerful national defense are put into action, they do more to improve people's quality of life than anything our opponents have to offer.

Working with all of our elected officials in Washington, in Sacramento, and throughout our 58 great counties, we will make that case, we will take the battle to the other side, and we will advance the cause of not just the Republican Party, but of freedom and liberty in America in 2009 and beyond.

All my best to you, your family and your friends.

Thank you for your leadership.

Sincerely,
Ron Nehring
CHAIRMAN, California Republican Party