Local GOP office opens with a party

Alex Coolman

COSTA MESA -- The Newport Beach office of the Republican Party --

actually located in Costa Mesa -- officially opened its doors Thursday,

treating a happy crowd to deviled eggs, chocolate chip cookies and an

assortment of speeches from party officials.

At the opening night soiree, local political figures such as Newport

Beach Councilman Tom Thomson and Costa Mesa council candidate Michael

Clifford rubbed elbows with the party volunteers that keep the day-to-day

operations of the campaign running.

Sitting at a table inside the office on 17th Street, Dana Point

resident Lois Nicholson was busily signing up volunteers to carry out

tasks for the party.

“A lot of people are signing up for the phone banks and mailings,”

Nicholson reported.

Despite the obvious challenges of telemarketing for a political party

-- or for anyone, for that matter -- working a phone bank can actually be

fairly pleasant, she said.

“It’s very refreshing when you get somebody on the other end of the

line who agrees with you.”

The opening saw speeches from a few party officials, including Tom

Fuentes, chairman of the county’s Republican Party, who echoed Texas Gov.

George W. Bush’s comments Wednesday about the presidential candidate’s

eagerness to win California.

“We can be so enthusiastic about this campaign because we have a

candidate who is committed to California and committed to continuing his

campaign with vigor in our state,” Fuentes said.

Not every Republican who attended the opening was perfectly content,

however.

Newport Beach resident Greg Connor described the trials he has endured

in attempting to market his jingle, “Push for Bush,” to the GOP.

The jingle, which features the refrain “Get off your tush and push for

Bush,” has not found any takers so far, Connor said. But he had a copy of

the tune with him on a compact disc at the opening and said he hoped to

speak to Fuentes about the possibilities for translating the tune into

Spanish.

Would the rhymes in the catchy refrain still work in translation? The

buoyant Connor had no doubts about the possibilities.

“I can do it,” he said. “Are you kidding?”