Image Credit: Eric Eisenhammer

I am not sure what is in the water in Auburn. Cheryl Maki – who never met a tax she did not like and who was pushing the 27% Pioneer Energy Rate Increase is a councilmember up there. She used to be a disruptive force on the Placer GOP Central Committee and endorsed Suzanne Jones out of spite because she was Angry over Kirk Uhler’s effort to thwart the Pioneer Rate Increase.

9th Place Finisher in the 2018 Assembly District 6 Primary Kevin Hanley was an Auburn City Councilmember. He had to move to Rocklin to Run for AD06.

Jodie Hale (honest about being a democrat), O.C. Taylor and Mike Holmes all hail from Auburn. Holmes, like Maki is a Republican in Name Only and was a long time destructive force on the Placer GOP Central Committee.

Then there is William “Bill” Kirby. I was introduced to him in 2002 when he was running against Conservative Stalwart former Congressman John Doolittle. (Lifetime 94% rating from the American Conservative Union) BTW- Mike Holmes ran against John Doolittle Twice in the GOP Primary after Kirby.

The two differ on many topics. Doolittle is pro-life, conservative on environmental issues and a vocal supporter of the controversial Auburn Dam, while Kirby is pro-choice, against the Auburn Dam and takes a gentler line on environmental issues.

Sound familiar folks? The issues we are dealing with as regards the current leadership of the State GOP have not changed since I walked my first precinct in 1998. The contempt for social conservatives by self-righteous “Moderates” that think they know better has not changed either.

“John Doolittle is a right wing extremist I am a lifelong Republican,” Kirby said. “There is no way in the world I am a liberal.”

In this screenshot Bill Kirby calls for the death of Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh

When Kirby ran against John Doolittle he was known for rants that included talking about “I get sick at the sight of Doolittle”. Kirby’s campaign consultant was Brandon Gisecki. Brandon was unknown then, but went on to work for Luis Buhler and Charles Munger. He is a go-to for liberal Republicans in California such as Bruce McPherson (who like Kirby is no longer a Republican), Abel Maldonado, Anthony Cannella and others.

Gisecki also started the “California Republican Taxpayer’s Association” Slate Mail Card that is famous for endorsing statewide Tax-Raising proposals and also had “No on 6” on its’ menu. The Howard Jarvis people blasted the CRTA for supporting the 15 Billion Dollar School Bond that failed – Prop 13.

Also in 2002, Kirby was part of a slate of Placer County GOP Central Committee Candidates seeking to eliminate the conservatives from the County Party and replace them with social liberals. (Sound familiar?) The Sacramento News and Review wrote a story about it (naturally, they took the side of Kirby’s Crew).

Kirby bristles at being labeled a moderate. “I’m not moderate about anything,” he declares. He prefers the carefully chosen labels-du-jour of GOP moderates: “tolerant Republican,” or “responsible conservative.” They’re the latest incarnations of President George Bush’s focus-group-tested “compassionate conservative.”

Kirby doesn’t want to wear a label or represent a faction, projecting himself as a gruff, experienced, common-sense, anti-politician outsider who’s tired of his party being controlled by ideologues like Doolittle: “He and I have serious differences on issues. I consider him a right-wing extremist and most people do,” said Kirby, citing abortion, the Auburn Dam and environmental protection as a few areas in which they differ.

Yet one who definitely cares about labels and intra-party political strategy is Brandon Gesicki, Kirby’s political consultant. Gesicki is a political operative who is on a personal crusade to seize control of the Republican Party from the social conservatives, one California county at a time.

Sipping a Coke in the Sacramento Hyatt bar during a two-hour break between his afternoon and nighttime meetings, wearing jeans, a sport coat and scruffy red beard, Gesicki flitted among groups of politicos. He was initially guarded and suspicious—“I don’t know if I want the far right to know what we’re doing”—but soon warmed up to discussing his quest.

I would later re-connect with Bill Kirby when he was on the ballot for Auburn City Council in 2008. The assault against the Conservatives on the Placer GOP Central Committee was re-starting, this time led by Karen England, some in the Tea Party, Doug LaMalfa’s then Chief of Staff David Stafford Reade and the remaining moderates. By 2012, Bill Kirby was no longer a Republican and repeated attempts to take over the Placer GOP by the Moderates succeeded.

You can see that Bill Kirby has not gotten better with age.

Cheryl Maki and Mike Holmes were on the same team as Bill Kirby in 2002 and they still are today. The burn down the GOP team and the raise taxes and turn Placer Green team.

To accomplish that ideological switch, Gesicki says he’s worked in 25 California counties to help moderates take control of their central committees. He claims to have helped flip 10 of those counties from conservative to moderate majorities. His ultimate goal is to create a moderate majority of state party delegates in order to get the abortion plank and other divisive social issues removed from the party platform, thereby making his party more competitive in elections.

“I believe that social issues do not belong in politics. Government should have nothing to do with these things,” Gesicki said. “We have a silent majority of the Republican Party who believes like we do, that morality issues don’t belong in the party.”

In conservative Placer County, where Doolittle was thought by many political observers to be unbeatable, Gesicki hopes to send a strong message that the far right’s days are numbered, a message he believes will be heard even if the race is close but Kirby loses.

“The divide is between the mainstream and the extremists who are in charge of the party,” Gesicki said. “It’s the extremists in Placer County who run the party, including Ken Campbell and John Doolittle.”

One of the formative events in my political consciousness was seeing the open and outright hostility of leaders in the liberal wing of the GOP for Conservatives. I remember the events of 2002 like they were yesterday. Note that the Ken Campbell mentioned in this 2002 News and Review Article is the same Ken Campbell that is on the Placer GOP Cent Com today. Even though Ken and I don’t get along very well – he is and has been a conservative for the 20+ years I have known him. He was also as much of a target for squishes as your intrepid blogger has been and is today.

You will notice that the Trump-Haters in the GOP are saying the same things that are in this 18 year old article. So is Bill Kirby.

Bill Kirby posted this on Sunday 4-5-2020

One of the reasons I could not bring myself to cast a vote to charter the Log Cabin Republicans is because I remembered Paul Hrabal, then the President of the Placer County Republican Congress. He did not like religious conservatives, I met others in the Log Cabins that felt the same way.

Seeing Bill Kirby’s open rage against Christian Conservatives caused me to recall all of the events of 18 years ago. Despite the friendship and respect I have with several Gay Republicans including helping a Gay Man get elected CAGOP Treasurer – I still have this lingering doubt in my mind because of the events I saw in 2002 and since by liberal Republicans who hate faith. I don’t think I will ever resolve that doubt as the fight between Social Liberals that want to drink, smoke and screw whatever will continue against social-order Conservatives.

I have heard stories about Bill Kirby over the years from local government committees he has sat on. They have all been the same, He’s Nuts. He’s Strange. He never met a bond or parcel tax he didn’t like…

This leads me to today. I am not surprised to see him wishing death on Conservatives. I am not surprised to see his visceral hatred of political opponents – I saw it 18 years ago. Most people with that kind of burning rage get worse with age not better. The best thing that can happen is running this guy out of office.

Kirby, while speaking with the Journal, noted he’s not a Democrat. “No, I’ve always been a fiscal conservative that believes in equality for everybody,” he said. “It’s my personal opinion. They’re entitled to their personal opinion.”

Kirby said the United States is at a crossroads, adding, “We’re in the worst position we’ve ever been in.”

Amazingly, the Auburn Journal decided to do a story about Bill Kirby’s rants on Facebook. This is amazing to me as they appeared to completely ignore the DA’s Office Drama that concluded with Morgan Gire’s appointment.

Kirby commented: “That right wing corona virus denier Boris Johnson just got hospitalized. Guess which 2 should be next!!!! And god bless all those evangelicals going to church in large groups…. There is no cure for stupid…. But they all vote for Trump anyway so it is ok….”

I will definitely pray for God to crack the hate-filled heart of Dr. Kirby while I work to run him out of office.