Alright, so let's see if I can get the hang of this blogging thing. After repeated requests, and discussions with my husband, I agreed to take a stab at it.

I'm not a professional writer, so forgive the prose, but I do get around town in political circles a lot, and will try to offer the "inside scoop" on various goings on in San Diego county.

Some of my information will be first hand, some of it through intermediares, but I won't post it unless I am confident that it is true and correct. If I engage in occasional speculation - feeling that it might be of value - then it will be made abundantly clear in the post itself.

My philosophy is "conservative, but sane" - as a dear friend put it. As the headline states, I am a "party gal", meaning that while our party may have problems from time to time, all in all the GOP is the "last best hope for mankind in a troubled world". I know that sounds big, but I truly believe it.

I want us all to work together. I am not for throwing people out of the party, but rather bringing more people in - not by changing what we stand for, but rather by proclaiming it boldly and proudly. Oh, and if someone disagrees on one issue or another, that's OK. This is not an "all or nothing" party. At least not in my book.

The "gay marriage" issue seems a timely example. Some Republicans have proclaimed that they are either for gay marriage, or couldn't care less whether it exists or not. Still, the official position of the Republican Party is that marriage is between one man and one woman, and as far as I can tell - at least in California - that is the message from the party apparatus, as it should be.

At last month's county party meeting, several faith leaders spoke to what was seemingly a record crowd, and there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the room. Amidst all this energy, I witnessed two vastly different reactions.

To the left of me was an older gentleman, who confided in me that he wasn't going to "lift a finger" until "those gays" are "thrown out of the party".

Right behind me was a middle aged couple, who were discussing what financial contribution they could make to the effort to pass Prop. 8 and which one of them would sign up as a volunteer.

Same meeting. Two vastly different responses. I see it all the time. The first gentleman will not be doing anything to help, the other couple will actually be making a difference. I'm for making a difference. As Ron Nehring is fond of saying his various volunteer training sessions: The world is run by those who show up.

If we Republicans fail to "show up", the other team will run the world, and oh what a sad world it will be!

Well, enough for now. I hope to be able to contribute, sometimes with an "inside scoop" and sometimes with reflections like this one. On the whole, I hope to contribute positively to the Republican Party I love!