GOP state convention tries to bar reporters

The move to eject the media from the speech delivered by Fox News contributor Frank Luntz didn't please many Republicans - and embarrassed a state party that, for the second time in its three-day convention, had attempted to bar media from reporting on the ordinarily mundane gathering of 1,000 party faithful.

"I am really appalled. Here we stand as Republicans, we stand for the First Amendment, freedom of the press," said Celeste Greig, chairwoman of the conservative California Republican Assembly. "This happens in Iraq, Iran, or the old KGB when they were in control."

Eric Hogue, a conservative Sacramento talk show host, also was disgusted.
"I'm tired of secret meetings," he said, adding that he believes the party has been hijacked by a small group of activists. "Some people believe control is more important than success.