Not recovered from CPAC – great! – even if Charles Krauthammer on Fox News called it “fringe.” It was most definitely not fringe, and all the tv coverage was about Ron Paul winning the straw poll. He won because only 30% of the 11,000 conservatives attending voted in the straw poll, so 70% of us did NOT vote, and would not have voted for Ron Paul. The Ron Paul supporters were very vocal & strident, per their template. Three days of non-stop speakers/seminars exhausted me! It was like being in a candy store, and not knowing which goody to choose – speakers like Don Rumsfeld, John Bolton, Andrew Breitbart, Ann Coulter, + several new Congresspeople – Fabulous! + stalwart conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly – all wonderful! Foreign policy seminar, Radical Islam seminar with Aayan Hirsi Ali, on and on and on. No time for lunch even in 3 days. This was my first CPAC, but hopefully not my last!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Great idea - YouCut
From Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader:
YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project - is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Each week that the House is in session, we will take the winning item and offer it to the full House for an up-or-down vote, so that you can see where your representative stands on your priorities. Vote on this page today for your priorities and together we can begin to change Washington's culture of spending into a culture of savings.
http://www.majorityleader.gov/YouCut/
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Strained States Turning to Laws to Curb Labor Unions
Published: January 3, 2011, New York Times By Steven Greenhouse
Faced with growing budget deficits and restive taxpayers, elected officials from Maine to Alabama, Ohio to Arizona, are pushing new legislation to limit the power of labor unions, particularly those representing government workers, in collective bargaining and politics. Scott Walker, new Republican governor of Wisconsin, is threatening to take away government workers’ right to form unions and bargain contracts. State officials from both parties are wrestling with ways to curb the salaries and pensions of government employees, which typically make up a significant percentage of state budgets. On Wednesday, for example, New York’s new Democratic governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, is expected to call for a one-year salary freeze for state workers, a move that would save $200 million to $400 million and challenge labor’s traditional clout in Albany. But in some cases — mostly in states with Republican governors and Republican statehouse majorities — officials are seeking more far-reaching, structural changes that would weaken the bargaining power and political influence of unions, including private sector ones. For example, Republican lawmakers in Indiana, Maine, Missouri and seven other states plan to introduce legislation that would bar private sector unions from forcing workers they represent to pay dues or fees, reducing the flow of funds into union treasuries. In Ohio, the new Republican governor, following the precedent of many other states, wants to ban strikes by public school teachers. Some new governors, most notably Scott Walker of Wisconsin, are even threatening to take away government workers’ right to form unions and bargain contracts. “We can no longer live in a society where the public employees are the haves and taxpayers who foot the bills are the have-nots,” Mr. Walker, a Republican, said in a speech. “The bottom line is that we are going to look at every legal means we have to try to put that balance more on the side of taxpayers.” … …In the 2010 elections, Republicans emerged with seven more governor’s mansions and won control of the legislature in 26 states, up from 14. That swing has put unions more on the defensive than they have been in decades…. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/business/04labor.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business&src=me
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Brown Plans to Raise California Sales, Income and Car Taxes
CRP Statement Concerning Brown Plans to Raise California Sales, Income and Car Taxes
…"One time cuts and tax hikes are not going to solve the state's perpetual budget deficit. Bold, fundamental reform is needed. Where are the plans to move government workers from an unaffordable and underfunded defined benefit to a defined contribution pension system to wipe out our massive pension liability? Where are the proposals to give our school boards better tools in collective bargaining and flexibility to shop around for the best services at the lowest cost? How about a plan to do away with 'greenmail' tactics to allow something to actually be built in this state to expand our tax base and create jobs?...
http://www.cagop.org/
Heritage Foundation: A Conservative New Year's Resolution
From Heritage's daily Morning Bell email:
"In recent months, the Obama administration has begun to take ideas directly from the conservative playbook.
-On national security, they’ve canceled civilian trials for terrorists, kept Guantanamo Bay open, and extended key provisions of the Patriot Act;
-On federal spending, they have proposed a federal pay freeze as a first step towards fiscal sanity;
-On immigration, the Left has abandoned its pursuit of comprehensive immigration reform; and
-On economic recovery, they have admitted that the Obama tax hikes are wrong for America."…
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
CA/Marin Election Results - Nov 2, 2010
Governor:
Jerry Brown (Dem) 4,679,643 53.3%
Meg Whitman (Rep) 3,653,670 41.6%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/governor/
Lt Governor:
Gavin Newsom (Dem) 4,253,382 49.9%
Abel Maldonado (Rep) 3,371,997 39.6%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/lieutenant-governor/
Secretary of State:
Debra Bowen (Dem) 4,423,672 52.9%
Damon Dunn (Rep) 3,247,609 38.8%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/secretary-of-state/
Controller:
John Chiang (Dem) 4,608,497 54.7%
Tony Strickland (Rep) 3,096,531 36.8%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/controller/
Treasurer:
Bill Lockyer (Dem) 4,713,645 56.2%
Mimi Walters (Rep) 3,080,269 36.7%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/treasurer/
Attorney General:
Kamala D. Harris (Dem) 3,831,825 45.6%
Steve Cooley (Rep) 3,875,037 46.1%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/attorney-general/
Insurance Commissioner:
Dave Jones (Dem) 4,134,595 50.3%
Mike Villines (Rep) 3,128,828 38.1%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/insurance-commissioner/
Superintendent of Public Instruction:
Larry Aceves 3,054,236 45.4%
Tom Torlakson 3,667,039 54.6%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/superintendent-of-public-instruction/
US Senate:
Barbara Boxer (Dem) 4,502,037 51.7%
Carly Fiorina (Rep) 3,728,712 42.9%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/us-senate/
State Senate, District 3:
No election http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/state-senate/
Only even-numbered Senate districts have General Elections in 2010.
State Assembly, District 6: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/state-assembly/district/6/
Jared Huffman (Dem) 92,839 70.0%
Bob Stephens (Rep) 39,940 30.0%
US Congress, District 6: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/us-congress/district/6/
Lynn C. Woolsey (Dem) 132,855 65.5%
Jim Judd (Rep) 61,521 30.2%
Board of Equalization, District 1 (Marin):
Betty T. Yee (Dem) 1,320,145 62.9%
Kevin R. Scott (Rep) 663,205 31.6%
----------------
CA Supreme Court: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/supreme-court/
Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice
Yes votes: 4,209,752 67.1%
No Votes: 2,065,973 33.0%
Ming W. Chin, Associate Justice
Yes votes: 4,056,696 65.5%
No Votes: 2,138,704 34.5%
Carlos R. Moreno, Associate Justice
Yes Votes: 4,169,864 67.6%
No Votes: 2,000,540 32.4%
-----------
Courts of Appeal, District 1, Marin County: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/courts-of-appeal/district/1/county/marin/
YES for all below. See link for exact County and District percentages.
Division 1:
Kathleen M. Banke, Associate Justice
Robert L. Dondero, Associate Justice
Division 2:
James R. Lambden, Associate Justice
Division 3:
Martin J. Jenkins, Associate Justice
Peter J. Siggins, Associate Justice
Division 4:
Timothy A. Reardon, Associate Justice
Division 5:
Terence L. Bruiniers, Associate Justice
Henry E. Needham, Jr., Associate Justice
-----------------
MMWD:
Division 1
Jack Gibson 51% (incumbent)
Peter Lacques. 49%.
Division 2
Armando Quintero 42% (incumbent)
Glenn Dombeck 33%
John O'Connor 25%
Division 3
David Behar 54% (incumbent)
Frank Egger 45%
Division 4:
Cynthia Koehler 57% (incumbent)
Larry Rose 26%
Sashi McEntee 16%
Division 5:
Larry Russell (term ends 12/31/12)
--------------
State Propositions: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/ballot-measures/
No 19 Legalize Marijuana in CA, Regulate and Tax
YES: 4,046,644 46.1%
NO: 4,725,549 53.9%
Yes 20 Redistricting of Congressional Districts
Yes 5,075,466 61.4%
No 3,195,437 38.6%
No 21 State Park Funding. Vehicle License Surcharge.
Yes 3,648,941 42.2%
No 4,981,079 57.8%
Yes 22 Prohibit State From Taking Some Local Funds
Yes 5,060,527 60.8%
No 3,275,660 39.2%
No 23 Suspend Air Pollution Control Law (AB 32)
Yes 3,299,800 38.5%
No 5,249,508 61.5%
No 24 Repeal Allowance of Lower Business Tax Liability
Yes 3,454,449 41.5%
No 4,849,752 58.5%
Yes 25 Simple Majority Vote to Pass Budget
Yes 4,609,133 54.8%
No 3,809,774 45.2%
Yes 26 2/3 Vote for Some State/Local Fees
Yes 4,352,929 52.6%
No 3,929,445 47.4%
No 27 Eliminate State Redistricting Commission
Yes 3,280,601 40.3%
No 4,839,874 59.7%
----------
Prop 14 a travesty
Thanks to the CFRW Newsletter Issue 2 - 2nd Quarter 2010, www.cfrw.org, for providing the link to this George Will column in the Orange County Register, 6/10/10.
...Prop. 14 is an attempt to change government policies by changing the political process. Henceforth, in primary elections that select candidates for most state and federal offices – including almost one-eighth of the U.S. House of Representatives – all voters, regardless of party registration, or those who have "decline to state" status (no party identification – 20.2 percent of Californians), will receive the same ballot. All candidates for a particular office will be listed, regardless of party affiliation, if any, which they may choose to state, or not. The two receiving the most votes will be on November ballots, regardless of the desires of the political parties the nominees may claim to represent.
Prop. 14's purpose is to weaken and marginalize parties, traditionally the principal vehicles for voter education and mobilization. It would strip them of their core function of selecting candidates who represent their members' preferences. It infringes the First Amendment protection of freedom of association, which includes the right of parties not to associate with candidates they do not select...
...But, then, blandness is the point of this reform. It seeks to generate a homogenized political class, one not lumpy with liberals and conservatives who, being conviction politicians, do not always play well with others...
Friday, June 4, 2010
NO on Prop 14
Friday, May 7, 2010
Drilling Project Plug Pulled. No $100m for CA.
On Monday Governor Schwarzenegger decided to terminate the scheduled Santa Barbara off-shore drilling project because of the recent oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico. Although the Governor has been fighting for the Tranquillon Ridge Project for 2 years, he said in a statement on Monday that he doesn’t want to take the risk of a massive oil spill off our coast. The drilling project, from an existing oil platform, would have brought the state approximately $100 million dollars a year. Regarding this loss of potential revenue, the Governor stated, “I’d rather just figure out how to make up for that $100 million”.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Dana Walsh update
Pelosi speaking at Commonwealth Club April 6, 12noon, location: Mark Hopkins Hotel, Nob Hill.
