The Suicide Candidate
California is always out front. This week a federal judge struck down a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. There is a ballot initiative scheduled for November to legalize recreational marijuana. A law is set to go into effect to cut carbon emissions to a degree that would give Al Gore a wide smile.
California was also the first and hardest hit in the real estate bust. The real unemployment numbers (counting all of the people that DC doesn't) is estimated to be between 16 and 19 per cent of the population. The incestuous relationship between the state government and the public service unions has resulted in a budgetary suicide pact. 30% of all welfare cases live in California. California continues it's heated competition with New York to see which state can raise taxes higher. We wait for the last person with money to leave the state and turn out the light.
Back in 2003 (in what are now referred to as the good old days) the residents of California took out their frustration at their incompetent and ineffectual Governor, Gray Davis. They fired him by way of a recall election. In his place the people wisely chose action-hero Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governator has since wreaked as much damage as he would on the silver screen.
It is now 2010 - the year of the Tea Party; the year of anti-incumbency; the year of the angry voter. It would seem a prime time for leaders to emerge to guide the state back to sanity. Instead California has slipped further into delusion.
There are two statewide races this year - for governor and for senator. This is a year where voters have come to expect rising stars to step up and take their place at the helm. California, in both major parties, has managed to put forward the worst possible candidates for state office. California, we fear, may be the canary in the coal mine for where the country may wind up in November.
In both races, the Republicans have put forward bored millionaires who think that the title of governor or senator might be a nice accent on their resume. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett -Packard is a John McCain Republican. She made whatever political name she has by being attached at the hip to Candidate McCain in his failed bid for the Presidency. Her candidacy just isn't catching fire, another trait that she shares with Mr. McCain.
Meg Whitman, founder of E-bay, spent $100 million of here own money to buy the Republican nomination outright, Her candidacy imploded on itself this week in a disastrous half hour radio interview on KFI-AM in Los Angeles, where she proved to be on both sides of each issue at the same time. While she had good standing among her base, they are now at best confused, and at worst hostile.
On the Democrat side we have two tired old retreads. Barbara Boxer is going for trip four back to DC. Jerry Brown (Governor Moonbeam back in the late 70s and early 80s - you remember him - he dated Linda Ronstadt) is back to recapture the governor's mansion after being away for 25 years. In the year of the upstart challenger, neither faced a primary battle. Boxer just assumed her party's nomination. Brown mentioned that he might like to be governor again and everyone got out of his way. As a contrast to Whitman, Brown has spent less than $400,000 so far - most of that prepping for the general election.
On issues, the Republicans are doing their best to be gracious and cast a wide net for votes. Whitman is playing both sides of the fence on immigration, and has come out in agreement with her opponent Brown on implementation of Ah-nold's climate change package. Fiorina, on the other hand has been AWOL as a candidate, leaving the voters to take the time to go to her website to learn her positions.
To their credit, both Boxer and Brown are shamelessly liberal to a degree that Nancy Pelosi would be proud of. You can't fault them for not being open about what they believe. It takes a special kind of politician to share their beliefs without fear of losing an election, even if many of those ideas are seen as on the fringes of the mainstream of political thinking. I can't picture either Republican candidate arguing against gay marriage with the passion that Jerry Brown displayed in authorizing California to begin performing gay weddings today. Ditto on the benefits of legalizing pot.
Both Democrats proudly sport what is supposed to be their baggage proudly. Boxer has been President Obama's most vocal supporter in his most ambitious projects. I don't think you can find a senator to the left of her. Brown , as Governor Moonbeam, set the stage for California's current woes by halting freeway construction, halting oil drilling and exploration, dedicating vast amounts of land to wind and solar farms, and unionizing the public service employees. Oh, and the yearly smog check for cars, which gave birth to one of California's biggest cottage industries - that's Jerry too.
With the electorate as angry as they are supposed to be, we find it pretty amazing that the Republicans have borrowed the Democrat strategy of picking the weakest possible candidates to face off against them in the general election. Perhaps the plan is to step back while California falls off into the abyss and have Tom McClintock (the serious candidate who sat this one out, currently a US congressman) save the day in 4 years. We find it to be a strategy worthy of Al Qaeda. Persuading two political novices to spend lots of money for the honor of being crushed by an opponent that any serious candidate could easily defeat. The ultimate suicide candidates.
Common Sense Dictates
We generally look to national issues, but the statewide races in California point to a glaring problem that is national in focus. The GOP is looking to collect a majority in the House and has their fingers crossed to take back the Senate as well. TPP thinks that this is turning into so much wishful thinking. For every state with a strong conservative contender (Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Sharon Angle) there are 3 times as many running weak candidates with questionable principles or millionaires with nothing better to do. The GOP confidence is not well placed.
The thrust behind the Tea Party movement is following the Constitution. The anger in the electorate is focused on too much change that most of mainstream America finds troubling, or at the least, of questionable value. Strictly from a strategy point of view, the two Democrat contenders in California are giving the public what they want in standing on principle, whether they agree with the principles or not. The GOPers are coming off as vacillating, timid or detached. That is the opposite of what voters are looking for.
Arguing that "we" are not "them" is not a good reason to vote for any candidate. It wasn't when Obama used the strategy, even if it did work. The voters are in no mood for a repeat performance of it. A coherent message and a principled stand will win elections. Pandering and trying to be liked will not. Just ask John McCain.
We suggest once again that the GOP get a message and run with it. As Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying "Conservatism wins every time it is tried". If the GOP wants a win, that would be the Common Sense way to go about it.
RLB
Categories: Partisan Politics
Tags: political leadership civic responsibility
Looks like the "foot is on the other shoe" to quote Whitman the other day. Yeah, I can't believe that this is the best that the Republicans could come up with. Fiorini wasn't getting any excitement, so she convinced Tom Campbell to jump in and derail Chuck Devore. Whitman ran a good primary. I thought she was solid. Now I don't know who to vote for. Jerry Brown? Really?!?!?! We're screwed.
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You lonely Republicans are welcome to join us on the Democratic side.
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Reminds me of Nov 2008. Going to the polls thinking "which one of these is going to be worse than the other?" Pretty sad when you have to vote for someone you can't stand just because he or she is the lessor of two evils. Might as well let Mexico have us. Maybe they'll pay for US for a change.
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The whole concept of Jerry Brown being the serious candidate really points out how messed up the whole process is. I'm ready to give up.
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Better you guys than us. You know what they say about California. It's like granola. Once you get rid of the nuts and the flakes, all that are left are the fruits.
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Maybe after all of the diversity Jerry Brown looks good because he's an old white guy. Lately, it's all in the packaging.
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It's not just a California thing. There are races all over the country where you can't find a good choice to vote for. There's nothing but a yawner going on in MD. The previously anointed look to be going back, and the one race we thought might be entertaining (governor) is sputtering to a slow death. Just an argument over a casino in Arundel Mills. The Republicans are pretty much unexciting or bland. Not that I'd want the type of entertainment you're getting in CA, but I'm not seeing all of the voter anger.
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There's plenty of anger here, we just didn't have anyone running that was on the caliber of a Marco Rubio. We had the usual suspects decide to run, so our only choice in our throwing the bums out is to vote for the guy not currently holding the office. I agree that with the mood of the voters, it would have been nice to have some real talent step forward.
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We couldn't be happier here in Joisey! We got rid of the high priest of the Illuminati - Corzine. Then we put a true conservative in - Chris Christie. Not only did he talk the talk, he's walking the walk. He's pissing a lot of people off, but it's the right people for a change, not the taxpayers. There's hope for the rest of you if we got a guy who can straighten out this mess.
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We need to import some of the talent from across the river. People are leaving NY as quick as the government can take their money. Send us a few of your spare conservatives. Keep Corzine though. Sending him here will be considered an act of war.
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Someone has to step in, it may as well be me. Meg Whitman has run a fine and polished campaign so far. She was mugged on the John & Ken show last week. They hammered at her and eventually she got flustered. It's not like it's a real news show. It's a couple of bullies taking out any politician they can. These are the kooks behind the "head on a stick" campaign to get rid of any politicians that they disagree with. This interview was more punk'd than news.
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I'm notgetting the hating either for Carly. she has some well thought out positions, and rather than having us get sick of her by November, she's holding back until we get closer to the election. Do you really want to see anyoe's commericials this far out?
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That strategy worked out really well for Giuliani in 2008. Boxer is a big target, and even more important she's vicious as a politician. If Carly is thinking that this is going to be a civilized campaign, she's already lost. There's not a lot of time til November. She needs to make better use of it.
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Carly is warmed over McCain. The same wishy-washy policies, the same staff, the same strategy. Boxer will steamroll her. It should be Chuck Devore running.
Whitman / Brown will be the knock down drag out fight. At the end of it they will both be so damaged that once again, California loses. Might as well give the place back to Mexico, it doesn't function any better.
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I know the kids are all into vamppires and zombies, but I can't imagine that fossil of disaster Jerry Brown coming back for thirds. He came close enough to killing off the state in his first two term. Does he really need to be the one holding the knife when the state is on life support. I don't care how much she smells. I'm voting for Whitman.
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See, this is why Palin has no credibility anymore. A true conservative was in the senate race, Chuck Devore. Still she dubs the moderate the candidate of choice. I don't know if it's the sisters hanging together, she owes McCain, or she really is as dumb as they make her out to be, but she didin't do California any favors by endorsing Fiorini. Jindall in 2012!
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I think a lot of the wishy-washiness is that the Tea Party scares the hellout of career politicians because it operates on the premise that business as usual is not what they want. Joe Congressman has spent 20 years in office and is used to getting things done in a certain way, mostly by not making waves. That might work fine in good times, but the voters really are opposed to a lot of this hope and change. They are just so ingrained in their usual politics that they can't change gears into tea party mode, especially since they don't know if it will work come election day. That's why all of the new faces are winning primaries. They are giving the voters what they want.
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I think that no matter what happens, it split the difference and vote. The Democrats got a lot of what they want but not all. The Republicans did the same thing. When either goes too far they get elected out and the opposition undoes the too much. You can look at Angle or Rubio, but once they hit DC, they will be doing a Scott Brown, which is doing what you need to do to get relelected. There ain't no heroes. There's no Reagan or JFK coming. The swamp remains full.
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Maybe after all of the diversity Jerry Brown looks good because he's an old white guy. Lately, it's all in the packaging.
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Well, it is California. It's not like you're going to get a real conservative in charge out there. Too many loonie lefties
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Ronald Reagan sound familiar?
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Well according to reports, Carly might be heading to DC early. Talk is she might be named to Obama's economic team. Not sure if that's good or bad, but it gives Boxer a safe seat again.
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Carly and meg both understand that dropping the race now costs them all of their credibility. This sounds like Axelrod or Plouffe making mischief.
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