Tag: California

Poll: Schwarzenegger Expands Lead over Angelides

Jon Ponder

This is an open letter to all the Democratic leaders of California, starting with senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, as well as the rest of the political establishment:

You foisted Phil Angelides on us with your endorsements of him over Steve Westly, the candidate who was obviously better suited to take on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now it is time for you to pony up, get out there and campaign for Angelides and turn this thing around.

Otherwise, it looks like Schwarzenegger is going to sail into a second term:

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expanded his lead to eight points over Democratic Treasurer Phil Angelides, who is still struggling to shore up support and confidence among those in his own party, according to the latest Field Poll.

The poll, taken July 10-23, shows Schwarzenegger leading Angelides 45 to 37 percent among likely voters in California, with 3 percent favoring other candidates and 15 percent still undecided.

For the first time since February 2005, more voters approve of Schwarzenegger’s job performance than disapprove — and for the first time in nearly two years, more California voters believe the state is heading in the right direction than think it is on the wrong track, the poll showed.

Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, says the numbers reflect Angelides’ continued struggle to recover from the effects of brutal mudslinging in the June Democratic primary against state Controller Steve Westly. The treasurer now faces a tough — but not impossible — task in the coming weeks if he is to stop Schwarzenegger’s upward trend among voters, he said.

“What’s surprising is the weakness of his support among Democrats, and the lack of confidence Democrats have that Angelides will win,” DiCamillo said of the treasurer.

Poll: Schwarzenegger Moves Ahead in Re-Election Bid; Bush Down to 30% in California

Jon Ponder
Arnold has changed his public persona from the Terminator to Kindergarten Cop.

In the first poll after the Democratic primary, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has moved ahead of his challenger, Phil Angelides. According to the nonpartisan Survey and Policy Research Institute poll, Schwarzenegger leads by seven percentage points, 44 percent to 37 percent.

In his analysis of the poll, George Skelton, who covers Sacramento for the Los Angeles Times, surmises that the governor has brought conservatives home and made inroads back into the good graces of independent voters. Consummate actor that he is, Schwarzenegger has done this by portraying a different character to the public. Last year, he was the hard-ass reformer ramming his agenda down the throats of Californians for their own good. But after his reform initiatives were voted down last November, he has transformed himself into a kinder, gentler Arnold. As Skelton put it, he has gone from the Terminator to Kindergarten Cop.

It looks like clear sailing to election for the governor — with the exception noted in the poll of Schwarzenegger’s association in the minds of voters with California’s top political pariah, George W. Bush.

Californians of all stripes and persuasions don’t care for the president, whose approval is at 30 percent. In the poll, 65 percent held an unfavorable view of the president’s handling of the economy, and according to the pollsters, almost 90 percent of those who disapprove of Bush’s handling of the economy plan to vote against Schwarzenegger.

SCOTUS Says Political Gerrymandering Is Okay — So Dems Should Have At

Jon Ponder

The Supreme Court upheld former GOP House Speaker Tom DeLay’s political gerrymandering of voter districts in Texas today. The redistricting scheme enacted by Republicans in the Texas legislature in 2003 resulted in a five seat pickup for the GOP in the Texas delegation to the U.S. House in 2004.

I certainly hope the Democrats in the California legislature are watching this. In 2001, despite the fact that Democrats controlled both houses of the legislature as well as the governor’s mansion and every statewide elected office, the legislature left GOP districts across the state intact. California picked up a House seat that year, which the legislature added in Orange County, which was once a GOP bastion.

What are the chances they’ll be that magnanimous next year if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger loses to Democrat Phil Angelides?

Gov. Schwarzenegger Admits CA National Guard Has Become Unprepared on His Watch — Media Fails to Notice

Jon Ponder
This story sums up in a very neat package where we are in the age of the supine media. Gov. Schwarzenegger’s campaign team is able to manipulate the news, inserting the governor into the headlines by cravenly using his troops as political props — and inadvertently admits the state is unprepared for a Katrina-like disaster — but the media reports it without question or nuance.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s abrupt reneging on his promise to President Bush that he would send an additional 1,500 California National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border has made a big splash in the national news.

But lost in the coverage of the story of the Republican governor’s apparent rebuke of the Republican president is the revelation that in playing politics with the California National Guard, Gov. Schwarzenegger inadvertently admitted that troops under his putative command have become unprepared to handle the disasters California is prone to, including, but not limited to, earthquakes, fires and riots.

The governor’s non-statement explaining his sudden about-face sounded eerily like the sort of carefully crafted, tautologically reasoned statements the president himself makes:

“We are stretched too thin, if we were to send an extra 1,500, so that’s why we won’t send an extra 1,500.”

And as they do with spin from the president, the media has focused solely on the superficial meaning of the governor’s explanation while ignoring its content. What they heard was a rebuke of the president, but what the governor said was, the California National Guard is “stretched too thin,” and it has gotten that way on my watch.

It is shocking but not surprising that this admission of dereliction of duty should go over the heads of the media. Just as President Bush once said no one could have anticipated the levees breaching in New Orleans, perhaps the Beltway gang is unaware that few areas in the United States are as vulnerable to a disaster on the scale of the Katrina disaster in the Gulf than are California’s two major population areas. When the city of New Orleans was destroyed, its metro population was slightly more than 1 million. In California, a major earthquake could lead to damage, displacement and death affecting 14 million people in the Los Angeles metro area and 8 million in the Bay Area.

The Schwarzenneger campaign team’s motive for refusing the president’s request in a matter related to immigration policy is simple: President Bush’s popularity has tracked 5 to 10 percentage points lower (even) than Gov. Scharwzenegger’s for at least a year, especially among the state’s millions of independent and latino voters. The president rebuke was a deliberate move to put Schwarzenegger into a confrontational position with Bush for the benefit of two constituencies where he desperately needs to improve his numbers.

Fortunately, Phil Angelides, the governor’s Democratic opponent in November, did notice the meaning of Schwarzenegger’s statement. “As governor, I will fight for the proper levels of funding and support from Washington, so our state’s National Guard can always meet its mission,” he said, in response.

This story sums up in a very neat package where we are in the age of the supine media. Gov. Schwarzenegger’s campaign team is able to manipulate the news, inserting the governor into the headlines by cravenly using his troops as political props — and inadvertently admits the state is unprepared for a Katrina-like disaster — but the media reports it without question or nuance.

West Hollywood Legalizes Pot – Sort of

Jon Ponder
The real motive behind the council’s move may be fiscal: There is a move afoot to put a smiliar referendum on an upcoming city ballot. By passing the law unilaterally, the city would save the $80,000 cost of a special election.

As if proof were needed that West Hollywood, my hometown for the past eight years, is a liberal bastion within the liberal enclave of Los Angeles, our City Council approved a measure yesterday that would decriminalize the recreational use of marijuana.

While both San Francisco and Oakland have similar ordinances, West Hollywood is the first southern California city to enact such a law. Even so, the measure is basically toothless. West Hollywood does not have its own police department but rather contracts the law-enforcement services of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Laws passed by the city (with 1.9 square miles and a population of 35,000) do not supersede policies of the county, with its 500 square mile territory and 10 million-plus population.

On the other hand, the deputies who patrol the streets have long had an unspoken policy of looking the other way when they see people smoking pot on the street. As home to both the Sunset Strip, a playground young hets, and the gay nightlife along Santa Monica Blvd., it would scare off business and become costly to local coffers to prosecute minor offenses.

Which brings us to the bottom line. The real motive behind the council’s move may be fiscal. There is a move afoot to put a smiliar referendum on an upcoming city ballot. By passing the law unilaterally, the city would save the $80,000 cost of a special election.

God, I love this town.

CA Gov: Schwarzenegger to Address Gay GOP Group – And Then Veto Gay History Bill

Jon Ponder

Is there any sadder group in America today than gay Republicans? Here in California the queer GOP group, the Log Cabin Club, will put its members’ pathetic self-loathing on display on June 29 when it hosts an address by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is running for reelection in November.

The governor vetoed a bill last year that would have legalized gay marriage — and soon after his address to the gay Republicans will reportedly veto a bill that would promote the teaching of gay history in schools.

The address by Schwarzenegger is a craven attempt by his campaign to court the vote of the state’s burgeoning “independent” voters, many of whom are fiscally conservative but socially liberal, by symbolizing his alleged tolerance on sexual identity issues. It also represents a hard shift to the left by the governor after years of catering to California’s anemic conservative base.

But why would the members of the Log Cabin Club allow themselves to be subjected to such feckless pandering? Listen to the defensive tone in Log Cabin President Patrick Guerrero’s explanation of the invitation to the governor:

“There is a better than 50-50 chance this man will be the governor of California for the next four years, and for the gay community to label somebody based on one veto is shortsighted,” Guerrero said. “We thought allowing him to address these issues in a friendly setting as well as giving him a chance to get another look at who gay and lesbian families are was important both for him and for us.”

Right. That’s all he needs — just one more look at gay and lesbian families.

What could the real reason for this devotion be? Are the gay Gops simply shallow? After all, even though Schwarzenegger has had tens of thousands of dollars of work done on his face and (probably) elsewhere, wears makeup by the trowel-full and has fake-looking dyed hair, he is a movie star. Or maybe it’s a fetish — for daddies, bullies or both.

CA Gov: Angelides to Face Schwarzenegger

Jon Ponder

Status quo won the day here in California yesterday. State Treasurer Phil Angelides, who had the endorsement of labor unions as well as both of California’s U.S. senators, won the Democrative primary for governor, with nearly 48 percent of the vote (as of 5AM PST). Steve Westly, the state controller, received about 44 percent of the vote.

Gov. Schwarzenegger ran unopposed in the Republican primary and his handlers have done an effective job of keeping him quiet and out of the headlines over the past few months. As a result, the governor’s polling has “rebounded” to about 44 percent.

Schwarzenegger embarks on a bus tour of the state today. At the same time, the state’s labor unions — who soundly defeated four voter initiatives proposed by the governor last year, and who are credited with handing victory to Angelides yesterday — are said to be readying a new fusilage of ads against the governor to begin airing over the summer.

Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi appears to have won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor against state Sen. Jackie Speier.

Former governor and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown won the nomination for state attorney general, and is predicted to walk to victory in November. (Former congressman Ron Dellums appears to have won the nomination for Brown’s old job as mayor of Oakland.)

In the fight to win the CA 50 seat of jailed former congressman Duke Cunningham north of San Diego, Republican Brian Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine Busby 49 percent to 45 percent. The two could face each other again in November.

CA Gov: One Day before Primary Voting, Dem Voters Still Undecided on Angelides and Westly

Jon Ponder

With primary voting tomorrow, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez aptly summed up the current state of the Democratic race between Phil Angelides and Steve Westly for California governor:

State Controller Westly has 35 percent to state Treasurer Angelides’ 34 percent, with 26 percent undecided.

California’s Democratic primary for governor, in particular, is an affair so sleazy and vicious it would inspire revolt, except that no one is paying attention.

The latest Field Poll underscores this:

“During the 60-year history of the Field Poll, there never has been as large a proportion of voters undecided so close to the election in a top-of-the-ticket major party primary,” according to DiCamillo and Mervin Field of the Field Poll…

The Field survey found that Angelides and Westly remain tied, each with about one-third of the Democratic vote, but with more than one-quarter undecided…

State Controller Westly has 35 percent to state Treasurer Angelides’ 34 percent, with 26 percent undecided.

Advantage: Schwarzenegger.

Poll: As Elections Approach, GOP Sinks Deeper into Irrelevancy in California

Jon Ponder

According to the most recent Los Angeles Times Poll, the California Republican Party is in such a sorry state that:

  • While GOP Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval rating has rebounded from the low 30s after his disastrous special elections last year to about 44 percent, only 32 percent of registered voters say they will probably or definitely vote for him, while 47 percent say they probably or definitely will not.
  • In the race for lieutenant governor, three strong candidates for the Democratic nomination are facing off in the June 6 primary: Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi and state senators Jackie Speier and Liz Figueroa. The primary winner will face Sen. Tom McClintock, whose brand of heartless, moralizing conservativism may be all the rage in Idaho and Wyoming but it ain’t selling here.
  • In the U.S. Senate race, Dianne Feinstein is virtually unopposed by a Republican in her quest for fourth term.
  • In the race for attorney general, an astounding 94 percent of voters could not identify state Sen. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno. On the Democratic side, former governor and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown is heavily favored over Los Angeles City Attorney Rockly Delgadillo.

UPDATE: Just saw a post at DKos saying the RNC is preparing for the loss of CA 50 in the run-off on Primary day. The seat has been in GOP hands for a while and was most recently held by Duke Cunningham, who is serving time for taking bribes. Looks like Democrat Francine Busby may have a chance.

More California Politics:

Dueling Crises in November 1978 Forged the Political Careers of a Pair of San Francisco Women — Dianne Feinstein and Jackie Speier

Jon Ponder

November 1978: Jackie Speier and her boss, Rep. Leo Ryan, arrive at the airstrip at Port Kaituma near Jonestown in Guyana. Two days later, as they attempted to rescue defectors from the People’s Temple, the delegation was attacked at the airstrip by gunmen from the cult. Ryan was killed and Speier was shot five times and left to die.

In November 1978, the shocking news of back-to-back assassinations of San Francisco political leaders dominated headlines around the world.Two decades later, the tragic events reverberate in the careers of two powerful California politicians, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and state Sen. Jackie Speier, both of whom are candidates for office this year. Feinstein is running virtually unopposed for her fourth reelection, and Speier is a contender for lieutenant governor in the June 6 Democratic primary.

On November 19, 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan, whose district included parts of the San Francisco, was gunned down on an airstrip at Port Kaituma, Guyana, by members of the People’s Temple. Ryan and his delegation, which included 28-year-old Jackie Speier, were attempting to rescue a group of defectors from the bloodthirsty cult run by the Rev. Jim Jones. Speier was shot five times and left to die on the tarmac. That night, while she and a handful of survivors from Rep. Ryan’s party waited at the airstrip for help to arrive, horror descended on the cult’s jungle compound where Jones ordered his followers to commit mass suicide. Over 900 people, including about 250 children, died after drinking his poisoned Kool Aid.

Nine days later in San Francisco, Mayor George Moscone was killed in cold blood at City Hall, along with Harvey Milk, the city’s first openly gay supervisor. Their killer was Dan White, a conservative who had recently resigned from the board and who had become enraged when the mayor refused to reappoint him. Feinstein, age 45, was the city’s first female president of the board of supervisors (San Francisco’s city council) and became acting mayor upon the death of Moscone.

Americans were introduced to Dianne Feinstein that evening when video of the dramatic news conference in which she announced that Dan White had murdered Moscone and Milk led the news coverage. Feinsteni went on to be elected mayor twice. She ran for governor in 1990 and lost to Republican Pete Wilson. Two years later, she won the special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Wilson when he ran against her for governor. She was reelected in 1994 and 2000, and is running virtually unopposed this year.

Speier went on to represent San Francisco in the state Assembly and the Senate. Back in the dark days when the GOP still dominated Sacramento, she made a name for herself fighting the good fight for the liberal cause. She is currently running for lieutenant governor and has Feinstein’s endorsement. She is trailing in the June 6 primary against Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, who has much higher name recognition statewide, 30 percent to 16 percent, but she is ahead of her colleague, Sen. Liz Figueroa, who is at 11 percent. The primary winner will face ultra-conservative (and therefore unelectable) state Sen. Tom McClintock in the fall.

Women were still rarities in politics in 1978, so the mere fact that Speier and Feinstein played roles once strictly reserved for men was news in itself. What was truly signifcant, though largely unspoken, about the events was the fact that these two women shouldered on as well as men in their situations could have done, or better. Their individual exceptional performances helped to counter charges of tokenism endured by high profile women in that era and paved the way for the women who followed them onto the political stage.