Unconventional Wisdom Philadelphia
* The Democratic convention offered quite a valedictory for both President Obama and Vice-president Biden. Their boffo speeches left a high bar Hillary to clear. Did she? She is not an orator in a league with Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, but she was comfortable in the spotlight and got her points across. She can’t […]
Unconventional Wisdom after Cleveland
* While the Republicans have been doing their best to paint the darkest possible picture of Hillary Clinton, the back-to-back party conventions give the Democrats an edge, as they can have the last word—if anybody is still listening. Counterpunching can be an extremely effective political tactic. * The red-meat prosecutors Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie […]
The Hard Road Of “The Unnatural”
On paper, Hillary Clinton would seem to be, and probably is, the odds on favorite to be the next president. Why then is she having so much trouble putting Bernie Sanders away and raising eyebrows about her ability to beat Donald Trump in November? It boils down to the fact that she isn’t a very […]
CA Primary Still Important for Down Ballot Contenders
As they say about opera, “it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.” Well, in the 2016 Presidential nomination races, it isn’t going to be officially over until California votes. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump appear to have a virtual lock on their party’s nominations, but neither is able to muster a convention-delegate majority […]
In Politics, It Isn’t Easy Being Clean
“If you can’t take their money, drink their booze, eat their food, screw their women and vote against them, you don’t belong here,” the late California Assembly Speaker Jesse M. Unruh famously said. That observation capsulizes the disconnect between the world views of Democratic Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Senator Sanders and Donald Trump rail about […]
GOP Split May Boost Sanchez
It is ironic that the Republican author of the initiative banning bilingual education has just given a boost to the U.S. Senate candidacy of Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. The entry of Republican businessman Ron Unz into the race to succeed retiring Senator Barbara Boxer makes it even more likely that the November run-off will be […]
Will Trump and Hillary Duke it Out?
“Vote the Crook—it’s important” read a bumper sticker in the 1991 Louisiana Governor’s race that pitted David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, against Edwin Edwards, a former Louisiana governor who had been charged with bribery and was later convicted of 17 counts relating to extortion and racketeering. While Donald Trump is […]
California Here They Come, Maybe. Really.
The GOP came to blows in the Iowa Caucus—the top three finishers were “the blowtorch,” “the blowhard” and “the blow-dried.” Senator Ted Cruz, entrepreneur Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio set the stage for a three-way contest that could actually stretch into the June California Presidential Primary. While Cruz and Trump were expected to dominate […]
The Fear Factor Dominates Campaign Rhetoric
President Franklin Roosevelt famously said “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself”. Unfortunately, fear has emerged as the predominant motivating factor in this cycle’s presidential campaign. Whether the issue is terrorism, illegal immigration, foreign competition, gun violence, climate change or the economy, all of the candidates–for both parties’ Presidential nominations–are touting themselves as the […]
California Loses Two Political Mensches
The California political scene has lost two of the good guys—Ross Bates and Allan Hoffenblum. Ross was a long-time Democratic consultant and Alan was a Republican strategist who left partisan politics to establish the California Target Book, an indispensable compendium of facts and statistics on legislative and congressional races in the Golden State. The two […]