Specter over California
Arlen Specter’s move from the Republican to the Democratic Party seems to be about his personal political ambition. He calculated his Senatorial career would end if he tried to be re-elected as a Republican. But, the discussion it conjures up about whether the Republican Party is narrowing its acceptance of individuals with differing views reflects the debate that is sizzling in California Republican circles.
Specter noted in his announcement that 200,000 registered Republicans had recently abandoned the Pennsylvania Republican Party. As their leader, he decided to follow. In California, the Republican Party numbers are also shrinking. Only 31-percent of registered voters now consider themselves Republican.
On this site, Allan Hoffenblum noted the precipitous drop in Republican registration and that Republicans no longer claim a pure majority in registration in any legislative district. Tony Quinn went so far as to declare the Republican Party dead in California, although GOP Republican chairman Ron Nehring vehemently disagreed.
Meet Me in the Lobby
Excuse me while I light up a big, fat cigar and slip on my pinkie ring so I can call my politician pals and tell them what they need to do to make me happy. Yeah, right. First of all, I don’t smoke, and I got the pinkie ring for my bar mitzvah except it wasn’t meant for my pinkie then.
But, that’s my job. I’m a lobbyist. And, I love it!
For as much as I admire President Obama, I take exception to his exemption of all lobbyists from serving in his administration. After all, who really knows this stuff? And, I mean there’s a lot of “stuff,” including every issue known to humankind in which somebody has a stake. Who tells their story? Who fights for their cause? Who gets results? It’s usually not the average citizen who is subsumed by the bureaucratic anarchy of government at every level.
Lobbyists are like lawyers in that they represent a client. Whether we’re representing workers or bosses, shareholders or public employees, it’s all about knowing how the system works and how to make it work for your client. Somebody’s got to do it. That’s how democracy works.
Prime Time for Private Push
It’s spring-cleaning time, and this would be a fine moment for the city of Los Angeles to drag all of its old items outside and hold a big garage sale.
Indeed, if the city were to follow through on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s notion of selling the Los Angeles Convention Center and Los Angeles Zoo, or at least selling the operating rights, we’d get a two-fer: an improved city budget and a spark of business activity.
Look at what Chicago is doing. A company gave the Windy City $1.2 billion to take over management of the city’s parking meters. A consortium last year agreed to give Chicago $2.5 billion to take over Midway Airport.
With numbers like that, L.A.’s expected budget deficit of $500 million or so next year suddenly looks manageable.