Demo Attack Ads Worrying Whitman
Meg Whitman is running a full-court press to force Steve Poizner out of the Republican race for governor, which shows just how concerned she is about an upcoming series of Democratic attack ads.
On Wednesday, for example, her campaign announced that Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, the former minority leader, had dropped his endorsement of Poizner and was moving into the Whitman camp.
A trio of GOP legislators, state Sen. Mark Wyland of Escondido, Assemblyman Jim Nielsen of Yuba City and Assemblywoman Connie Conway of Tulare, also magically picked Wednesday as the day to urge Poizner to “do the right thing, step aside and join us in supporting Meg.”
Whitman even took what’s been a rare move for her by actually talking, however briefly, to a few California reporters this week.
“Democrats are worried about my candidacy,” she told KCBS radio in San Francisco.
Level the Playing Field — For Consultants
Independent Expenditure (IE) campaigns attacking Republican Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman have started advertising. The first ad to air was produced by an outfit called Level the Playing Field 2010, made up of an A-list of Democratic political consultants.
This first ad claims Whitman is trying to buy the election with her billions. That argument won’t push aside the big issues of this election year: jobs and California’s budget problems. We’ll hear about jobs from the IE ads, as well. They will say that Whitman as a business executive made some decisions that reduced jobs. But, she will win that fight because she created many more jobs and the Democrats’ charge will open the debate on the policies of the Democratic controlled legislature that have driven so many jobs away from California.
The Democrats don’t want to talk about the budget problem, either. Their usual solution of tax increases won’t fly in the current political environment. And, they will have to defend a candidate in Jerry Brown who set California on its current wayward path by creating what columnist Dan Walters called the “hegemonic power of public employee unions” by granting them collective bargaining, which has resulted in such a strain on state and local government budgets.
Rebuilding the Economy One Export at a Time
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama laid out his plan to rebuild the U.S. economy through the National Export Initiative (NEI) — a five-year effort aimed at creating 2 million new jobs in America by doubling exports. The launching of this initiative, as well as the President’s public support of the pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, is welcome news for California businesses. The President should be commended for recognizing that free and fair trade is an important strategy to create jobs and ensure the long-term growth of the economy.
The President’s focus on international trade should also be a call to action for California businesses. Businesses need to vocalize their support for these FTAs to California’s Congressional representatives. Beyond that, California businesses are urged to take advantage of the export opportunities that will be presented by the NEI. Many companies — particularly small and medium-sized businesses — are not aware of the numerous export opportunities that are available. The NEI, through the U.S. Department of Commerce, will provide a vast array of tools and will help businesses identify new customers and business partners in foreign markets. The initiative will also help businesses access credit.
Don’t Make Excuses – Serve on a Jury
A Los Angeles Times article titled, “Weighed Down By Recession Woes, Jurors Are Becoming Disgruntled,” brought to light some serious concerns about the California jury system.
A few years ago when we went to the one day, one trial system everyone was excited and cheering about how great the system had become. Well, it seems like the happy times are over and our jury system is showing some signs of wear and tear. I will be honest that I was just called for jury service and I was not too thrilled. I have been called a lot and ironically, my wife never gets called. Can someone explain that to me? We are both registered voters and we both have California drivers licenses and have lived at the same residence for 13 years.
I have been through this plenty of times and find the process rather demeaning. You take time out of your schedule and you are treated like cattle. But, as demeaning as the process is, you really need to serve, even in these hard economic times. We all are experiencing some form of financial hardship during this times, but don’t make excuses. This is only time our country asks us to take the time to serve. It should not be too much to ask considering all the freedoms that come along with being an American.