Poizner’s Suicidal Mission
Two years ago, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner looked a good bet to be the GOP standard bearer for governor – a sensible fellow, the only Republican except Gov. Schwarzenegger holding statewide office, and a successful businessman in a time of economic distress. Today, he is 49 points behind his GOP rival in the latest Field Poll and his supporters are running for the hills.
Facing political collapse, he has resorted to the historic tactic of a political scoundrel, race baiting, in this case making immigrant bashing the central theme of his faltering campaign. He told the state GOP convention he would stop all public benefits to illegal immigrants (which he can’t do thanks to court rulings), and stop any more from crossing the Mexican border, “If I have to, I’ll send the National Guard to the border. If that doesn’t work, I’ll send the California Highway patrol to the border. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll send the California Republican Party to the border.” He did not say whether Republicans would be allowed to bring along their illegal nannies and gardeners.
Money Changes Look of 2010 Governor’s Race
If this were an old-style governor’s race, where candidates relied on the kindness of strangers to finance their campaigns, Democrat Jerry Brown would be doing pretty well.
According to finance reports released Monday, he’s raised more than $9.7 million in campaign funds since Jan. 1, dwarfing the $1.1 million in outside contributions Republican Meg Whitman took in or the measly $94,000 Steve Poizner managed to collect.
But those numbers don’t mean a thing in an era where a thick bankroll – and a willingness to spend it — is far more important to a would-be candidate than a gold-trimmed political resume.
Sure, Brown raised nearly $10 million, but Whitman wrote herself a check for$20 million in January, on top of the $19 million she already had put in her campaign. And while Poizner could only find a relative handful of folks to contribute to his campaign, the $19.2 million of his own money he dropped into his run for governor last year saved a bunch of fund-raising time.
State Wasted $18.9 Billion in Just 10 Years Due to Lax Oversight
California’s state government squandered $18.9 billion over the past 10 years due to government waste, fraud and mismanagement, and this abuse of tax dollars will continue unless our elected officials get serious about their oversight of our tax dollars.
The $18.9 billion figure comes from a new California Taxpayers’ Association Research Bulletin, “A Decade of Waste, Fraud and Mismanagement,” which is based on the media’s investigative reporting, government audits, court documents and other sources of information.
Some examples:
DWP Hikes a Misuse of Power
Will someone please send Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa a gift subscription to the Wall Street Journal? Or maybe Investor’s Business Daily? (I wouldn’t object if you sent him the Los Angeles Business Journal instead.)
You see, there’s a recession going on. It’s a nasty one. It’s not a secret; it’s been in all the papers. But Villaraigosa apparently hasn’t read about it.
How else can you explain his proposal last week to assess a shocking surcharge on electricity customers of the city’s Department of Water & Power?
Hey, this is a time of deflation. Prices are going down, not up. Wages are being cut. Rents are being chopped, even before leases expire.
The only reason anyone should think – even for a moment – about raising prices now is if they absolutely, positively can’t avoid it. And the reason for raising DWP rates?