State GOP Finances Looking Grim
It’s a good thing well-heeled GOP candidates like Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner and Carly Fiorina can finance their own campaigns because the state Republican Party sure can’t afford to.
State finance reports released Thursday showed the California GOP is raising less and spending more than its Democratic counterpart, leaving the party in shaky financial condition four months into an election year.
Actually, shaky is probably an improvement for California Republicans. Two years ago, the party was running in the red, with $3.2 million in the bank and $3.4 million in unpaid bills.
While the top-of-the-ticket names running for governor and Senate can be counted on to either raise enough money or write their own checks for serious campaigns, the down ballot races and legislative candidates depend on help from the party to get out the vote and help fight the general election battle.
Another Challenge to the State’s Economy: Legalizing Dope
California’s business climate has enough challenges: high taxes, regulatory zealotry, and any possibility Jerry Brown could make it back into the Governor’s office. Now, the state has to contend with the possibility California will be known as the place that may legalize – and massively expand – pot use.
As though we want to make it any easier for Governor Rick Perry to lure even more businesses to Texas.
“We support effective anti-drug education programs, stiff punishment for alcohol and drug-impaired drivers, and stiff penalties for drug dealers and drug users,” reads the California Republican Party’s platform. It’s a sound policy that puts the best interests of Californians first and foremost.
The number one factor preventing young people from trying illicit drugs is cost, and legalization would without question lower cost and expand access to dope. As a result, hundreds of thousands of more Californians would no doubt become the users of illicit drugs. The proponents of legalization certainly don’t want to wage a campaign on the fact that their effort will produce more dope users in everyone’s community, workplace, and public places.
The Color Purple
One of my favorite books on politics that I’m currently re-reading is Star Parker’s “Uncle Sam’s Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America’s Poor and What We Can Do About It.”
Written several years ago by Parker, an African-American and proud Californian, the book is more relevant today than ever before. In it, she shares her story of struggle and suggests that even when it appears that government intends to help the people, it is in fact big government that keeps the poor enslaved and bankrupts America in the process.
If Star Parker’s “Plantation” describes the U.S. Welfare system, then it only seems fitting that “The Color Purple” aptly describes the tens of thousands of state workers enslaved by the dysfunctional family that is the SEIU in California.
With its vast land, rolling hills, and fertile crops, California plays the setting of the vast plantation.
Voter Education – Where do the Candidates Stand on Legal Reform?
One of the key things CALA will be doing this spring and fall is sending questionnaires to candidates asking where they stand on key legal reform issues. Our questionnaires cover topics such as the impact of litigation on the economy, class action reform and penalties for filing frivolous lawsuits, among others. Most importantly we will be asking them whether they will be accepting contributions from the Consumer Attorneys of California or any of its affiliated political action committees.
According to the Civil Justice Associaton of California, the trial lawyers have given approximately $35.2 million dollars in contributions over the past decade. The trial lawyer influence in elections run vast and deep. Just in 2009, they gave approximately $1 million to incumbent state officials and candidates.
California needs to focus on creating jobs, not a legal climate that encourages more litigation. The reason we are in this economic mess is due to too many taxes, over regulation and a legal climate that is out of control. The legislature needs to adopt legal reforms that will help create jobs in our state, not drive them away.