Expanding opportunity for all Californians
An abridged version of this article first ran in the Sacramento Bee. For good or ill, the new administration in the nation’s capital has upended the national policy debate, requiring the consideration of California’s politicos, and diverting their attention from our own pressing needs. From a distance it seems the California economy couldn’t do any better. […]
The True Legacy of Gov. Jerry Brown
The cracks in the 50-year-old Oroville Dam, and the massive spillage and massive evacuations that followed, shed light on the true legacy of Jerry Brown. The governor, most recently in Newsweek, has cast himself as both the Subcomandante Zero of the anti-Trump resistance and savior of the planet. But when Brown finally departs Sacramento next […]
Prioritizing Infrastructure Means Considering All State Spending
Notable in the reaction to Governor Jerry Brown’s Friday press conference outlining money for dam and water infrastructure, while declaring the need for California to tackle all its infrastructure backlog, was the response from one of the leaders of the fight for improved infrastructure. California Business Roundtable president Rob Lapsley issued a release echoing the […]
Not at the CAGOP Convention but Still a Republican
I was not able to attend this weekend’s California Republican convention for the first time in 8 years but still had the opportunity to express my thoughts about the coming convention and the state of the California Republican Party when I was interviewed on KCRW’s radio show, “Press Play with Madeleine Brand.” The two most […]
Single-Payer Health Insurance Bad for Small Business
The not surprising reaction of some in the California legislature to the debate over repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act is to propose a state-run single-payer healthcare model. I say “not surprising“ because there have been attempts in the past to secure a single-payer plan in California, and the negative reaction in deep blue California to the Trump […]
CAGOP Embrace Worst Down to Their Socks
The ugly spectacle of an openly racist and possibly traitorous president is now being embraced by the California Republican Party. “I don’t know about you, but Donald Trump’s just rockin’ my socks,” the GOP Chairman Jim Brulte said during the state Republican convention last Friday. Et tu, Brulte? It’s hard not to read that comment […]
Boycott the Oscars? Heck, Boycott Everything!
The focus of the political world will be on California Sunday when several political speeches are bound to take over the Oscars. According to one account, the Oscars broadcast, which lost viewers last year, could rebound over the expectation of hearing these political speeches. Or there could be a boycott of the broadcast in anticipation of […]
Stu Spencer—The Way We Were; The Way We Should Be
Recently, a bevy of political “pros” gathered in Palm Desert to celebrate the 90th birthday of Stu Spencer, the pioneering political consultant who guided Ronald Reagan into the Governorship of California in the 1960s and then into the Presidency in 1980. The event was a reminder of how things have changed in the political game—and not […]
The Labyrinth of Illegal Immigration
Navigating self-interest, ideals, and public opinion in the debate about illegal immigration Activists portray illegal immigration solely as a human story of the desperately poor from south of the border fleeing misery to start new, productive lives in the U.S. — despite exploitation and America’s nativist immigration laws. But the truth is always more complex […]