TRUMPIFORNIA, Here They Come
The Republican State Central Committee convened in Anaheim last weekend and gave every appearance of settling into a long-term tenure as a minor party in California. The lack of enthusiasm among the GOP rank-and-file for Republican party prospects in the Golden State was palpable. Although Donald Trump was trounced in California by Hillary Clinton, the […]
Electoral Math Favors Feinstein
For those who have been waiting for a clear-cut example of how California’s top-two primary system could make a difference in the electoral landscape, the case in point is here: Dianne Feinstein’s re-election campaign. Senator Feinstein’s announcement via Twitter that she will seek another term in Washington came as no surprise. Neither did the predictable […]
There’s No Business Like Trump Business
It appears that President Donald Trump’s faux “bro-mance” with the country’s corporate business leadership has pretty much come to an end. The President craves respect, especially from the business elite. But, to paraphrase comedian Rodney Dangerfield, Trump doesn’t get much respect these days. After decades of being excluded from the elite “club” in New York, […]
Circular Firing Squads — Fire, Aim, Ready
They have long been advocates of a strong military build-up, but today, Republicans in Washington and Sacramento appear to be embracing circular firing squads. Instead of guns, this firing squad is using finger pointing and tweets aimed at erstwhile allies. President Trump’s attacks on fellow Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator John McCain and […]
California Democrats Reap Trump Dividend
Donald Trump is hardly California’s best friend. His policies are out of step with most folks in the Golden State and his stances on immigration, health care and climate change have spurred confrontations between California and the Trump Administration. One gaggle of Californians, however, has benefited from the Trump phenomenon—Democratic politicians. Jerry Brown has seized […]
Somewhere in a Galaxy Not So Far Away…President Jerry Brown
Washington, DC—President Jerry Brown today signed landmark Health Security legislation—capping years of gridlock with a compromise package that drew support and opposition from both sides of the aisle in Congress. At the signings, President Brown was flanked by Congressional leaders from both parties and representatives from AARP, the U.S. chamber of Commerce, the American Hospital […]
The Bullying Pulpit
Nurse Ratched is at it again. Like the controlling nurse in Ken Kesey’s classic “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, RoseAnn DeMoro is taking another “my way or the highway” stand—this time over the California Nurses Association’s single payer health care proposal—SB 562. DeMoro, Executive Director of the California Nurses Association, has declared war on […]
War Games
“We have met the enemy and he is us,” opined Pogo, that sage possum of the Sunday comics. That could have been the theme of the recent California Democratic Party Convention in Sacramento. There is a pertinent rule of political thumb: “A party is never more united when it’s out of power, struggling to get […]
Congressman Schiff: Ready for His Close-Up
With Barack Obama keeping a low profile and Bill and Hillary Clinton sidelined, there has been a lot of hand wringing about the lack of fresh Democratic leadership. Now, from the relative obscurity of the California Congressional delegation, a new Democratic “person of the hour” has materialized –Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Burbank). “Before the election 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 […]