Arnold Schwarzenegger, Blog Roundup, California, education

California Blog Roundup for July 18, 2006

July 18, 2006 jsw

(Bumped up for visibility – promoted by SFBrianCL)

Today’s California Blog Roundup is on the flip. Teasers: Phil Angelides, Arnold Schwarzenegger, CA-04, CA-11, CA-41, Jerry Lewis, Richard Pombo, John Doolittle, Republican corruption, education, voting rights.

Governor’s Race

Schwarzenegger’s Bush Republican anti-government tax pledge really kinda means that he’s lying when he agrees to have an open mind on how to improve California’s schools, don’t it?

Schwarzenegger “Gotcha!” plan on Jessica’s law fails.

To the pro-voucher, pro-charter school critics of public schools (and that includes you, Schwarzenegger): it turns out you’re just plain wrong. Wrongo Wrongersons. Wrong. Now how about actually getting down to work on improving education for all our children?

Abe Maldonado: speaking the truth about Schwarzenegger. I understand he found a horse’s head in his bed the next evening.

For Angelides, voter education and name recognition key in this stage of race.

Latinos like AngeLides. (I like alliteration.)

Jerry McNerney / Paid-For Pombo / CA-11
Say No To Pombo has has a look at the FEC reports for Q2. Unsurprisingly, Paid-For Pombo has collected from big oil. Jerry McNerney is actually doing pretty well, but consider tossing him some cash.

15% Doolittle / CA-04

15% Doolittle’s hometown paper now wants a corruption investigation.

15% Doolittle is creating more regrets than an office Christmas party with an open bar.

Other Republican Paragons
Jerry Lewis is directing contributions pretty much exclusively to his legal defense fund. But that’s OK, since he’s going to win in a walk anyway. Is there a better reason to at least put up credible challenges in every district?

Voting

The Mexican people are stepping up to demand that their votes be counted. For why this matters to us, see Calitics’ very own SFBrianCL.

Erik Love, blogging at Courage Campaign argues that we need to reform our broken voting system, but that a recount in CA-50 is not the way to do it. Counterpoint: Terry provides links to everyone who’s pushing for that recount.

Randy Bayne on the near-50% absentee vote in the Primary and what that means for GOTV and campaigning.

Education
Randy Bayne discusses the recent education study (public schools as good as private or charter, better than conservative Christian schools).

Miscellany

Mark Kleiman on Prop 36. I can’t really say more than that, because I’m not exactly sure where he’s going.

Sheila Kuehl summarizes the state of health care in the most recent budget.

Bad. Not Good.

Ah, yes. Fast law is rarely good law.

Did you realize that when Mel Gibson shouted “Freedom!” at the end of BraveHeart, that he was actually talking about taxes? Me neither! OK, kidding aside, the link goes to a nice piece by Dan Ancona on the fatuity of Republican arguments that freedom is all about property and taxes.

CA-04 CA-11 CA-41 California Politics Election 2006 Jerry Lewis John Doolittle Phil Angelides Republican corruption Richard Pombo voting rights

Uncategorized

Prop 90: California’s Cities Just Say No

July 18, 2006 Brian Leubitz

The No on Prop 90 campaign is just getting going, and a Coalition List is now available on their nascent web site. The Coalition includes some big names such as the California League of Cities, the Police and Fire Chiefs Associations, the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense.

Prop 90 would restrict city and state governments from efficiently acting to protect the character of their cities, to require green development, or to limit development. Environmental restrictions would become prohibatively expensive for either the state or municipalites. Our days of environmental leadership would be in jeopardy. Or, as the League of Cities puts it:

As a result, Prop. 90 would lead to thousands of expensive lawsuits that would tie up our courts and result in added bureaucracy and red tape. The cost of these lawsuits and payouts would rob local communities of billions of dollars in limited resources that fund fire and police protection, paramedic response, schools, traffic congestion relief and other vital services. That’s why the CALIFORNIA FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION, CALIFORNIA POLICE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION, and CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION oppose Prop. 90.

PROP. 90 would trap taxpayers in a LOSE-LOSE situation. If communities act to protect their quality of life, taxpayers could be forced to make huge payouts. Or, if communities couldn’t afford the payouts, basic quality-of-life protections simply couldn’t be enacted. That’s why conservation groups, including the CALIFORNIA LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS and the PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE, warn the measure would drastically limit our ability to protect California’s coastline, open spaces, farmland, air and water quality. (League of Citie)

This iniative would be an enormously expensive proposition for the taxpayers of California that would end up primarily benefiting large developers. It is a bad idea for the state of California.

eminent domain Kelo League of California Cities Prop 90

Uncategorized

Photostream from “a beer with Jon Tester” fundraiser 7/17/2006

July 18, 2006 neutron 1 Comment

x-posted to mydd and dkos

In continuing my role as amateur documentarian, a role I accidentally (but gladly) was saddled with in yearlykos, I took my trusty Canon SD400 camera down to see Jon Tester. Moreover, as I was acting boss of my department, I took off work early to go get some retail politicing/fundraising/drinking done with our boy the next Senator from Montana… Jon Tester!

Tester said it was the kind of fundraiser he liked and could afford. I agree with that! After some engaging Q&A and engaging beer drinking, we headed over to drinking liberally at Zeitgeist… where we proceeded to do exactly that.

As always, there’s more, and if you like what you see, feel free to reco.
You can also see the whole gallery here.

Me and the next Senator from Montana, Jon Tester.
He’s a tall guy.
Also, guess where i’m from?

The next Senator from Montana, with the daughter of the Next Senator from Nevada, Sarah R. Carter.

Jon, chatting with the people, connecting, etc.

My two new pals visiting from NY. We talked about the difference between NY and CA politics, various races, etc.
Good folks!

I had just been singing the praises of Sarah R. Carter, when she walked in the door… that is serendipity friends!

Tack and his mustache, (the mustache didn’t have to pay)

believe it or not this was the best picture i could get of Markos, since he was pretty much constantly wrestling Aristotle. Sorry Kos!

Tester speaking with the people, his manner is easy and natural.

There was a Q&A period. I was impressed.

I asked “Jon, what are you going to do about Net Neutrality”, despite his protests and humbless, he knocked it straight out of the park, no two tier system, no pay to play, the net is our most valuable asset and it should stay that way.

The look he gave Burns when he was talking trash about his flattop.

Sarah R. Carter and sfjen!

Sarah and Bob Brigham!

Sarah, Tack and Jen… on our way to drinking liberally.

Jen gives drinking liberally a thumbs up.

mixed reaction.

thumbs down to (something? something to do with Villagarosa v. Angelides that I felt very adamant about at the time…)

Tack and Sarah R. Carter (the last of the good pictures before the demon alcohol took away my camera skills)

-C.

bob brigham drinking liberally fundraiser jon tester sarah r carter sf

Arnold Schwarzenegger

CA-Gov: Matthew Dowd, more than just Arnold’s Rove

July 18, 2006 Brian Leubitz

Matthew Dowd, Schwarzenegger’s key strategist and former George W. Bush campaign staffer, has more than one gig. Not only does he work for Arnold, he also does some side consulting. One of his clients? AT&T. You know, the company that has a huge stake in the telecommunications bill currently up for debate and likely headed to Arnold’s desk before the end of the session in September. Yup, that AT&T:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s top campaign advisor is being paid to provide marketing strategy to AT&T Inc. at a time when the governor’s office is involved in negotiations on legislation potentially worth billions of dollars to the telecommunications giant. Political consultant Matthew Dowd’s involvement with the governor and AT&T at the same time presents, at minimum, the appearance of a conflict of interest, government watchdogs warned.

Dowd and his consulting firm are currently assisting San Antonio-based AT&T with the rollout of its U-verse service in Texas. The product is designed to compete with cable TV by sending television programming and a bundle of Internet and communications services over existing and upgraded telephone lines. At the same time, in California, AT&T is lobbying for passage of a bill being carried by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles), AB 2789, that would ease the financial and regulatory burdens of installing the new technology for the industry.

“If AT&T hired Dowd to sell TV, and Dowd also has been hired to sell Schwarzenegger on TV, you’ve got to wonder if Dowd also is selling your governor on AT&T’s legislative agenda for TV,” said Andrew Wheat, a public interest activist. Wheat is research director of Texans for Public Justice, which tracks the influence of money and corporate power in the state’s politics.(LA Times 7/18/06)

Arnold needs to inform Dowd that he can work for AT&T or him. He can’t have it both ways; the impropreity is just oozing out of this situation.

CA-GOV Election 2006 Matthew Dowd