Watch them both
Daily Archives: May 16, 2007
Open Letter to Rush Limbaugh
It’s nice to see a ‘dittohead’ attack Rush Limbaugh
SF: My Evening With Willie Brown
(I actually moved to CA to help get him re-elected as Mayor and if nothing else he is always a hoot – promoted by blogswarm)
This evening was my first at the Commonwealth Club of California and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown was the guest of honor. I wasn’t here for his tenure in City Hall so I can’t say what kind of a mayor he was. However, he sure is a schmoozer, and a wise political hand. Anyway, he shared his take on local, state and national politics.
1. This is the best field of Democrats in a long time.
2. He predicted that barring a major mistake, Democrats will win the White House, maintain a solid hold on the House and keep the Senate. He even went so far to say that Hillary can be elected (he personally supports Bill Richardson).
3. No matter what happens with this election, Barack Obama has a fantastic future ahead of him, though his inexperience is beginning to show.
4. Giuliani is dead in the water.
5. Democrats should stand out of the way and allow Bush to hang himself with Iraq.
6. Arnold’s dark side is showing itself again with his proposed state budget and explained why he did not support Phil Angelides in 2006.
7. Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris will be handily re-elected, but does not rule out a run by Art Agnos.
8. Regarding the 49ers, he said in so many words that Newsom fucked it up badly, but that Santa Clara will eventually decline to fund their share of the costs.
9. Aaron Peskin is the most effective Supervisor.
Overall, it was an informative night. Tomorrow, I will be at the Fairmont to see the Newsom interview.
Check out the best the GOP can do in San Jose
We have an upcoming race for city council in San Jose, and one of the candidates, Hon Lien, is perhaps the worst GOP candidate our city has ever seen.
Kansen Chu, the candidate supported by our local Democratic Party, is the front runner in this race, and after a quick viewing of this video you will see why.
more
I am just amazed that this woman is in the runoff. She couldn’t answer half the questions, and when she wasn’t flipping through her notes she was watching someone in the audience giving her help.
If you want to read about this race click here for the Santa Clara County Democratic Party Blog.
Word of Primaries, Elections, Retirements in Congress
It’s behind the firewall, but Republicans in John Doolittle’s district are determined to get him out of the 2008 race by threatening to run a primary challenger. I would assume that even the NRCC wouldn’t be too keen to mount any resistance to such a challenge. They know well that Charlie Brown is poised to beat Doolittle the second time around, but it would be a more difficult task with a fresh opponent who is less tainted by scandal. My question would be, who could they possibly find up there that has no connection to Doolittle? Even mini-Rush Tom Sullivan, a non-politician, had Doolittle on his show as recently as last week. And the other “vultures” that are circling, to borrow Sullivan’s phrase, certainly have some connection to Doolittle as well.
The other report would be a bombshell if true. CMR is reporting that Maxine Waters may retire this weekend to run for a seat on the LA County Board of Supervisors. I would hope this doesn’t happen, but retirements like this in favor of elections closer to home are inevitable. Waters’ seat is as safe as they come, but any election for it would be a free-for-all.
Speaking of free-for-alls, 19 candidates have filed for the June 26 special election to replace the late Juanita Millender-McDonald. This is pretty much a three-way race between Sen. Jenny Oropeza, Assemblywoman Laura Richardson, and neophyte politician and Rep. Millender-McDonald’s daughter, Valerie McDonald.
I should have another full roundup in a couple weeks.
Props to Speaker Nunez
I know from time to time Speaker Nunez has faced some accountability on this site. And I try to tweak Steve Maviglio (user name ‘sacguy’) just on general principle. But I have to hand it to the Speaker’s communication team, I just received a press release that was accompanied with a youtube video.
As Democrats, we face a huge challenge to provide health care to all Californians. And I don’t know if the Speaker’s plan is the best (but would appreciate a healthy debate in the comments). Regardless, I think we should all applaud the Speaker’s Office for using all the tools available to push progress on such an important issue.
Video and press release after the jump.
SACRAMENTO - Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) today issued the following statement after the preliminary release of costs associated with Assembly Bill 8, his Fair Share Health Care plan:
"Californians are increasingly aware that we can't afford to see health care costs for employers, families and individuals keep spiraling the way they have been.
Last week we had a major breakthrough on health care reform when several of the state's key employers announced they were joining the effort to reduce the number of uninsured in California and reduce health care costs for everyone.
Today, an independent cost analysis prepared by Dr. Jonathan Gruber of MIT underscores just how cost effective the Assembly and Senate health care proposals are for business, consumers, and taxpayers.
These numbers show health care reform is achievable and affordable.
My bill, AB 8, covers almost 70% of those currently uninsured, extending coverage to 2.74 million adults and 620,000 children. Dr. Gruber's fiscal model shows that AB 8 will generate sufficient funding through employee premiums, employer contributions and state and federal funds to pay for the cost of the program and maintain a responsible reserve.
In many cases, businesses will see that the minimum health care spending standard in the legislation is lower than what they are paying now. Having all companies play by the same rules stops an unfair form of competition. Hidden taxes will be removed from family expenses and pre-tax premium savings will benefit those on both sides of the payroll ledger.
Flaws in the current health care system make it difficult to implement cost containment measures. Lowering pass-through costs caused by the high number of uninsured, reforming insurance underwriting practices, harnessing new technologies and making sure consumers and employers can really see what services they're paying for - all components of AB 8 - will work to make health care more affordable.
AB 8 and SB 48 are both moving through the legislative process. We look forward to continuing to receive feedback on these proposals from the governor, or to seeing actual legislation from the administration with the same level of detail we've provided for our bills.
I believe we have a window this year to build on our bipartisan successes and fix our broken health care system. The framework for a deal is there. The employers coming on board and the soundness of these numbers show the momentum is there, too."
Audio of Speaker Núñez Talking About Health Care Plan Cost Analysis:
Video of Speaker Núñez Talking About Health Care Plan Cost Analysis:
Open Thread
Leading off with your random news fix, the Union-Tribune today took a shot at investigative journalism. It was so pathetic that Jerry Sanders issued an email press-release/smackdown in response to a random article. If I didn’t know better, I’d smell a softball right down the middle of the plate. But no, just lameness. Journalistic standards are somewhere rolling over in a shallow grave.
So we’re talkin primaries today. Good times all around. Tonight’s song is a very strained tribute to just such a topic. Either way, the song is awesome, and the video is as close to perfect as a music video is capable of. Chemical Brothers feat. k-os – Get Yourself High.
“Insurrection is served on a 12 inch platter”
Update: I might want to include some of the mayor’s response:
With that perspective, let me now address the outstanding leases in Mission Bay Park. In a park with 28 leases, only 6 are in holdover status. These 6 leases render total revenue of $280,000 per year. Let me restate that – these leases render revenue of $280,000 per year. This amount equals approximately one-half of 1 percent of the City’s total lease revenues, and approximately 1 percent of the revenues of the leases from Mission Bay. When you compare that $280,000 to our total lease portfolio revenue of $68.4 million, you can appreciate my frustration for how horribly the paper today distorted the issue especially in light of our strategy to renegotiate the most lucrative leases first.
Sorry UT. If you wanted a story, you shoulda gone with Carol Lam, Blackwater, Trestles, Bajagua, Bilbray the lobbyist, or whatever else is simmering and waiting for you. Having a friend at the Boat and Ski Club doesn’t count as investigation. And damn you for making me side with Jerry Sanders.
Democrats Ready to Bloom in Nevada
I just posted an event notice about the Democrats Work project in Reno this weekend. We’re going to beautify a downtown park with some flowers this Saturday. Thought there may be some folks who are close to the border who may be interested. If so, you can sign up here.
AD 69: Will Solorio Be Primaried?
(Oops! : ) – promoted by atdleft)
Check out this latest
chisme from Orange Juice. Santa Ana City Council Member Sal Tinajero is considering a primary challenge to newly elected Assembly Member Jose Solorio in the Democratic-leaning 69th Assembly District in Central Orange County next year.
Here’s what Art Pedroza has to say about this juicy rumor:
Solorio has, according to another source, always had his eye on the State Assembly. He once tried to win an open seat on the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees. He was rebuffed by the other board members because they figured he only wanted the appointment in order to run for the State Assembly. They were right. They ended up picking John Hanna for the seat and he has been a loyal, and exemplary, board member ever since.
So, as it turns out, Tinajero and Solorio have the same type of animosity for each other that Lou Correa and Joe Dunn have. (Don’t forget that Dunn attended a fundraiser for Reep Lynn Daucher when she was running against Correa, who went on to become our State Senator in the 34th District)
Will Assembly Member Jose Solorio really be in for a primary challenge next year? And will Sal Tinajero really run for Assembly, so soon after being elected to Santa Ana City Council JUST LAST NOVEMBER? Follow me after the flip for more on this wild rumor…
So what exactly does this all mean? Well, let’s take a deep breath and look at the facts here. Sal Tinajero pulled his endorsement of Solorio just before last June’s primary as he changed his mind to support Claudia Alvarez. Solorio didn’t retract the endorsement from his campaign publications, and Tinajero has been angry ever since.
Also, let’s remember the role that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido plays into this little political game. While Solorio himself was on the Santa Ana Council (from 2000 until last year), he was allied with Pulido and local business interests. And with Tinajero now on the council, the new council majority is much more hesitant to support Pulido and the interests of downtown developers. And though both candidates can call themselves “progressive”, both have interesting not-so-progressive supporters. Pro-business Pulido will probably support Solorio, while the once-conservative (turned progressive?) council member Claudia Alvarez will probably support Tinajero.
And Tinajero might have a tough time keeping up with Solorio’s community support. He’s built up a strong list of endorsers, and a rather strong list of financial donors. Perhaps this will scare away Tinajero in the end…
Or perhaps not. We’ll see.
AD 69: Will Solorio Be Primaried?
Check out this latest chisme from Orange Juice:
Will Assembly Member Jose Solorio really be in for a primary challenge next year? And will Sal Tinajero really run for Assembly, so soon after being elected to Santa Ana City Council JUST LAST NOVEMBER?