AB 2109 would require a note from a doctor to avoid vaccinations for public schools

by Brian Leubitz

Vaccines save lives.

That’s the truth. Real hard scientific evidence supports that statement. Before we vaccinated for measles, rubella, whooping cough, these disease killed thousands of Americans each year. A generation later and these diseases were nearly wiped out.

Then the logical fallacies took over. Those diseases aren’t dangerous anymore. It won’t matter if I don’t immunize my child, etc. But unfortunately, they are still necessary. No matter how many fear mongers or fake scientists or outright fraudsters argue that they are not safe, they are safe. They are safer than the alternative. After all, not vaccinating is not without a very high level of risk.

Yet people like Rob Schneider, who was kind of funny as an annoying copy boy, persist in fighting science with repetition of ignorance.

Pretty much every word of that has been debunked. I won’t bother here in going through it all, but AB 2109 is a good bill from a good Assemblymember, Richard Pan. Pan, who just so happens to actually have training in these matters by virtue of being a medical doctor, understands the public health crisis that unvaccinated children present. The bill would require a letter from a doctor to the school if children skip a vaccination.

This isn’t about the state controlling some godlike power. The state has the power to require car seats and seat belts; both of these are a decent analogy for the question of vaccines. This is a collective issue for all Californians. We all gain (or lose) when we have a healthy community.

AB 2109 is in the Senate awaiting final approval.

GOP Ticket Bashes California…Because it is convenient

by Brian Leubitz

Mitt Romney is not going to carry California. Unless something drastically changes, and there is some sort of tremendous landslide (quick, do some superstitious thing right now), President Obama will easily carry California.  So why not get a laugh at our expense?

California is the Golden State, home to surfing, Hollywood and Silicon Valley, but it appears likely to become something else entirely for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan: a political punching bag. … (SF Chronicle)

The only problem with the California bashing? Well, how about the reality that California is still the home of Silicon Valley…wait for it, Sarah…

“When I think about the direction our country is rapidly drifting in, I can’t help but look at California as a cautionary tale,” Palin wrote to her Facebook followers. “The Golden State once boasted the entrepreneurial innovation of Silicon Valley – the American creative engine.”

Oh right, there it is for the reality star Sarah Palin. But where is Apple based? And Facebook? And Google? And Qualcomm? And… Get the point?  California is still the home of innovation. Sure we have our issues with a real estate market that still has some issues and a structural deficit that needs fixing. But if America is to really come back from the economic malaise, California, like always, will be right at the leading edge. To pretend otherwise is well, Palin-esque.

Wasn’t running for re-election

by Brian Leubitz

Rep. Cardoza was out of a seat after redistricting, and rather than running against Jim Costa, a fellow moderate Democrat, chose not to run for re-election.  Today he announced that he’ll be jumping ship right away.

Citing sensitive family needs, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, has tendered his immediate resignation from the House of Representatives. The surprisingly timed departure takes effect at midnight Wednesday. (SacBee)

Given that the Republicans have a large majority as it is, I’m not sure this makes that big of a difference going forward in the House. However, the early retirement six months before his scheduled date was a bit of a surprise.

UPDATE: And right away he gets a job as a lobbyist. Awesome system.

CRP takes away chair’s flexibility and power in a move that comes as fundraising numbers lag

by Brian Leubitz

It isn’t easy being a Republican in California. That’s especially true if you came in promising big change and prosperity, but ended up writing a ballot measure opposing your biggest expenditure.  And so, there’s this:

With less than three months to go until the November election, the California Republican Party Board of Directors has approved a structural shake-up some insiders say is meant to limit Chairman Tom Del Beccaro’s involvement in the party’s strategic planning and fundraising efforts.(SacBee)

The structural changes take away his power over the 2012 election, registration, and gotv drives. They also form committees to take on what was most of the rest of Del Beccaro’s bailiwick. In other words, the chair’s role at the CRP has essentially been neutered by their executive committee.

Given that his biggest spending priority, gathering signatures for the senate district referendum turned into something of a disaster, and that his other fundraising numbers have been abysmal, this is not particularly surprising.  However, he does always have the dream of a prop 32 victory leading the GOP back to relevancy. (Another reason to make sure we work hard this November!)

Del Beccarro is at something of a loss at this point, without much real authority and much respect among his own party. Should be more fun times at the CRP as they try to rebuild an unpopular brand in the state.

Prop 39 closes the “Out-of-State” Tax loophole that was opened up a few years ago in a budget fight, sending the money for clean energy projects. Now, that money really should go back to the general fund, but whatever you think of where the money goes, this video is funny.

Faces steep battle to stay in Congress

by Brian Leubitz

If we had never seen Top-2 pass, Laura Richardson would be a lame duck right now.  Instead, after a 60-40 “shellacking” at the hands of Janice Hahn in a newly redistricted seat, she has another shot in the November election.  Not a good shot, mind you, but a shot.  But the odds are looking ever dimmer, especially after this bit of news:

Representative Laura Richardson, Democrat of California, has agreed to be reprimanded by the House and pay a $10,000 fine for compelling her Congressional staff members to work on her 2010 campaign.

The House Ethics Committee recommended the punishment in a biting report issued on Wednesday.(NY Times)

Now Richardson hasn’t exactly had a great record with ethics in the past, just check out her tag page here for a few snippets of her history. But an official reprimand will do no help in her November campaign.  

The actual incidents are basically what you would expect from this kind of charge. Richardson assigned her staff to make phone calls on her behalf, or scout her opponent, etc.  And then to compound things, she tried to cover her tracks. The official reports describes this:

In sum, Representative Richardson’s submission continues the approach she has taken in this matter from the outset: an utter absence of true remorse for her misuse of official resources and, equally as significant, for what she has put her staff through, as well as a near total deflection of responsibility for this matter.

From maintaining her property to dealing with foreclosures, Richardson has been something of a “distraction” for the California Democratic delegation. Janice Hahn, for whatever flaws she may have, makes a far better representative of and for the district.

California Republican Party faces fiscal, organizing questions. Banks on Special Exemptions.

by Brian Leubitz

The California Republican Party is in something of a desperate situation. They hold no statewide offices, and then they had a story in the New York Times titled “Republican Party in California Is Caught in Cycle of Decline.”

That’s never a good thing, especially when it is combined with a follow-up from the San Francisco Chronicle with some worrying financial numbers. Without getting deeply into the nitty, gritty, it is pretty bad. They are expected to reveal a deficit of nearly half a million dollars, and are considering closing their Sacramento office.

All of this is to say that the state party won’t be much help to candidates and campaigns come November. This is not to say those campaigns won’t get help, but the party structure is showing heavy strain. So, Republicans are now looking elsewhere for support and a brighter future.  In fact, they’re looking to one specific spot on the ballot for their long-term future: Prop 32. (Note: I work for the No on 32 campaign)

California Republican Party Chair Tom Del Beccarro, who was elected partially on a platform of getting the CRP’s fiscal house in order stated this explicitly:

“This November, Prop 32 could well pass, bring {sic} reforms to our system, including barring direct contributions from corporations and unions and paycheck protection. When that passes, California will have a more level playing field, Republicans will have a new day and be rather competitive statewide.” (Newsmax)

Shorter Tom: by cutting labor off through the so-called “political reform” measure, Republicans are the big winners.

And why is that? Well, it could be that Prop 32 isn’t what it seems at all. As Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and other good government groups said this week this is not real political reform at all. It leaves loopholes that Big Business can use to get their money into the system, but severely hobbles the voices of working Californians.

Perhaps that is why Prop 32 is so popular on the Republican side of the ledger, and why the Yes on 32 campaign is so close to the Republican party. In fact, Charles Munger, Jr., Chair of the Santa Clara County Republican Party, and one of the top funders of the Yes on 32 campaign (over $235K!) is now stepping in for what was once the purview of the state party:

The result, Stutzman and other Republicans say, is that other organizations and individuals are filling the void – with robust national and county-based operations like those in Tulare, San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara County, where millionaire GOP activist Charles Munger is heading up fundraising, phone banking and voter contacts usually managed by the party.

Whatever the motives of the Prop 32 proponents really were, the end result is a biased and dangerous measure for everyday Californians. And if the Republican Party recognizes that Prop 32 is their best shot of pushing their agenda forward, what kind of balanced reform could it possibly be?

P.s. Feel free to sign up for the No on 32 email list, or find the campaign on twitter or facebook.