In California, Top of the GOP Ticket Target Black and Latino Voters Early

Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina and leading Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman have begun there general election runs early. And they have done so by targeting those who Democrats seem to take most for granted- people of color.

The LA Times reported that over the weekend Carly was the only candidate of at any level to attend a Juneteenth celebration in Los Angeles.

Though many people had to ask her staff who Fiorina was, they crowded around to shake her hand, request her autograph and thank her for visiting South Los Angeles.

"I think it's very brave of her to come out, because she certainly knows the kind of crowd she's facing," said Cathy Youngblood, 58, a cultural anthropologist from Watts. "She's shown by being here, she's willing to listen. … Do you see any other politicians here?"

And last week Meg Whitman began running Spanish language ads during the World Cup; making her the first Republican I can remember to ever do so, as well as the only candidate doing it at this time.

This just goes to show that these are not your typical Republican candidates. And this is not your typical lineup of GOP slate of candidates. Heavy on diversity and real world business experience, they present a stark contrast to the group of liberal political insiders offered up by the Democrats.

And unlike Republicans of the past (and their Democratic opponents) this new group of conservative leaders are not taking ethnic voters for granted. A strategy that I believe will pay off in the long run.

There may be issues that separate Republicans from Black and Latino voters. However, there are just as many issues upon which we have significant agreement. The need for real reform of our public schools, abortion, protecting the definition of marriage and the need for comprehensive immigration reform that includes aggressive enforcement of existing immigration laws; are just a few areas where there is support for conservative ideas amongst black and brown voters. And just like other voters, these groups are not happy with status quo incumbent politics.

Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are engaging these voters; and engaging them early. They are hitting Democrats in their own backyard; making them step up and start offering a real alternative to these fresh new faces.

I hope that Meg and Carly keep up the pressure on their Democratic opponents. It will serve to not only help the GOP; but to give all voters a real choice come November.

President's first Oval Office address falls flat

Yesterday, President Obama delivered his first ever national address from the Oval Office. This is move usually reserved for important announcements, not whimsical political speeches. Guess which one he delivered last night?

As he discussed the current environmental crisis facing the Gulf Coast, it was evident that he had very little of substance to say. He announced a 6 month moratorium on offshore drilling, which was old news. He assured viewers that British Petroleum would be held responsible for the spill. Then in the spirit of “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste…” he declared a need for new environmental regulations.

President Obama did not explain why it has taken his administration almost two months to kick into gear on this issue as the economy and environment of the Gulf Coast is ruined. He offered no substantive plan as to how the oil spill will be cleaned up and the habitat restored.

But he did do as he usually does… talks about the future in an effort to inspire in order to distract from his lack of meaningful action on the issues facing the nation right now.

California Democrats Support Tax Cuts for Business! Well...Sort of…

That’s right! Democrats are once again proposing significant tax incentives to encourage employers to do business right here in California… that is if they happen to be a green technology company. All other employers… you can go take a hike!... a tax hike that is!

Right on the heals of proposing over $12 billion in new taxes on Californians, Assembly Democrats (specifically Assemblymember Joan Buchanan) are proposing an increase in the research and development tax credit for companies that specialize in the development of alternative energy and green technologies. Buchanan states,
 

“Assembly Bill 1565 creates targeted Research and Development Tax Credit Areas with attractive R&D credits to motivate green technology businesses to stay in and move to California.”

In theory, this sounds like something Republicans should support – making it more cost-effective for businesses to come to and stay in California, thus providing much needed jobs. In fact, legislative Republicans have gotten behind such targeted efforts in the past. In 2009, they supported Assembly Speaker Karen Bass’ bill that provided tax credits for movie and television productions to studios that film here in the golden state. And a few months ago, they supported a manufacturer’s tax credit for green tech companies. So, why shouldn’t they get behind this most recent effort to provide much needed tax relief to at least some California companies? One word – Hypocrisy!

The California Legislature should not be in the business of picking winners and losers during these tough economic times. There is a basic hypocrisy in the liberal mindset that says, California is such and attractive place to do business that employers will stay here no matter how much we increase taxes and regulation; then at the same time arguing that we need to provide tax incentives to certain industries (the ones they happen to like) in order to bring and keep them in California. But wait…I thought those incentives didn’t make a difference?

Assemblyman Tom Amiano once lamented in a committee hearing that he was tired of people saying that our anti-business climate was chasing business out of the state. He stated that he just didn’t see the dire emergency. Apparently he forgot that in just a few short years, California went from the world’s fifth largest economy to the world’s eighth largest economy. And that was before the legislature passed the largest tax increase in state history. It is only a matter of time before having the highest sales tax, highest gas tax and second highest corporate tax rate drive us even further down the economic rankings.

It is important to note that is fact is not lost on Democrats. In fact Buchanan herself discusses the vital role that tax incentives can play in keeping businesses in California as she declares,

“This incentive will encourage business to remain in California and motivate new businesses to locate here, retaining and creating permanent jobs and helping to spur California’s economy.”

So what’s with the Jekyll and Hyde impression that Democrats seem to be doing on taxes? They know that tax cuts attract businesses and create jobs. But at the same time they are offering tax cuts to only a few select businesses, they are increasing taxes on the rest of California. What effect do they honestly believe that these tax increases will actually have?

Or maybe a better question is, do they even care?

South Carolina Democrats Nominate a Brain Surgeon for Senate... NOT!!!

I cannot decide if this story is funny or just plain sad.

In South Carolina, Democrats nominated Alvin Greene to be their candidate for US Senate against Sen. Jim DeMint. They funny part is that now their party leadership is crying foul and accusing Mr. Greene of being a plant by the Republican Party.

They claim that someone else paid his filing fees and put him up to run because his being black would garner a good chunk of the democratic vote, since much of the electorate in South Carolina also happens to be black. Little did they suspect how right they would be.

After raising no money and doing no campaigning, Alvin Greene garnered almost 60% of the Democratic vote in their primary, making him their nominee. And as you can tell from the above video, he is eminently qualified.

Credentials:

• Unemployed
• Facing felony pornography charges
• Involuntarily discharged from the military
•  Doesn't own a computer or cell phone 
• His name was first on the ballot

 Heck, he should run for President!

Fighting for Schools’ Right to Contract Out

The California Public Employees, Retirement & Social Security Committee (PERSS) will be hearing AB 2621 (Norby) which would remove restrictions that have hampered the ability of school districts to contract out non-educational services.

Watch as Craig, a who is a member of the Robla School Board testifies in favor of this measure. He will share why he sees this as an important way to help local school districts save money during these tough economic times.