Will taxpayers trust the GOP again?

GOP - A Party of Idiots

• The fools running the GOP refused to even put a proposition on the ballot to repeal the insane money-pit bullet train. 
• If you don't actually believe in anything then how can you oppose Marxism?

By Jon Coupal;

The California GOP is rapidly approaching the edge of a black hole from which there is no escape. But rather than reverse course by appealing to the needs and aspirations of average Californians, the response by some Republicans in the Legislature is to rush forward to throw themselves into the abyss by supporting policies that punish the middle-class.

Only a quarter of California voters are registered Republicans, barely more than those declaring no party preference. In the Legislature, Republicans number less than a third of lawmakers in each house.

There was a time when even some Democrats in the Legislature supported a healthy economy, taxpayers’ rights and Proposition 13. If any still exist, they are hiding under their desks. Over the last two decades, that party has lurched to the left and those now in Sacramento are devoted to serving the interests of government (aka public sector unions), the ever-expanding entitlement class and the wealthy denizens of coastal enclaves.

For taxpayers, criticizing Democrats is almost too easy given how thoroughly they have abandoned the middle class. But Republicans have traditionally been held to a much higher standard when it comes to taxation and fiscal responsibility. The question now is the extent to which taxpayers can trust Republicans at all.

With Republican support, the California legislature passed several bills slamming California’s ever-shrinking middle class. First, there was perhaps one of the most unpopular bills in California history, Senate Bill 1, imposing $52 billion in permanent new gas taxes and user fees on California drivers. Next was the infamous “cap-and-trade” legislation, Assembly Bill 398. In a few short years, drivers could be paying a buck and a half a gallon just in taxes and climate fees when added to the already sky-high levies imposed by the state. 

Last, but certainly not least, is Senate Bill 2, part of the California’s ineffective and counterproductive response to the housing shortage. The bill would impose a $75 to $225 “recording fee” on all real estate transactions and generate as much as $258 million annually. Only in California and Monty Python movies would a tax on real estate be considered a rational response to a housing shortage.

Let’s be clear. Those legislators who best defend taxpayers are still Republican. But unfortunately, those faithful few are being smeared by association with those who bend with the wind, succumb to the next big campaign contribution or promise of some “juice committee” appointment or lobbying gig. Note that the reverse is true as well: Some Republican legislators who stood firm for taxpayers were punished by having their committee assignments revoked or banished to the smallest office in the Capitol.

Average taxpayers understand how painful these tax hikes are. But they probably don’t understand how politically incompetent the Republican leadership was in getting them passed. Republican support for tax hikes allowed targeted Democrats in marginal districts (those where a Republican has a chance of winning) to vote against the tax hikes. These Democrats can now seize the mantle of fiscal responsibility even though everyone knows that, had their vote for the hikes been necessary for passage, they would have voted yes. Time and time again, Republican support of tax hikes allowed the “lifeboating” of Democrats in swing districts. To use a phrase by one party leader, this was “felony stupid.”

Taxpayer advocates take no joy in the slow immolation of the Republican Party.

The loss of any effective opposition from a minority party is a loss to all Californians. A strong democratic process relies on the competition of ideas. Moreover, one party rule has led to an extraordinary abuse of power in several areas including campaign rules, shutting down debate and jerry-rigging agencies and commissions in ways to crush political opposition. The loss of a vibrant Republican Party in California will accelerate the state’s metamorphosis into a Venezuela-like banana republic.

In order to have a chance against the power and money of the Democrats, Republicans need to distinguish themselves on critical matters of policy. Unlike social issues — as important as they may be — the fiscal issues of economical government, reasonable taxation and protection of Proposition 13 have been the rock to which Republicans have wisely clung as California’s political skies have turned from purple to blue. A return to these principles is a necessary first step for the GOP to repair its damaged reputation.

Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Read More . . . .

Poll: Gavin Newsom still leads field in California governor’s race

See our stories:
Gavin Newson - Anti Semitic Gay Hater
and
Gavin Newsom: “easier to get a gun than a happy meal in California.”

This Worthless Pile of Crap Would be the Perfect Governor for the People's Republic

(Mercury News)  -  It’s still nine months away, but Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to lead the pack of contenders in next June’s “top two” primary election for governor, according to a UC Berkeley poll released Friday.

Results show that the Democrat, a former San Francisco mayor, is favored by 26 percent of likely voters.

Three other candidates vying for second place are trailing far behind, including former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat who garnered only 10 percent of likely voters in the poll, which was conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies.

Two Republicans, San Diego businessman John Cox and Orange County Assemblyman Travis Allen, posted similar numbers: Cox was favored by 11 percent of likely voters, Allen by 9 percent.

The number of likely voters who favor Newsom changed little from a Berkeley IGS poll in May, when it was 22 percent.

But it’s still early and most California voters aren’t paying much attention to the race, said Larry Gerston, a professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University.

“Newsom still leads, but his lead is not nearly enough to separate him from everybody else if you are thinking about the top two’’ vote-getters who will advance to the November election regardless of party. “Newsom is only at 26 percent, which is only a quarter of the electorate,’’ Gerston said.

And as promising as the early numbers may be for Newsom, the poll shows that a third of likely voters are still undecided in the race, which has a crowded field of six major candidates that also includes state Treasurer John Chiang and former state schools superintendent Delaine Eastin, both Democrats.

Chiang placed fifth, attracting 7 percent of likely voters, while Eastin came in last with 4 percent.

“There’s a heckuva lot of undecided,’’ said Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College in Atherton. “This really still could go to anybody.’’

Newsom’s early polling lead and huge fundraising advantage — he raised $5.3 million during the first six months of 2017 — are big factors, Michelson said.

“But I don’t see that he’s got a lock,’’ she said. “Gavin’s pretty popular up here where we all know him from his days in San Francisco.’’

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Dems, GOP look to kill California's top-two primary system in 2018

Restore Free Elections in California

• In a crooked back room midnight deal Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the GOP and the Dems "reformed" our primaries.
• The result was independent candidates, and smaller political parties like the Greens and Libertarians being banned from all future general election ballots.

(Los Angeles Times)  -  Political parties and open primaries are the electoral equivalent of oil and water. They may coexist, but they don’t mix.

So it’s hardly surprising that neither California’s dominant Democrats nor its fading Republicans have ever really embraced Proposition 14, the sweeping ballot measure that abolished partisan primaries six years ago.

Some, in fact, say they’ve seen enough. It’s time to scrap it.

“If we don't get California straightened out for every party, at least give them some kind of chance, then why the hell are we involved in politics at all?” asks Tom Palzer, a Republican from Rancho Cucamonga.

Banned From The Ballot
Laura Wells was the 2010 Green Party nominee for
Governor of California.  The Democrats & GOP have worked
together to ban all smaller political parties and independent
candidates from the general election ballot.  The Elites
have even declared that your write-in vote is illegal
and will not be counted.

Banned From The Ballot
Chelene Nightingale was the 2010 nominee of the
conservative American Independent Party. The GOP
wants to keep Conservative parties off the November
ballot. The GOP could care less about your freedom
to vote for who you want.

Palzer, who recently launched his second straight long-shot bid for the U.S. Senate, is the author of a proposed ballot initiative for November 2018 that would wipe out the top-two primary. It would restore the role of parties in picking who’s on the ballot in California's general elections.

While he’s an activist who’s largely been doing this on his own, Palzer’s effort was crafted at the same time rumors swirled in Sacramento this summer of powerful political groups hoping to do the same thing. That effort, in a perfect world, would have produced an initiative which included “reform” items like new campaign money rules while also repealing the top-two primary. But in an unusually quiet ballot measure year, it never materialized. And it would surely have been fought by self-styled good government groups.

The original champion of the top-two primary, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, called its passage “a clear message that Californians are tired of partisan gridlock and dysfunction” the day after the June 2010 election. The promise was that it would help centrist candidates beat out ideologues.

Its impact has been “inconsistent,” concluded an April study co-written by Eric McGhee, a researcher at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Perhaps the state’s leading expert on the top-two primary, McGhee believes there’s only been a slight increase in moderates (all Democrats) elected to the Legislature. Even then, the state’s independent redistricting rules and the 2012 revamping of legislative term limits may deserve just as much credit.

“To the extent that they can be known, the causes of that greater moderation seem to be about evenly split” among all three of those changes, McGhee said.

The only undisputed winners in changing the primary rules have been unaffiliated “independent” voters, who used to be banned by some parties from voting in their primaries. Now there’s one large slate of candidates, and everyone can vote for anyone.

It’s also unleashed a torrent of campaign spending, mostly by independent political action committees that raise money in unlimited amounts.

“This has become a special interest boondoggle,” said Shawnda Westly, a Democratic strategist and former leader of the state party.

An analysis by the nonpartisan California Target Book shows that independent committees spent more than $29 million on legislative races in 2016, much of which came from business and education groups.

"Overwhelmingly, California's voters want money out of politics,” Westly said. “The only thing top-two did was expand its role.”

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Welcome to Authoritarianism
An example of the phony "top two" system.  In 2014 it was a Democrat vs. Democrat choice for voters in the 6th State Senate District.
.
The corrupt "top two" phony election system gives the voters a choice of only one political party.  There was no Republican on the ballot and all small opposition parties and independent candidates are banned.  The corrupt Elites have even made your write-in vote illegal.  (More)

A One-Party U.S. Senate Election.
In 2016 California voters were given the pretend "choice" between Democrat Kamala Harris and Democrat Loretta Sanchez. Voters were not allowed any other choices on the general election ballot.

One-Party Rule
The People's Republic of California is now a one-party state where small opposition parties are banned from the general election ballot. Other countries where only one party is on the ballot include Communist North Korea, Communist China, Communist Vietnam and Communist Cuba.
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Now the People's Republic of California joins their overseas Brothers in holding mock, pretend elections.