I went ahead and took Martin Luther King day off, so it’s a double dose of stories to cover tonight. Though first, in case you missed it, make sure to see my post today on Marsha Blackburn‘s call to action against stifling, destabilizing Internet and technology regulation.
Other than that, the big story this week so far has been the FCC finally approving the NBC Universal/Comcast merger. I don’t even know why the center-left is even supposed to be worried about that merger at this point. After all, they passed Net Neutrality, right? Anyway, it’s a real shame that this approval has only come with a number of special set asides for left-wing causes, but as I’ve said before, I’m guessing the shareholders will take what they can get after all of this delay.
Of course, the neo-Marxists are sobbing hysterically about this development. Let’s all pause, lower our heads, and take a moment to laugh at Free Press’s Josh Silver.
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Apparently some students are offended by the sight of the US flag. I have a message for them.
I’ve obtained a few documents and one link which really tell us where we are in California right now. Per the polling, which has remarkably projected in California little or no TEA party/Republican/Independent/conservative backlash at all, I still see Carly having a one third shot to win this, and if we saw polling which actually demonstrated a partisan enthusiasm gap, that number would have been much higher.
Because seriously, who or what is supposed to be motivating Democrats in California this year? Moonbeam Brown, who failed last time around? Babs Boxer, who couldn’t even get the Chronicle’s endorsement? Or maybe the high unemployment is the ticket for them? Get real.
Marty Wilson, the Carly for California Campaign Manager, has made more key points about the race, in a memo to “Interested Parties” I got a hold of. Third parties do better in California than other states. They don’t do well, but they pull in a few points, and the major polls ignore them. He’s also pointed out that Proposition 19 (Cannabis legalization) was supposed to help Democrats, but it’s likely to fail now. He predicts that Fiorina beats Boxer by three.
I don’t even know what a California recount would be like, but we might see one if it’s closer than that.
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It’s getting remarkably rough for the Democrats out here in California. Long, long time Assembly Speaker (and then after 1994 booted him out, San Francisco Mayor) Democrat Willie Brown has no confidence in any of the top Democrats, saying they have no ground operation at all. He applied that to Jerry Brown (Governor), Gavin Newsom (Lt. Governor), and Babs Boxer (Senate).
The Chamber of Commerce is also pounding on the Democrats, pointing out that No Ma’am Boxer bounced 143 checks in the House Bank scandal. No integrity. No honesty. She’s a thief.
Just one more reason we need to beat her and elect Carly Fiorina to the Senate.
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This is a relatively easy ballot to fill out this time. California Democrats are just that bad, down the line.
Governor: Meg Whitman. Easy call. No matter what you think of her, Jerry Brown was a disaster of a governor, and he has the nerve to ask to go back. That’s unacceptable.
Lieutenant Governor: Abel Maldonaldo. This guy probably doesn’t have any fans among conservatives, but seriously: Gavin Newsom is a whack job. Again, easy call.
Secretary of State: Damon Dunn. No problem voting for this guy who ran that other whack job Orly Taitz back to the fringe where she belongs.
Controller: Tony Strickland. Solid pick.
Treasurer: Mimi Walters. Bill Lockyer is so pathetic. Just go home. You’ve been in Sacramento too long.
Attorney General: Steve Cooley. The choice is LA or SF, and we all know what SF is every single time we look at Nancy Pelosi. We can’t afford a Nancy Pelosi Democrat that we get in Kamala Harris.
Insurance Commissioner: Mike Villines. This could become an especially important job as the Obamacare era comes to the state and insurance battles continues. We need a Republican.
State Board of Equalization, District 3: Michelle Steel. Again, do we really need more Tax and Spend Democrat up there?
US Senate: Carly Fiorina. A pro-life Republican for the first time in the Roe era. We can do it.
US Representative, District 45: Mary Bono Mack. Hey, she voted against Obamacare, and we know Steve Pougnet will alternate between padding his wallet and padding the treasury.
State Assembly: Brian Nestande. We need all the sanity we can get up there.
Judges: I really don’t know these judges, but I know that our last two governors have been terrible, with even the Girly Man appointing extremist left-wing judges, and so by default I’m rejecting every judge up there.
State Superintendent of Instruction: I’m not up on this race and so I’ll just do the opposite of the LA Times and vote Tom Torlakson. I don’t know if he’s any good and frankly I don’t think this should be an elective position. The Governor should control this.
Moreno Valley Unified School District Board: I got a flyer from the local union, and I’m voting the opposite: Anyone but Cleveland Johnson, Oscar Valdepena, and Jesus Holguin.
And now onto the propositions:
Proposition 19: Cannabis legalization. If this passes I admit I will enjoy watching California fight for federalism, but I can’t support it. No.
Proposition 20: Congressional redistricting goes to the Arnie/Democrat-created Commission and out of direct oversight from the voters. The goal is to gerrymand for the center left and away from conservatives. No.
Proposition 21: A car tax. No.
Proposition 22: Enforces an earmark specifically for transportation, redevelopment, and local government. Part of California’s budget crisis stems from idiotic restrictions like these draining power from the legislature. It tries to mandate higher spending in essence. No.
Proposition 23: Suspends AB32, the California Cap and Tax, until unemployment is sustained at or below 5.5% for a year. I’ll take what I can get. Yes.
Proposition 24: Tax hike on businesses. No.
Proposition 25: Changes requirement to pass a budget (and raise taxes) from 2/3 majority to simple majority, thus permanently removing the one bit of leverage conservatives have. No.
Proposition 26: Implements a 2/3 vote requirement for certain new local taxes. Yes.
Proposition 27: Eliminates the Arnie/Democrat-created redistricting Commission. Ensures districting stays with elected officials. Believe it or not but the gerrymander helps conservatives have a voice in the CRP and then cause trouble in Sacramento come budget time. Yes.
Riverside County Proposition K: Bond issue for trains. They say it’s also for freeways but you know that these people just love big train boondoggles. No.
Riverside County Proposition L: Lock in massive, unaffordable benefits to unions. Union boondoggle with scare tactics behind it. This isn’t driven by “public safety” but rather by union fatcats. No.
Riverside County Proposition M: Allow adjustment of the aforementioned union benefits via popular vote with no hidden pro-union restrictions. Yes.
Moreno Valley Proposition N: Advisory vote on having an elected Mayor. Yes, even though it’s only symbolic. The city is poorly run and I’d love for there to be a counterweight to the clearly ineffective city manager system.
Moreno Valley Proposition O: Advisory vote on having an election to change city law to have an elected Mayor. Huh? Well, for the above reason, Yes.
Moreno Valley Proposition P: Hotel tax hike. We just had two freaking hotels built on my side of town, and now we want to tax them? No.
It’s no wonder that the Chamber of Commerce, feared by Barack Obama, is ready to spend another $1.25 million educating Americans about the dismal failure that Babs Boxer’s 28 years in DC have been. Since Carly Fiorina started her ad offensive and kept piling on, the polls have been moving.
The television barrage has come just at the right time. While a month ago it looked like Boxer was threatening to take a double digit lead and make the race far less competitive, the newest poll has it a virtual tie.
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One goal’s already been hit, but they’re raising the bar. Retire Boxer.
My latest projection has this a competitive race, right on the second tier roughly. She’s running ads on television statewide and she’s fighting hard. This is an expensive state and she could use the help. The NRSC is also putting money in, so we’re not alone in helping out.
Remember: national Democrats were so worried about this state that Barack Obama flew out here twice for two separate fundraisers for Boxer. This is a rare and special chance, and I’m excited.
Apologies for missing the last two Tech at Nights. But unlike the paid staff of the well-funded Free Press, every word I’ve ever written here on technical issues has been on my own time, for free, because I care about the issues. And when work overwhelms me, as it did last week as a huge deadline approached, something had to give. And what gave was what I had to do at night when I just wanted to sleep.
So we start tonight with an update on the Waxman Net Neutrality bill. I wrote of it before in support of it, and proved prophetic as Henry Waxman used Republican opposition to justify radical, illegal FCC action on the issue.
It’s not too late, though. We can still build momentum to stop the FCC’s end run around the Congress, the Courts, and the Constitution. We need to talk up the Waxman bill because it is more limited than any other major proposal we’ve dealt with during this debate, because it would strictly, expressly forbid the FCC from doing the disastrous Title II reclassification which would give the FCC broad powers, and it’s just possible that the Congress taking the baton on this would encourage the FCC to back down until the process runs its course.
Politics matters, and there’s going to be a lame duck session. We can judo the Democrats on this, and use their bill in a bipartisan way to get the Congress behind a clear majority of the nation against massive Internet regulation. But we have to step up to the plate, ignore the Waxman name, and use the decent language of his proposal to make it happen. It’s time to put country first.
Especially when it gives even Barack Obama an out from a divisive issue, even as it gives American an out from regulation potentially more devastating to our economy than Obamacare, if it chokes off the Internet, one of our high growth, high potential areas.
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