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Border Economy to see Greater Emphasis under Filner Administration

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Also, is the UT-San Diego editorial bias leeching into the newsroom?

Mayor-Elect Bob Filner announced last Friday that he was going to open an office just south of the border in Tijuana. Some people scratched their heads and asked “why?” Some people undoubtedly were infuriated because they thought it was just another stupid move by an ultra-liberal politician to kowtow to the illegal immigrant population and cede more of our own nation’s authority to foreign entities. After all, we’re ‘Mericans, and we don’t take a back seat to nobody, and all these stinkin’ liberals can go to hell if they don’t believe in the superiority of ‘Merica!

Still, there were others who no doubt thought, “Now why didn’t we do this sooner?” And that’s a very good question. The City of Tijuana, apparently, has an office right here in Downtown San Diego. We are two major cities, each with a population of roughly 1.3 million people, and separated only by a demarcation line on a map (and a very large fence). Look to the south from Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach and you’re staring not at other parts of San Diego, but at the hills of Tijuana.

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We all know about the editorial bent of the UT-San Diego; how rabidly right wing they are. As in the craziest of the crazy Tea Party right wing. This is the editorial board that predicted that Mitt Romney would win the presidency “in a landslide,” over Barack Obama (Obama won in a landslide). This is also the editorial page that presented us with an apocalyptic view of post-election America entitled “A Eulogy For America,” lamenting that “there are dark days ahead for the country,” and that “this country has been remolded by socialists and communists who have wormed their way into our government, news media, and our education system. “

This is the kind of irrational, far right wing, Tea Party lunacy that has absolutely zero foundation in reality that we’ve come to expect from the UT-San Diego opinion pages since “Lynchester” (apologies to Doug Porter, but I’ve grown fond of said moniker instead of “The Dougchester) purchased the paper. I mean, Fox News and the World Net Daily ain’t got nothin’ on Lynchester’s publication. But we don’t expect this kind of thing from the newsroom.   [Read more…]

Bilbray Concedes: Peters Elected to Represent CA 52

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UPDATED Democratic challenger unseats longtime Republican incumbent.

According to a report first published by the UT-San Diego, Republican Representative Brian Bilbray has conceded his race for reelection to Democratic challenger Scott Peters.

As the polls closed on Election Day and as the vote counts began coming in from the Registrar of Voters, Bilbray maintained a lead throughout the night. But the margin started shrinking as more precincts reported in. As the clock ticked toward midnight on Nov. 7, the two candidates were separated by a mere 13 votes. By 1:30am, Peters had gained a 321 vote advantage.

It was a lead he would never relinquish, and that would continue to grow as the Registrar turned its focus to mail-in and absentee ballots. As of last night, that margin stood at 3,877 votes in favor of Scott Peters.   [Read more…]

Election Update: Peters Widens Gap with Bilbray

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As the vote count at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office extends into its second week, Scott Peters continued to see his lead in the 52nd Congressional District race grow. The previous update from the Registrar showed Peters with a 1,899 vote lead over Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray.

As of last night’s update, with approximately 210,000 mail-in and provisional ballots from around the county yet to be counted, Peters’ lead grew to 2,660, further dimming Bilbray’s reelection hopes.   [Read more…]

Republicans’ Exile into Ignominy Not Healthy in the Long Run

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Anti-tax, anti-reality zealotry smacked down in San Diego, statewide, and nationally, but a more moderate and modern Republican Party is needed for good governance long term.

Last week, Republicans across America—and especially in California—were dealt a pretty crushing defeat. Despite confident predictions to the contrary and despite a pre-election victory dance being done by Republicans and their talking heads on Fox News, Barack Obama thrashed Republican standard bearer Mitt Romney to win a second term as President of the United States.

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Scott Peters’ Lead Grows

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The race to determine who will represent San Diego’s 52nd Congressional District has not yet been officially determined, but with 260,000 mail in/absentee ballots from all around San Diego County left to be counted, Democratic challenger Scott Peters’ lead over Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray has grown. With the latest vote tally showing 118,476 votes for […]

Election Update: Peters Edges Closer to Victory

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In the race to determine who the representative for the California 52nd Congressional District will be, Democrat Scott Peters saw his razor thin lead over incumbent Republican Brian Bilbray grow to 1,334 votes as the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office continued to tally the remaining absentee and mail-in ballots. Peters is poised to […]

California Swings More Democratic; State Legislature Now Fully Two-Thirds in Dem Hands

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Republican incumbents Bono-Mack, Lungren, and Bilbray down in their re-election bids; GOP further marginalized in California

Lost in the wake of President Barack Obama’s sizeable win over Mitt Romney and the high profile Congressional races in California were the gains California Democrats made in both houses of the State Legislature. During the wave midterm election in 2010, where California bucked the national trend that went Tea Party wild, California swung even deeper blue, with Democrats winning every statewide election and solidified their majorities in the Legislature.
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The Most Important Election Day in Our Lifetime

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Nov. 6, 2012: A defining moment in San Diego’s—and the country’s—history. Some final election day thoughts on the Presidential, 52nd Congressional District, and San Diego Mayoral races.

It’s been a long and sometimes grueling process, one that has caused even the most enthusiastic of politifiles (yes, I just made that up) to want to tear their hair out. But today it all comes to an end (we hope). The 2012 election, which really started more than a year-and-a-half ago, culminates tonight with the official vote tallies to determine who our national and local leaders will be; who will be our next president, our next members of Congress, and who will be San Diego’s next mayor.

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Advice to Bob Filner: Stop Vilifying Dean Spanos and the Chargers

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The San Diego mayoral candidate’s clumsy statements about the team owner are not helpful, or wise. Update: Watch KUSI Debate

I like Bob Filner. I think he’s been an outstanding representative of our region in Congress, and I think he’ll make a very good mayor. I’ve enjoyed the several interactions that I’ve had with him during his campaign for mayor. I think he’s the right candidate to look to in order to create a better economic environment for all of San Diego. This online publication recently endorsed Bob Filner, and I fully and completely support that endorsement. I wrote the damn thing, after all!

So yes, I will be voting for Bob Filner on Nov. 6. No question whatsoever about it.

There is one thing, though, that I do wish Filner would clean up his act about. During a debate last night on KUSI between Filner and his opponent, Carl DeMaio, the question was posed about the candidates’ support for a new stadium for the Chargers. Both opposed public subsidies, although DeMaio supports the idea of a sports entertainment complex that will include a new football stadium. “But it has to be privately funded,” he said.   [Read more…]

Bilbray Skips Out on Scheduled Debate

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With his opponent Brian Bilbray a no show, Scott Peters makes his case to the Ocean Beach Town Council.

Congressional candidates Scott Peters and Brian Bilbray were scheduled to square off in front of the Ocean Beach Town Council last night as a part of the council’s Candidates Forum, but apparently someone forgot to inform Mr. Bilbray. Instead, Democrat Scott Peters held the floor to answer questions from the audience.

It was noted that the council had invited Mr. Bilbray, and that he and his campaign had confirmed that he would attend. No explanation was given for his absence.

“I want to cut costs to save the program,” Peters said when asked about the attack ads by his opponent regarding his stance on Medicare. “Mr. Bilbray has voted to cut benefits and end the program.” He said that savings in Medicare can be achieved by allowing the government to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs, which it currently by law cannot do; by reducing fraud and overbilling; electronic record keeping that will help increase efficiencies; and taking it from “a sick care system to a healthcare system that incentivizes prevention.”   [Read more…]

Shapeshifting Romney Smacked Around in Final Presidential Debate

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Two weeks out from the election, Romney attempts to reinvent himself on foreign policy, auto bailout.

Remember that debate two weeks ago? That one was unquestionably won decisively by Mitt Romney? That was the day that a whole new Mitt Romney emerged from this campaign: It signaled the first appearance of “Moderate Mitt,” as Bill Clinton like to call him.

That night the President came out lethargic, clearly not ready to spar with an aggressive and confident Republican challenger. Perhaps (probably) he was caught off guard by the sudden and unexpected softening of the Republican on so many issues, ranging from abortion to his compassion for “the 100%.” Obama was expecting to meet the “severe conservative” Mitt Romney on the stage that night in Denver, but instead encountered a whole new Mitt Romney that the nation had never met before. It was quite obvious that the new and improved Mitt Romney 3.0 threw Obama off his game. He didn’t quite know how to react to this brand new model. Consider that after scarcely a word about his time as Governor of Massachusetts, suddenly it’s a central talking point?   [Read more…]

Peters vs. Bilbray: The Vacuum Debates

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San Diego’s 52nd Congressional District candidates square off, but few seem to have noticed.

Did you happen to catch the debates between Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray and Democratic challenger Scott Peters this past week? No? You’re not alone. My guess is that not too many people knew they were happening. I certainly didn’t, and I’m paying attention; a lot more than the average voter, I would suppose.

The last I had heard was that Peters was doing everything possible to try and goad his opponent into a get-together. Back in August, Bilbray issued a challenge to Peters to a series of four debates. The Peters campaign replied that “Mr. Bilbray has issued a challenge to debates we agreed to weeks ago.” The Peters camp took a very Pat Hill “anytime, anywhere” stance, but still could not get anything on the schedule. According a Peters spokesperson, every time a date was proposed, Bilbray claimed a conflict. (For those who don’t know, Pat Hill is the former Fresno St. University football coach who constantly whined about his program’s inability to get a game against the big boys. “We’ll play anyone, anywhere” became Fresno State’s unofficial motto.)   [Read more…]

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