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Nothing But Misery for a Sinking California GOP

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Trump Trumped by Protests

I spent the weekend in Los Angeles, doing the kinds of thing Angelenos like to brag about in selling their city as a tourism destination. I went to a Keith Jarrett concert, dropped in on the Last Book Store, and caught a glimpse of the Daytime Emmys, which just happened to be staged at our hotel.

I posted vacation pictures on Facebook, ate some amazing meals, and walked more than six miles in one day as we explored the heart of the city. There was, however,  no escaping the politics of the era.

Thousands of SEIU janitors jammed up traffic on the day we arrived, demanding higher pay, better working conditions and an end to unfair labor practices. Their chants echoed up the towers of our hotel. A Saturday stroll through the park ended up at a Bernie Sanders rally. And a last-minute decision to check out an exhibit at the Getty Room of the LA Public Library ended up being a cautionary tale about the Rise of the Donald.   [Read more…]

The 2016 Mayoral Contest: Lori Saldaña Aims to Offer a Choice, Not an Echo

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If you buy into the notion, currently in vogue with supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, of Democratic party orthodoxy as being little more than Republican lite, then Lori Saldaña would the logical choice to vote for in the upcoming San Diego mayoral primary.

The former assemblywoman has an activist pedigree, a history of hard-fought grassroots campaigns, and the enmity of the local political establishment.

In January Saldaña launched an independent campaign to challenge Kevin Faulconer, undaunted by a million dollar war chest (including PACs) and the advantages accompanying incumbency in America’s Finest City. The current mayor’s single greatest accomplishment thus far, in my opinion, has been directing the public relations players at his disposal in a non-stop symphony of praise for their leader, so it ain’t gonna be easy.   [Read more…]

The 2016 Mayoral Contest: Ed Harris Takes a Stand Against Business as Usual

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“The City is a huge landlord. It has to quit giving away our own assets.”

Ed Harris wasn’t supposed to ruffle any feathers during his appointed term on the San Diego City Council.

The former marine and lifeguard union leader was supposed to be a bookmark, holding down the Second District seat vacated by now-Mayor Kevin Faulconer until election day rolled around. The city charter’s terms for this temporary tenure included a proviso barring him from actually running for the seat in fall 2014 election.

Then it came time for the kind of wink, wink, nod, nod agreement involving trading off public assets for political gain considered normal in America’s Finest City.  Harris surprised a lot of people by taking a principled and public stand against what he believed was a sweetheart deal involving proposed lease terms of Belmont Park to Pacifica Enterprises.   [Read more…]

Rule By American Dynasty Sinks Deeper Into Our Democracy

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By Frank Thomas

I’ve always thought it would be nearly impossible for Bernie to ultimately win over the establishment status-quo Democratic forces so typically fearful of genuine progressive change … so caught up in an incremental rearguard progress and presidential nomination campaign that is manipulatively, simplistically characterized as one of ‘idealism’ versus ‘realism.’ So, the message in short seems to be, vote for the candidate of “lowered expectations.”

Rule by American Dynasty appears to be sinking deeper into our oligarchical democracy led by the anointed-to-be queen, Hillary … empowered by a pervasive political network built up during Bill’s presidency and her time as an NY senator and Secretary of State; helped by the corruption of ‘Big Money,’ a plutocratic biased media, the premature, nefarious endorsements of 500 superdelegates BEFORE the nomination campaign began.   [Read more…]

Charles Koch Denounces His Creation, The Modern Republican Party

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By Joan McCarter / DailyKos.com

Charles Koch admitted on ABC’s This Week Sunday that he despises his own creation: The Republican party that spawned Donald Trump.

Koch gave a sort of backhanded endorsement of Hillary Clinton over Trump and Cruz, saying “it’s possible” Clinton would be a better alternative as president. Clinton immediately responded on Twitter, writing she is “not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote.”   [Read more…]

The 2016 Mayoral Contest: Being Cool is a Full Time Job for Incumbent Kevin Faulconer

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Homeless advocates in San Diego have a special donation for Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s re-election campaign: a shopping cart full of rocks. At midday on Tuesday, they deliver them to City Hall, urging the mayor to try cementing the rocks on his mattress before going to sleep.

It’s a payback that’s symbolic on many levels. Earlier this month, they say, the city began installing rockscapes under bridges where local homeless people sleep.

“You can’t treat human beings like pests,” declared Amikas president, Jeeni Criscenzo. “These are human beings, not birds. They need to be treated with respect. This action is not only cruel and a waste of taxpayer dollars, it does nothing to solve the problem.”     [Read more…]

Millennials Poll Shows Sanders’ Revolution Reshaping US Electorate

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“He’s not moving a party to the left. He’s moving a generation to the left,” says pollster

By Deirdre Fulton / Common Dreams

Bernie Sanders is changing the face of American politics, a new poll from Harvard’s Institute of Politics suggests.

According to the survey released Monday, Sanders remains the most popular presidential candidate for so-called millennials between the ages of 18-29, 54 percent of whom view him favorably, compared to 31 percent who harbor unfavorable views.

Just 37 percent of respondents say they see Sanders rival Hillary Clinton favorably, compared to 53 percent who do not.   [Read more…]

The Other Big 2016 California Primary: U.S. Senate

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California’s primary counts this year. While media coverage of presidential candidates wooing voters in the Golden State is steadily increasing, another primary contest with national implications is flying under the radar.

Sen. Barbara Boxer’s retirement creates the first open U.S. Senate seat in California in more than two decades. Based on the activity level of Sen. Dianne Feinstein recently, it could be a while until the next opportunity presents itself.   [Read more…]

We Will Show Trump the Beautiful Door to Get-The-Hell-Out-Of-San-Diego

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By San Diego Free Press and OB Rag Editors

We anticipate that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will visit San Diego during the California presidential primary campaign.

We at the San Diego Free Press and OB Rag will join with other San Diegans during his campaign stops in our city in expressing our adamant opposition to the racist, xenophobic and misogynist policies espoused by Trump.   [Read more…]

Voting Problems Plague High-Stakes Primary Day in New York

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Some precincts opened two hours later than they were supposed to, while some would-be voters’ names couldn’t be found on registration lists

By Deirdre Fulton / CommonDreams

Amid charges of voting machine mishaps and names purged from voter rolls, New Yorkers cast their ballots Tuesday in high-stakes Democratic and Republican primaries—those who were able to, at least.

The results in New York’s closed primary could define the rest of the race, putting the Empire State in the rare campaign spotlight.   [Read more…]

Mayor Faulconer’s Republican Unicorns: Jobs! And the Minimum Wage Veto

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The Committee for Slave Wages and Free Puppies for Everybody Lives On

Have you seen the Falconer for Mayor ads in social media yet? San Diego’s incumbent mayor is claiming credit –sort of– for a 34% drop in local unemployment since he was elected. If you buy into this claim, you’ll love the expected follow-up ads claiming credit for the sun rising, the sun setting, and better-than-usual surf in Ocean Beach.

Think of this employment claim as like a candidate standing next to a cardboard cutout of somebody famous, hoping for the perceived endorsement. In Faulconer’s case, this cutout could be anybody but a member of his own political party since it would be hard to find a living Republican with a positive economic record. And hasn’t he heard the proclamations from his fellow Republicans about how jobs are fleeing the People’s Republic of California?

Independent mayoral candidate Lori Saldaña called Falconer out this claim this week, pointing to the reality that San Diegans are working more for less money, thanks to his veto of a minimum wage increase in 2014.   [Read more…]

Replacing Rasputin: A Subtext of the Election Contest for City Attorney

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Termed-out City Attorney Jan Goldsmith felt free to drop the pretense of serving all the public last week during his introduction of Texas Senator Ted Cruz at a campaign rally in Mission Valley.

“We believe in jobs, freedom and security. You know something? The Democrats don’t believe in these values,” Goldsmith said. So much for my theory that he wasn’t an ideologue.

The point here is that the current occupant of that office has utilized the resources available to him to protect political allies, namely the ones who believe that a plurality of the electorate owes its allegiance to a political party in the city engaged in undermining “jobs, freedom and security.”   [Read more…]

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