Exactly 9 years ago today, I joined a group of independent conservatives to participate in the first nationwide Tea Party event and to cofound the SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition.
Between California’s War on Trump and the exodus of taxpayers out of this state, it may seem as if the Democrats have completely overrun this state. Therefore, I wanted to take the occasion of this anniversary to offer an optimistic perspective for your consideration.
A few weeks ago, I noted that the glamorous Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and the former Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, were ahead in the polls for the 2018 Governor’s Race. While polls at this stage are meaningless, this news was still troubling, as our top-two primary system could lead to a choice between a scandal-ridden, progressive Trump-hater or a scandal-ridden, progressive Trump-hater for the state’s top spot this November.
There is some intriguing, new information related to the Governor’s race. Not only did the California Democratic Party fail to endorse a candidate for U.S. Senator, it also failed to tap one for the state’s chief executive officer.
After the votes were tallied, no consensus was reached for a gubernatorial candidate. Newsom received the highest percentage of votes with 39 percent, followed by Chiang with 30 percent, Delaine Eastin with 20 percent, and Villaraigosa with 9 percent.
This is a little political sunshine for we happy few conservatives remaining in this state. First, it means that the Democratic Party is in complete disarray if even the bluest blue group doesn’t have a strong leader who can rally the troops.
Secondly, Californians may be getting an adult option for Governor this November (despite ourselves). One of the more mature Democratic politicians in the nation is the California Treasurer John Chiang. For example, in 2011, he actually applied the rule of law to the state’s Assembly:
Chiang announced on June 2, 2011 that unless the state legislature passed a balanced budget by June 15, the deadline specified in the California Constitution, he would start docking their pay….On June 22, Chiang announced that he was following through with his promise. Legislators did pass a budget, but according to Chiang, the budget they passed had a $1.85 billion deficit, and was therefore not a legal budget under the state’s requirement that its budget must be balanced. Therefore, Chiang said, there was functionally no budget and by the terms of Proposition 25, he was required to stop paying the state’s legislators. The impact to individual members of the California State Legislature was about $400/day. In Chiang’s statement, he said that parts of the budget the legislature did pass were “miscalculated, miscounted or unfinished.
Granted, Chiang has demonstrated signs of Trump Derangement Syndrome. San Diego pundit W.C. Varones explains:
John Chiang used to be a reasonable, responsible guy. But it seems he’s been forced to take some crazy left positions to compete in the Dem primary of lunatics.
It has been remarked that Chiang is a “bespectacled, fiscally prudent and wonkish type“. However, in the #MeToo era, this may work to his advantage.
Without mentioning their names, Chiang took shots at both Newsom and Villaraigosa. He alluded to the fact that both weathered embarrassing episodes when their past marital problems spilled into the public eye.“You deserve a governor with integrity to lead and the character to make every Californian proud,” said Chiang, who is state treasurer. “You deserve a governor you can trust, a governor with the credibility to go after sexual harassers.”
Chiang is also working on his image as well. His latest campaign video is a fun homage to the popular Dos Equis beer ad “The Most Interesting Man in World”.
I hope that the Republicans can come up with a viable candidate. However, in the meantime, I assert that California now has the most interesting gubernatorial race in the nation for what it may say about the future of the Democratic Party and the state.
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