It’s been said many times that politics and campaigns are the intersecting points of money and power, and that axiom may be truer now than ever before. And our region looks to be one of the nation’s battlegrounds that will put this rough ‘n tumble ideal to the test.
Have we ever seen a time like this – almost all-out political war from
one end of the
Take the bizarre case of the raw power grab
represented by the attempted recall of State Sen. Jeff Denham. The
President Pro tem of the Legislature’s upper chamber –
And for what must Denham be kicked out of his democratically elected office, you ask? Having the temerity to exercise his free will to vote against the bloated and badly flawed state budget this year, that’s what!
Ultimately, the Legislature was tied in knots for 52 days while the honorable members of the Legislature went through their annual exercise of cobbling together enough votes to pass their budget – which is less democracy than more a greased pig sacking contest.
For this, Denham is to be removed from office. I think we have lost our ability to be
shocked by anything that happens in
The Stockton Record reports on a fascinating detail: One of the Capitol’s most powerful unions – the California Correctional Peace Officers Association – has donated $25,000 to Perata’s slush fund, known by the Soviet-style name of the Voter Education and Registration Fund. But here’s a catch: the CCPOA is also a staunch backer of Denham’s. So what gives? Here’s a clip from the Record:
“Hopefully, none of the $25,000 we gave went to that
effort,” CCPOA spokesman Ryan Sherman said. “We've always supported voter
education, and we support Jeff Denham. We don't think there is a reason to
recall him.”
When asked if his organization was irked that its money
might be used against Denham,
You’ve got to be kidding me.
You’d think an organization of law enforcement professionals would know a stick-up when they see one. Does anyone doubt that even a powerful union can be threatened by a brazen and powerful politician like Perata. Shame on the CCPOA: Not only for giving extortion money to Perata, but also having the temerity to call Jeff Denham a friend and then hold Perata’s coat.
Some are drawing a parallel between this move and the 1994 attempted recall of Mike Machado. Back then, the Record reports, “Dean Andal and other Machado critics tried to recall Machado for allegedly promising not to vote for Willie Brown for speaker, then doing so.”
Hardball politics to be sure, but wasn’t that a classically broken and specific promise on the part of Machado? That’s different than saying to Jeff Denham: “If you vote for the budget, I’m a fan of yours. If you don’t, I’m going to ruin you.”
Burn, baby, burn …
Speaking of Dean Andal, his upcoming race against Rep. Jerry McNerney appears to be one of the very hottest campaigns in the country. Burn, baby, burn …
First of all, the race is all but cemented, since the expected pullout of Guy Houston from the GOP race, although the Contra Costa Times reports in seeking his next race, it seems he’s settling for the soft bigotry of low expectations.
Assemblyman Guy Houston, R-San Ramon, has settled a
three-year-old civil lawsuit alleging that he helped his father defraud elderly
investors out of more than $340,000.
The case came up during his re-election campaign, and GOP
leaders gearing up for the 2008 congressional race sent a signal recently that
they preferred a candidate with no whiff of scandal, the more conservative Dean
Andal of Stockton.
Pushed out of the congressional running, the only
Republican left in a Bay Area partisan office turned to the local political
scene.
Houston announced this month that he would run next year for a seat on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors against incumbent Supervisor Mary Piepho, his former aide.
The venerable voice of the D.C. political scene Congressional Quarterly has listed the most important races for 2008, and the Andal-McNerney clash is right at the top.
Republicans are eager to challenge this 2006 upset winner
on turf that Pombo long dominated before ethics questions tarnished him; former
state Rep. Dean Andal is among the GOP hopefuls.
The Contra Costa Times solid political blog also adds this good point …
California Republicans seem to be uniting around businessman and former
assemblymember Dean Andal as the challenger to first-term incumbent Jerry
McNerney, the Contra Costa
Times reports. The demographics of this district, which includes parts of Contra
Costa,
So what will be the campaign debate be about? Well, besides the predictable back-and-forth, the Modesto Bee reports that 9-11 is going to be an issue in this campaign …
Further, in one of the great examples of pretzel logic, Jon Mendelson of the Tracy Press draws a connection between Karl Rove and the region’s divided political scene.
But inside Jon’s random musings were some seemingly clear thoughts.
You can see why the GOP would target the 11th
District:
•
As of February 2007, registered Republicans outnumbered their Democratic
counterparts 148,492 to 129,448 in the district — thanks to the 2000
gerrymandering that both Democrats and Republicans agreed
to.
•
Republicans typically raise more money than Democrats, an advantage in a race in
which both national parties will likely throw their weight
around
.
•
McNerney won’t be able to count on the support of the anti-Pombo environmental
groups that pumped up his campaign in 2006, as the target of their hatred has
moved on to other pastures.
That bodes well for a Republican campaign, and former Assemblyman Dean Andal is trying to carry the torch as the GOP frontrunner.
Hello, pot? It’s
the kettle calling. Yes, I’ll hold
…
Interesting that CQ would conclude that Pombo’s ethics questions likely caused his defeat, when Jerry is in a similar – if not same – boat.
What do I mean? Well, for a
couple of weeks now, Jerry’s been dealing with the aftermath of trying
to bail filthy money out of his campaign boat from a man named Bill Lerach. Heard of him? You should have. In the 1990s, he was one of the most
successful and most powerful people in
Now, he’s not so popular with his former patrons. Seems a little matter of going to prison will do that sometimes …
Here’s the Record’s take …
Rep. Jerry McNerney is giving away $2,000 a disgraced
McNerney now finds himself in a position common among
sitting lawmakers: giving back cash donated by questionable
sources.
It
is ironic, given that McNerney, a Pleasanton Democrat, spent a great deal of
time attacking former Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy for taking "dirty" money from
corrupt lobbyists such as Jack Abramoff.
But the news gets worse for Jerry:
Now the Republicans are demanding that McNerney return
$5,500 in contributions he received from members of Lerach's last law firm,
Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman & Robbins. That firm dropped Lerach
from its name when it announced his retirement last month to focus on his legal
troubles.
"Jerry McNerney can't even bring himself to do what
Hillary Clinton did, which is to give back the bundled dirty cash that a
suspected lawbreaker raised for him," said Ken Spain, spokesman for the National
Republican Congressional Committee. "It seems that his record on ethical
behavior continues to fall short of his campaign
rhetoric."
“Awkward” wind engineer will get windfall of money from
super-rich.
But don’t feel bad that Jerry had to give back some tainted money, as the San Francisco Chronicle reports …
In the Bay Area, this is the race to watch.
As one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "majority makers," McNerney will get lots
of outside help -- from environmental groups, wealthy Democratic donors and the
Internet activists who propelled his last campaign.
Andal
& Lerach, the Sequel
Interestingly, this is not the first time Andal has crossed paths with the disgraced king of lawsuit abuse Bill Lerach.
The Contra Costa Times relates some fascinating history:
Major
Democratic campaign contributor and trial attorney William Lerach pleaded guilty to federal charges
that he paid kickbacks to recruit plaintiffs in class-action
lawsuits. (A lot of Democrats,
including Rep.
Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, are returning the money or donating it to
charity.)
By
way of background, Lerach successfully sued the state in 2002 over auto smog
fees. An arbitration process awarded his firm $88.5 million in legal costs and
the state, as the losing party, would have to
pay.
Andal, then a member of the state Board of Equalization,
was rightfully outraged. He sued Lerach and won when the state appellate court
cut the bill to a mere $18.2 million.
Okay, Andal saved the taxpayers $70 million. Look for the
message on a campaign mailer coming to your house soon.
It’s not easy being
green
Even if 9-11 is only a peripheral issue in the Andal-McNerney race, it looks increasingly likely that environmental affairs will play a leading role. Is this a surprise?
Well, maybe. In many ways, it seems logical, because while “green” issues are usually the dominion of the liberal left, eventually, Republicans will have to ante into that poker game. And Dean Andal appears to be doing just that.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_6958140?nclick_check=1
In
no other 2008
Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney, a Pleasanton wind energy
consultant, defeated Republican Richard Pombo last November in part because
voters viewed Pombo as an enemy of the environment, and the chance to oust him
galvanized members of liberal groups such as the Sierra
Club.
Centrist Republicans also joined the anti-Pombo fight in
a move led by
Pombo disagreed with the characterization but he had
spent much of his 14-year political career in an unsuccessful pursuit of
policies that spurred environmentalists, such as the revamping of the federal
Endangered Species Act and promoting domestic oil and gas
drilling.
Dean Andal, the Stockton Republican who hopes to take the
seat away from McNerney next year, has already vowed that he will not cede the
environment to his opponent.
Andal opposes drilling off the California coast, for
example, and he says drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Area is a dead
issue. But he endorses more domestic oil and gas drilling elsewhere as a means
to reduce
Andal agrees with McNerney that the federal government
must invest in alternative energy such as solar, wind and biofuels but says they
cannot fulfill the nation's growing demand.
“For most of these environmental issues, the best result
is somewhere in the middle, where we have a balance between economic growth and
protecting the environment," Andal said.
“One of the mistakes Republicans make is that they forget that protecting
the environment is a good goal and there are ways we can work on it without
buying into big government solutions.”
It’s not easy being left wing, either
…
Jerry McNerney may not feel as though everything has changed since his upset win for Congress, but the landscape around him is quite different than just less than a year ago.
McNerney has authored a bill that would create a national gang activity database … but isn’t that sort of a domestic Patriot Act? Wonder what MoveOn.org would say about that, since they’ve given Jerry $50,000.
Once a dedicated darling of the national liberal network, Jerry’s finding out that when you credit your election to the Daily Kos and MoveOn.org types, what makes him think they won’t conclude they own him?
Fringe follower of the political scene David Dayen recently let it be known that Jerry has some “splaining to do …
There is certainly a concern in CA-11 with the Jerry
McNerney/Dean Andal race, particularly after McNerney's "I'm a moderate" comment
seemed to depress supporters.
That would be “liberal” supporters who think “moderate” is a dirty word.
He can’t even find refuge in the letters to the editor section of the Stockton Record, where the gamut runs from “he’s the lesser of two evils” to a query as to whether “MoveOn.org bought McNerney’s vote.”
Others on the left are chastising the newly moderate McNerney, and on more than one front.
His
bungled rhetoric during the
Note to Jerry: When the fringe left think you’ve gone too far in criticizing Rush Limbaugh, it’s a sure sign your pathetic attempts to mollify them are failing.