In 1993 and 1994, I was involved in the passage of California’s Three Strikes law. Then Assemblyman Bill Jones introduced it in the Legislature, and Mike Reynolds pressed the initiative. I had a role, mainly exposing the legislative process to radio talk show hosts John and Ken, who then created a public outcry that changed California politics for, well, a year. I however was engaged in the discussions and debates about the scope and effect of the law.

One of the key debates about that three strikes law then was what should constitute a third strike. The Reynolds/Jones bill said the first two strikes had to be “serious or violent felonies,” but the third strike could be “any felony.” The theory was that a person who had committed two serious or violent felonies was probably a bad guy anyway, and if he (or she) still engaged in any criminal behavior, he (or she) should be isolated from the rest of us for the rest of his or her life. Some on the left tried to pass legislation that would require three serious or violent felonies before a life sentence would be imposed, but I was persuaded by the argument, made by Jones and Reynolds, that… Read More

Remember the words “you didn’t built that- someone else did!”?

That seminal moment in the 2012 Presidential race may seem like years ago, as this political season has really ramped up and thousands of commercials, emails and mail pieces have inundated your TVs and mailboxes since President Obama stood on the stage in Virginia that summer day and stumped: “If you have a business, you didn’t build that. Someone else built that.”

The President’s aides and liberal pundits quickly stammered into damage control mode, claiming that the President’s words had been taken out of context and what he really meant was that all businesses are successful because of collective things provided by the government such as public roads and the internet.

In today’s 24 hour partisan media market, it seems at times the pundits are watching every candidate’s moves, waiting with bated breath for someone to slip up, say something wrong or veer of message, and when one does, it is as if Christmas came early.Any opportunity to take a statement and spin it, exploit it or take out it of context can produce days of political fodder, millions of dollars worth of TV… Read More