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Ray Haynes

Working the Political Process to Create a Republican Majority

I began this series with the story of the tour of California by Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Kasich to “change” how the California Republican Party approaches voters. As I have said over and over again, the purpose of the political process is to persuade voters to entrust you with power. One thing I know, if the “choice” the voters have is a Kasich/Schwarzenegger Republican Party and a Brown/DeLeon/Newsom/Villaraigosa Democrat Party, voters will choose the Democrats, as they proved when given the choice between Brown and Meg Whitman, who ran as a Schwarzenegger clone. When Governor Brown pointed out that Whitman was saying the exact same things that Schwarzenegger had said in the recall, she lost her lead, and ultimately, the election to Brown. Voters want, in the words of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, a “choice” not an “echo.”

When I wrote my second installment of this piece, I set out what that choice should be. The Brown, etc. Democrat party is the party of welfare for illegals, out of control government unions, big pension and bonded indebtedness, taxes and hatred of the entrepreneurial and working… Read More

Richard Rider

Tax law change makes paying union dues more painful. Good!

Most public employee labor union dues are used to elect politicians or to pass (or oppose) propositions. The actual percentage of these dues spent on politics is unknown, as the unions report whatever they want, and there’s no independent audit. There is no oversight of this reporting process by the IRS, FTB, or any other government agency.

The unions generally claim that about 25%-30% of union dues are spent on politics and politicians. In the rare instance where a court looks in detail at labor union political spending, the figure the court comes up with is usually a more realistic (but in my estimation still understated) 60% to 70%.

Up until the Trump tax reform, one ridiculous subsidy for the labor unions was to allow such dues to be deducted by individual union members on their federal and state income tax filings. It was allowed as a “miscellaneous deduction,” which combined with other miscellaneous write-offs had to exceed 2% of adjusted gross income (AGI). to be used as a deduction.

In essence, this allowed many union members to deduct certain insurance payments buried in theRead More

Ray Haynes

Persuading Voters to Entrust Republicans With Power

A rule of politics: The purpose of the political process is to persuade people to entrust you with power. In a republic such as ours, that means if the Republicans are actually going to obtain a majority, the voters need to be persuaded that the things Republicans want for the electorate will actually improve the lives of the individuals in the electorate. There are always two ways to win elections. Either (1) persuade people that what your opponents want to do is so bad for them that they dare not let them get control of the levers of government; or (2) what you want to do for them will make their lives better than they are now. The first method of obtaining power is effective in the short term, but once the party obtains power, they actually have to govern. As Republicans in Washington have found out, when people are dissatisfied with the governing party, they want an agenda of change, which means first, Republican must first have an agenda.

It is obvious to anyone who pays attention that Democrats are screwing up this state. The first piece of evidence of this is the fact that people are leaving the state in droves. Secondly, to anyone who is paying attention… Read More

Katy Grimes

AG Jeff Sessions in CA To Stop Illegal Sanctuary State Laws

Sacramento – United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a visit to Sacramento Wednesday to announce a lawsuit against California for its sanctuary state and cities policies of interference and lack of cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.“American Citizens Have Dreams Too,” Sessions said, paraphrasing President Donald Trump’s recent statement.

Read More

Katy Grimes

California Sh*thole: Sacto Mayor and Council Continue Fight Against Developer While Ignoring Local Housing Needs

Sacramento Developer Petrovich Spent $50 Million Cleaning Up Toxic Rail Yard, While Sacramento City Council Spent $800,000 in Legal Fees To Stop His Development

Part lll ofCalifornia Sh*thole: Leftist Politicians Playing Politics With CA Businesses. Part ll is here.

Long-time California developer Paul Petrovich has been working since 2003, and invested upwards of$100 millionin his Crocker Village development project— an infill development on an old abandoned Union Pacific rail yard. The plans include the already built handsome three-story Brownstone homes, affordable housing, senior housing, and upcoming… Read More

Richard Rider

California MSM refuses to fully report legislature’s sexual harassment scandal

What is “fake news“? Definitions abound, of course.

But IMHO, the most common examples of fake news in the MSM are “lies of omission.” Our state newspapers have been covering a major story — while diligently FAILING to report a critical aspect of this huge scandal.

Over 150 women (I haven’t heard the figure recently) have come forward to report sexual harassment in our Sacramento state capitol. A number of state legislators have been investigated, with some resignations. All this has been diligently reported.

But what has NOT been reported is the number of sexual harassment claims against politicians and senior staffers in EACH political party. This omission persists — in spite of the fact that these accusations have been known for several months.

Looking over the newspaper stories, it appears that almost EVERY miscreant that is being investigated or sanctioned is a Democrat. To date I’ve foundRead More

Katy Grimes

Stockton Students Beat Cop, Smash Police Car In  Worst ‘Quality of Life’ State of CA

The “No More Violence” school protest ends with a cop beating and a smashed police car.

More than 600 student protestors from five Stockton high schools took to the streets for a “No More Violence” anti-gun rally Friday, which turned violent when the brainiacs attacked a cop, stole his baton, stomped on his midsection, and smashed several police cars. They also threw rocks through car windows of innocent passersby, and hundreds of the students ran through a nearby mall like a herd of cattle. At least five students were arrested for the violence, attacks, and damage to six police cars.

What nice… Read More

Ray Haynes

Toward a Dominant Republican Party in California

Is California a lost cause for Republicans? It is so big, and these days so liberal, it is hard to imagine a time when Republicans can take over the state government. The good news is that Democrats are doing everything in their power to destroy the state, and people are moving out in droves. If you doubt me, go to U-Haul and try to rent a truck. You will find they are very expensive, much more expensive than in neighboring states. The U-Haul price issue, driven by the fact that more people are moving out than moving in, is the proverbial “canary in the coal mine,” California, blessed with the best weather and most abundant land in the country, is literally chasing people out of the state, and deterring people from moving in.

Enter former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Governor John Kasich, announcing in the last few days that they want to redirect the Republican Party. Make no mistake, Schwarzenegger has tried this before, and his policies were so unpopular that he did more to destroy the California Republican Party than any other single politician. Governor Kasich should just go back to Ohio, we don’t need his help here.

Charles… Read More

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