California

CA GOP Dubs Self 'Party Of Yes', Then Calls For Vote Of 'No'

Igor Bobic | May 4, 2012, 1:01PM

California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro

The California Republican Party, dubbed the "Party of No" for years by Democratic lawmakers, sought to rebrand its image at a Thursday press conference in Sacramento by calling themselves the "Party of Yes."

"So often, we have to rely on others to say what we believe and who we are and what we think," Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway said, reports Southern California Public Radio. "And I always prefer to do that for myself."

The press conference kicked off a statewide tour ahead of next month's GOP primary as well as a push to counter a new $9 billion tax initiative, backed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D), which is intended to help close California's notorious budget deficit. Republican lawmakers appeared before a "Party of Yes" banner (image here) and touted their affirmative support for jobs, fiscal responsibility and tax relief, but then called for a "no" vote on the new tax measure.

"Jerry Brown is turning in his signatures as we speak to make that (top tax rate) the highest rate in the country," said California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro of the initiative, the Sacramento Bee reports. "We think that's the wrong way to go."

To their credit, however, California's Republicans haven't always said "no" to everything. Back in February, they turned the tables on Democrats and supported Brown's 12-point plan to overhaul public pensions -- a key Democratic interest.

Dianne Feinstein

Dianne Feinstein Blames Bad Poll Numbers on Economy

Igor Bobic | June 22, 2011, 10:45AM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) says she isn't dismayed by a recent Field Poll survey demonstrating her plunging re-election rating in California, even though growing worries over the economy continue to hound her ahead of next year's re-election bid for a fourth term.

"I know I can't work any harder than I'm working," she told TPM following a senate vote yesterday. "I think a lot of this is the context of the economy: 12% unemployment. I understand that [and] I'm doing everything I possibly can."

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Pres '12

Poll: Obama Way Ahead Of 2012 GOP Challengers In California

Jon Terbush | February 7, 2011, 2:11PM

Pres. Barack Obama (D)

Just before the midterm elections, a poll of California voters found that more people disapproved of President Obama's job performance than approved of it. Yet a new PPP poll shows that Obama's approval rating has rebounded, and he now holds commanding leads in all the potention 2012 matchups against the current frontrunners for the Republican presidential nomination.

Mike Huckabee was the most competitive challenger in the poll, trailing Obama 54% to 39%. Mitt Romney fared second best of the GOP contenders, lagging the President 56% to 36%. Both results are slightly tighter than the 24 point margin by which Obama won the state in the 2008 election.

The poll also showed Obama beating Newt Gingrich 58% to 34%, and blowing out Sarah Palin 62% to 31%.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger: Being Governor Cost Me At Least $200M

David Taintor | January 17, 2011, 1:41PM

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

Poor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fresh off the end of his last term as governor of California, he told an Austrian newspaper that his time in office cost him at least $200 million in expenses and lost income that he could have otherwise made from acting.

But don't pity the former governor just yet. "It was more than worth it," he said.

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Proposition 19

Prop 19 Burnout: Why Did Pot Legalization Fail In California?

Marc Kilstein | November 5, 2010, 8:30AM

Attorney Omar Figueroa in a medical marijuana garden in Sonoma County, California.

On Tuesday, California residents voted down Proposition 19, the state's marijuana legalization ballot initiative, by a 54%-46% margin. A few months ago, statewide polling on the initiative found that Californians were in support of the measure significantly more than they were in opposition to it. As September survey results rolled in, however, findings began to suggest a stark shift in public opinion and the California legalization narrative was flipped on its head. In the final two months leading up to election day, opposition steadily increased in the polls while support markedly dwindled.

So what happened?

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Blazed: Mexico Burns 134 Tons Of Confiscated Marijuana]

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Beverly Hills Tea Party

Take Back Our Rodeo Drive: Pat Boone Helps Launch 'Beverly Hills Tea Party' (VIDEOS)

Jillian Rayfield | September 28, 2010, 9:19AM

Ralliers at the Beverly Hills Tea Party

Just call it "Beverly Hills, 9021-Obama Is A Socialist."

Last weekend, famous crooner and national spokesman for the 60 Plus Association Pat Boone launched a "Beverly Hills Tea Party." Aimed at those lonely conservatives in Los Angeles, the rally featured the creme de la creme of right-wing celebrities, who, as always, warned against our socialist President and the tyranny he and his pesky liberal brethren are trying to impose.

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CA-Prop 19

Will California Legalize Pot? So Far, the Polling's Been Hazy

Thomas Rhiel | July 28, 2010, 5:45PM

The state of California and a pot leaf.

Polling on Proposition 19 -- a California ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana -- has started to pick up. Three polls from July, including a PPP poll (PDF) released Monday, bring the total number of Prop 19 polls up to six. So, what's the verdict thus far? Will California be the first state to legalize non-medicinal weed?

At the moment, it's still anyone's guess -- the polling is enough to make anyone dazed and confused. Monday's PPP survey found voters supporting the initiative 52%-36%, and a SurveyUSA poll from two weeks ago showed support outweighing opposition by 10 points. But a Field Poll released earlier this month showed support lagging 44%-48%, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll from late June found support statistically tied with opposition, 48%-50%. What gives?

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CA-SEN

PPP Poll: Boxer Leads Fiorina -- And Has Better Hair

Eric Kleefeld | July 27, 2010, 2:27PM

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senate candidate Carly Fiorina (R-CA)

The new Public Policy Polling (D) survey of the California Senate race gives Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer a lead over her Republican opponent, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. Though Boxer's own ratings remain only modest, Fiorina's are, nevertheless, even lower at the moment.

The worse news for Fiorina, though, is that slightly more voters prefer Boxer's hairdo.

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2010 elections

Could California Scrap Party Primaries Today?

Eric Kleefeld | June 8, 2010, 5:20PM

On the ballot in today's California primary is a measure that would affect the state's elections for many years to come: a referendum on scrapping the traditional primary system itself, and changing over to "top two" blanket primaries and runoffs.

The referendum, Proposition 14, would replace the conventional separate Democratic and Republican primaries with a system in which all candidates run on the same ballot. The top two finishers in the primary, regardless of party, would then advance to a runoff general election. The same system has been used in Louisiana, and was adopted in the last few years in Washington state. A SurveyUSA poll from the last few days suggests that Prop. 14 is on its way to passage: Yes 50%, No 28%.

As such, many districts would see races of one Democrat versus one Republican -- but many other places, such as heavily Democratic San Francisco or heavily Republican Bakersfield, would see two candidates of the same party. It is widely believed that such a system would benefit moderates in such races, as Dem voters would gravitate towards a less conservative Republican and GOP voters would pick the less liberal Democrat. As Nate Silver dubbed the idea a year ago: "Land of a thousand Liebermans."

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