Debra Saunders looks at the stealth campaign of Jerry Brown.
"Brown has not faced a competitive race since 1982 when Pete Wilson
beat him in a race for the U.S. Senate. Brown later
won races for state
Democratic Party chairman, Oakland mayor and state
attorney general -
which means he's won more seats than the rest of us
chickens - but
running for governor is different. And 2010 is not 1974.
"Brown's strength is that he is not a predictable liberal.
Alas,
that's because his positions can be fickle and self-serving. As party
chairman, he set a record in nonelection year fundraising
in 1989; by
1992, he was a money virgin who wanted to limit campaign
contributions
to $100.
"As Bob Stern also noted, the general election against
Whitman could be a complete toss-up: "We don't know what kind of campaigner she'll be. We don't know what kind of a campaigner he'll be."
But we've got an idea of how entertaining the whole
thing could be...
George Skelton, for one, doesn't like what he sees
thus far, denouncing the distortion and demagoguery governor's race.
"Republican front-runner Meg Whitman, at least, is feinting toward
substance, even if avoiding tricky details. The rap on her is
that she
stretches the truth.
That's not uncommon among political candidates. But
it doesn't
mean they shouldn't be called on it, especially in
Whitman's case.
Practically all we know about her thoughts for governing
this broken
state is what we hear or see in her ads. For months,
she has ducked
California reporters and, until very recently, spoken
only to friendly,
handpicked audiences, if at all.
As for Democrats calling for Whitman's tax returns,
Skelton writes, "Let's be honest: This really is about class warfare, pitting the
day-to-day strugglers against the super wealthy. It's old-fashioned
populism. It's also about knocking the opponent around
and hopefully
off balance."
Seema Mehta reports the U.S. Senate candidates tangled over Israel Wednesday.
"Rivals in the race for the Republican nomination are
questioning
whether former Rep. Tom Campbell is sufficiently supportive of Israel.
They base their criticisms on his voting record, statements
about a
Palestinian homeland and capital, and some of his past
associates.
Their allegations have raised enough concerns for Campbell
that he
plans to meet Monday with the influential American
Israel Public
Affairs Committee. He also is reaching out to other
Jewish leaders. His
campaign's honorary chairman, former U.S. Secretary
of State George P.
Shultz, weighed in to call Campbell's support for the nation
"unwavering."
"He clearly understands the very real threats
facing the Israeli people, all the more urgent now
as Iran rushes
toward nuclear arms," Shultz said in a statement released
to The Times.
"Tom Campbell's record of action tells you where he
stands, and I stand
with him."
Capitol Weekly reports a new memo from Senate President
Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is aimed at the behavior of legislative staff.
"The memo apparently grew out of a recent incident
involving a tax conformity bill by Sen. Lois Wolk and
some moderate members of the Democratic caucus. That
led some members to grumble the memo was an effort
to muzzle the mods -- similar to Don Perata’s infamous lock-out of Mod Caucus members in 2007. Others argue it will lead to Big Brother-like policing of staff conversations on the Senate
floor. Steinberg’s staff says those fears are overblown, and that this
memo is just a gentle reminder to members that they,
not their staff, have been elected to serve their constituents.
Read the memo here.
Margot Roosevelt looks at widespread fraud in the state's smog-check program.
"Nearly a third of older-model cars stopped for roadside smog tests in
Southern California failed them, despite having received
a passing
grade at inspection stations within a year, a state audit has found.
The results of those surprise inspections of 6,000 models manufactured
before 1996 have led law enforcement officials to crack down on
unscrupulous stations, step up fines and file more
criminal charges."
And finally, the Assembly may not know which bills
they're voting on at times, but that's no reason to
cuss. Assemblyman Anthony Portantino has introduced
a measure that would create a "cuss-free week" in California.
AP's Robin Hindrey reports, "The state Assembly is
scheduled to vote on a resolution Thursday
calling for a statewide "Cuss Free Week," to occur
annually during the
first week of March. If approved, it would go to the
state Senate for a
final vote on Monday.
"The rest of next week will be officially swear-word free if both houses approve the resolution.
"The
resolution by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge,
was inspired by a South Pasadena teenager, McKay Hatch, who founded a
No Cussing Club at his junior high school in 2007. His efforts to stamp
out profanity have generated international attention,
with 35,000
members joining the No Cussing Club's Web site."
We say, why stop there? We've got ten other ways in
which the Legislature could be more like junion high
school...
