I returned last night from several days in Washington DC and it’s clear the disconnect between the concerns of Californians and what the Democrats are up to in the nation’s capitol continues to widen.
Perhaps that explains why as the Democrats try to implement their liberal agenda, public approval of Congress (17%) and the President (47%) continue to sink.
In new survey data released just yesterday, the Public Policy Institute of California found that the economy tops the list of concerns for 60% of Californians. Meanwhile, our state’s unemployment rate continues to run well ahead of the national average at over 12%.
Yet, instead of focusing on solutions to promote job creation and economic growth, Democrats in Washington continue to focus on putting the people who run the DMV in charge of more of our health care decisions.
Even in the Senate, where the Democrats have 60 members, they can’t find the votes necessary to pass some form of “reform” that amounts to a first step in a government takeover in health care. The reason is obvious: Americans are reluctant to turn more control and decision-making concerning their health over to the government. Perhaps the government’s track record in other areas has something to do with it (K-12 education, the Post Office, transportation infrastructure, water, etc.).
Here in California, we know that action on the economy is especially urgent. Yet, the Democrats in Sacramento don’t offer any more solutions than their counterparts in Washington. No tax reductions to ease the burden on job creation. No regulatory relief to stop the flight of jobs to other states.
Meanwhile, as our Republican candidates for Governor move forward with their campaigns, they are putting one good idea after another on the table. Elections are about priorities, and clearly among our Republican candidates the economy and job creation are at the very top of the list.
Jerry Brown’s top priority? We don’t know. Protecting ACORN, maybe.
More developments
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- On Monday I met with Andrew Breitbart to discuss the ongoing evolutions in the areas of media and communications. We also talked in detail about his great work spearheading the fight against the radical left wing group ACORN which has gotten in very hot water lately over voter registration and those “tapes.”
- We met with the political team in Los Angeles on Tuesday to review ongoing voter registration programs aimed at taking advantage of the strong Republican lead among independent voters that has developed over the last few months. Gallup has independent voters favoring Republicans by 22% in its most recent survey. Republican groups can sign up to participate in the program by visiting our dedicated voter registration page here.
 On Wednesday morning I testified before the Federal Election Commission in opposition to proposed ruled that would severely curtail grassroots voter registration and turnout programs. In the last ten years we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the amount of political activity the federal government is trying to control, including state and local campaigns. CRP news release
- Earlier in the day we briefed over 150 Republican and conservative leaders on developments in California, including our competitive governor’s race, and Barbara Boxer’s extraordinarily poor performance in recent polls. We have some great opportunities to elect Republicans statewide in California next year.
To give you an idea of how inane these discussions get when it comes to regulating political speech, part of Wednesday’s discussion at the FEC centered on the difference between “assisting,” “facilitating” and “exhorting” voters to vote. In another discussion one liberal attorney tried to argue there is a difference between urging a voter to “go vote” as opposed to “vote.” You just can’t make this stuff up.
Thank you very much for your leadership and your work in helping to put Republican ideas into action in California.
All the best,
Ron Nehring
CHAIRMAN, California Republican Party
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CRP NEWSROOM
California Republicans Oppose Government Attempt to Federalize State, Local Elections
“The effect of restrictions like those proposed by the FEC is to shift political activity away from democratically governed, transparent and broad based political parties to narrowly focused interest groups that largely operate outside of public view and without broad based participation…People are going to engage in political speech either way. The issue here is whether the government should be crippling the ability of broad based political parties to engage in that speech, forcing it into narrowly focused interest groups most people have never heard of.
Fox & Hounds Daily: Impact of Presidential Approval on Mid-Term Elections
Barack Obama’s public approval rating has dropped to as low as 47% in the last week, according to Gallup. Although the President will not appear on the ballot again until 2012, how the public views his presidency will have a direct impact on each party’s performance in next year’s mid-term elections.
NRSC: Barbara Boxer Votes In Favor of Tax Hike on Middle Class Californians
Once again, Barbara Boxer had a decision to make – to stand with working families and small businesses in California, or to help President Obama break his campaign promise and ram through a $2.5 trillion health care bill on the backs of middle class Californians. Unfortunately, Barbara Boxer chose once again to vote with Obama instead of standing up for her constituents who are struggling to make ends meet.
CA Governor Schwarzenegger: Statement After Release of Requirements for Local Education Agencies to Participate in Race to the Top
After calling a special session over four months ago, California’s children are still waiting for the Assembly to pass real reforms for our schools – reforms that empower parents to be more involved in their child’s education, reforms that don’t inhibit charter schools with layers of failed bureaucracy, reforms that will make California highly competitive for hundreds of millions of dollars for education.
NBC Poll: Public Sours on Health Reform
CA Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee : On Selection Of Assemblyman John Perez As Next Assembly Speaker
U.S. House Republican Whip Eric Cantor: Cantor Discusses GOP’s ‘No-Cost Jobs Plan’, Spending, Deficit on ABC’s “This Week”
U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner: GOP Has Better Solutions to Help American Families
U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell: The Democrats’ Problem: The Fundamental Opposition of the American People
NRSC Response To Barbara Boxer’s Vote For $1.1 Trillion Omnibus
NRSC: Boxer Votes To Protect Budget Gimmick
RNC: Step One Is Admitting Binge Spending Problem
RNC: Liberals Strike Back
RNC: Will They Listen To You?
RNC: The 300 Day Hangover
RNC: 7 Things You Need To Know
RNC: Binge Spending
RNC: What Will They Do? How Far Will They Go?
More news:
MUST READS OF THE WEEK
Karl Rove - Can Republicans Retake the Senate in 2010? President Barack Obama’s speech on Tuesday night deserves to be cheered. Over the objections of his vice president and despite opposition from his political base, the president is sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight terrorists.
Charles Krauthammer - The New Socialism. In the 1970s and early ’80s, having seized control of the U.N. apparatus (by power of numbers), Third World countries decided to cash in. OPEC was pulling off the greatest wealth transfer from rich to poor in history. Why not them? So in grand U.N. declarations and conferences, they began calling for a “New International Economic Order.” The NIEO’s essential demand was simple: to transfer fantastic chunks of wealth from the industrialized West to the Third World.
Michael Barone - Amid rumbling discontent, Democrats head for the exits. While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scrambles to assemble 60 Democratic votes for health care legislation that, according to the realclearpolitics.com average of recent polls, is opposed by a 53 percent-to-38 percent margin, several Democratic members of the House are scrambling for the exits on what is starting to look like a sinking ship.
John Fund - The Selling of Health Care Reform. Look for Senate Democrats to move towards a final floor vote on health care next week, just before Christmas. The logjam began to break up on Sunday night after White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel visited Majority Leader Harry Reid and urged him to deliver a bill and quickly, even if it meant surrendering to the demands of Senator Joe Lieberman. Mr. Emanuel summed up his philosophy on health care earlier this year when he said: “The only non-negotiable principle here is success.”
Dick Morris - How OBAMACARE Will Hurt Young People. A detailed analysis of the Obama health care program now before the Senate indicates that it will force big premium increases for all families especially for those under 30 years of age.
Larry Kudlow - The Good and the Bad of It. No, all is not rosy on the economic scene. Besides the inflation threat, tax rates are going up in January 2011.Congress wants to raise the capital-gains tax on investor partnerships and elevate the death tax for inheritance. Both will suppress capital formation and entrepreneurship. So will Democratic plans to raise the top personal tax rate as high as 45 percent. This is another attack on the capital and investment necessary to finance new and existing businesses.
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TAKE ACTION
REPUBLICAN VOTER REGISTRATION PROGRAM LAUNCHED. Republican clubs, county committees and candidate campaigns are invited to participate in the CRP’s new statewide voter registration initiative. Complete information and sign up form online.
 JOIN THE CRP TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE. This group of innovative Republican technology leaders is bringing the latest and most effective new technologies to the Republican Party. If you have a technology background and would like to help make the California Republican Party the national leader in the use of new technology to organize and communicate, then you belong on the Technology Leadership Committee. To join, just complete information and sign up form online.
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DATA CENTER
Older Independents View Republicans in Congress More Favorably than Democrats. Resurgent Republic. Voters 55 and older are now extremely concerned about the federal government’s current level of spending and debt. Since Resurgent Republic’s first survey in April, we have been noting the extent to which budgetary and fiscal issues have been driving Independents away from Democrats and toward Republicans. That is clearly the case with voters 55 and older, a cohort where Independents look far more like Republicans than Democrats on budgetary and fiscal issues.
Shift Away from Democratic Party. Resurgent Republic. The Democratic-controlled Congress has not shied away from its aggressive agenda of government expansion despite warning signs of growing public opposition, especially among Independent voters. Their strategy is changing whom voters believe is best able to handle the most important issues. Out of 13 key priorities listed in a new Ipsos/McClatchy survey, the Republican Party is now viewed as better able to handle four issues, statistically tied on three issues, and trailing the Democratic Party on six issues. In a survey taken after the 2008 election, the Democratic Party held the advantage on all 13 priorities.
THE DEBT LIMIT: When Is Enough Enough? The Hertiage Foundation. $12,000,000,000,000: The total federal debt has reached a whopping $12 trillion. About $7.6 trillion is debt held by the public, which has been borrowed from citizens and foreign countries, and $4.4 trillion is debt held by the government, which has been borrowed primarily from the Social Security trust fund. It is business as usual in Washington. Despite a recession and record $1.4 trillion budget deficit, Congress continues to accelerate runaway spending and pork. While families and entrepreneurs are responsibly bringing their own budgets under control, Congress is spending and earmarking as if nothing has changed in the economy.
Also…
On Health Care Reform: 56% oppose health care plan. Rasmussen Poll. Barack Obama’s presidential job approval rating is 47% in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update, a new low for his administration to date. His approval rating has been below 50% for much of the time since mid-November, but briefly rose to 52% last week after he announced his new Afghanistan policy.
Obama Job Approval Falls to New Low at 44%. Rasmussen Poll. he Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 24% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18.
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PODCAST
 SPECIAL EDITION! The CRP was joined by Michael Reagan, conservative leader and son of Ronald Reagan, and Larry Greenfield, Executive Director of the Reagan Legacy Foundation, in an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and Ronald Reagan’s leadership in the Cold War. Listen as Mr. Greenfield and Mr. Reagan join us all the way from Berlin and provide us with historical and personal perspective on the challenges that Reagan faced and how they relate to those that Republicans face today. Participants: Committee Chairman Karl Heft, Executive Director of the Reagan Legacy Foundation Larry Greenfield, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring and Conservative leader and talk show host Michael Reagan. 33 minutes. Listen
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CRP-TV
Time For Democrats To Listen. Democrats continue to push for a health care experiment
that will gut medicare, raise taxes, increase premiums and provide poor care with less choice. 
Senators, Listen to Me. The RNC announced a new web video on the Democrats’
failure to listen to the American public’s concerns over health care reform.
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