Grading Neel Kashkari for California Governor

By Douglas V. Gibbs

As a Christian, and a Constitutionalist, I have what many would call "very conservative" positions on the issues.  I believe life, and the personhood of a baby, begins at conception.  Abortion is not a federal issue from a constitutional standpoint, so Roe v. Wade was an illegal ruling.  Marriage is an institution given to us by God, and to use government to alter the definition to include sexual perversion is wrong; but if a State desires to have civil unions for gays, or even marriage, and the voters approve it, that is the State's business. Though such an action by a State is not acceptable from a Christian point of view for me, from a constitutionally legal standpoint, it is perfectly legal.  The federal government has no authority over the issue, so I also recognize the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as being unconstitutional.  As for economics, I agree with Adam Smith, and Ludwig von Mises, supporting the free market system, and limiting governmental influence as much as possible so that capitalism can thrive and prosper, in turn creating opportunity for a wider range of folks.

Recently, I put out an online voter guide (also HERE), and a reader questioned my opinion that Neel Kashkari for Governor of California is the logical choice over Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown, though, regrettably, Neel is nothing more than the lesser of two evils.

The author of the concerned email explained that he is, "... primarily pro-life, traditional marriage, gun ownership and fiscal conservatism."

He further commented, and I agree with his statement, that "We seem to have totally forgotten what God has said about the shedding of innocent blood (abortion). We also seem to have totally forgotten the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sexual immorality and the shedding of innocent blood connected to idol worship were the reasons the Canaanites and the surrounding nations were destroyed and God said that if the Israelites fell into the same behavior that they too would be destroyed."

A short statement nailed the whole thing home:  "We forget who sends, or withholds, the rain."

The concerned voter explained that "Neel Kashkari is not the lesser of two evils. He fully supports abortion and he fully embraces gay rights including same-sex marriage just like or even more so than Governor Jerry Brown. Neel Kashkari has participated in a gay rights parade. I don't think even Jerry Brown has gone that far. Additionally neither the NRA or the California Rifle and Pistol Association endorsed Mr. Kashkari. Tim Donnelly was A+ with both those groups. Again, why would leaders in the Republican Party fight against a strong Second Amendment supporter but aggressively promote a candidate with no clear stand on this vital issue?"

Again, the writer makes solid points.  He is very politically involved, and is a part of an effort that sends out questionnaires to candidates to better determine where those candidates stand on the critical issues.

The unfortunate reality, he writes, is that "The battle within the Republican party used to be between pro-lifers and pro-abortion folks. Now it also includes the gay rights crowd. The California Republican platform states that life begins at conception and that marriage is between one man and one woman. I am looking for and will support with my vote any Republican candidate who supports their party's platform.  And before the moderate Republicans claim they are being victimized by 'right wing religious zealots' let me remind them that they also vigorously fight against and demonize the Tea Party crowd whose only requests are a balanced budget and constitutional government."

As expected, another solid statement by a solid conservative.

He continued, once again with a verbalization that reflects his faith in Christ, "God told Solomon that if Israel would truly repent that He would heal their land. That is the choice for Christian voters today. Repent and vote for Godly candidates or go on in our own cleverness."

I am a firm believer that sometimes you have to work with what you have.  For conservatives, the Republican Party is the vehicle we have available, regardless of its failure to reach any semblance of perfection.  The GOP is the horse we are riding into town on, and though it is ugly, slow, and temperamental, to shoot it in the head does not solve the problem, it just leaves us without a horse.

My response to the concerned voter that contacted me digs into my realization that we must stop the bleeding before the heeling process can begin, and in the effort of stopping the democrat leadership in Sacramento, even if it is with a much-less-than-pure candidate, we must eliminate from the position of power those that follow a platform that is, for lack of a better word, ungodly.  The platform for the Democrat Party is so ungodly, in the last election the Democrats actually conducted a vote at their Democratic National Convention on whether or not to leave God on their platform.  Keeping God on the party's platform narrowly pulled off the victory.

I have spoken to Neel Kashkari twice, once after a meet and greet, and once at a larger event.  My questions were swift, concise, and targeted his social issues positions, and economics.  I responded by email to the concerned voter that had contacted me regarding my voter guide, telling him that:

When it comes to Neel Kashkari, he explained to me that he is a social libertarian, so though he has liberal social views, he believes the federal government has no business being involved in those issues, and at the State level it is really up to the people. That said, he contradicted that when he said he would not have defended Prop. 8. However, that all said, I do not believe the social issues are something he has any focus on. His primary concern, and the battle he has chosen, is the economy of California, and the unchecked spending. Though I believe he is a Keynesian at heart, I also believe, based on my conversations with him, that he struggles sometimes with that because he is also a free market guy - something Jerry Brown absolutely is not. Also, Brown has openly declared he supports homosexuals and abortion, and is more than willing to use his power to assist them, primarily in his selection of judges. So, we are left with a decision of two guys who are socially to the left, but one, Kashkari, taking a slightly closer to the Constitution stance on those issues. Once we get past those issues, then we have the economy, which I agree, both candidates are far from ideal, but again Kashkari slightly edges out Brown on that issue. So, though not by much, Kashkari is the better candidate. That said, I agree that Tim Donnelly was our man, and I agree the very liberal GOP of California had a hand in making sure Tim lost. . . not because, I believe, they agree more with Kashkari's stances, but because they erroneously believe to have a chance to win they must put up a more "moderate" candidate that is more like what they believe to be the makeup of the average voter population in California. I believe that if a GOP candidate stood up for conservative values in an election, like Scott Walker did in Wisconsin, and explained why those principles work, and then made a statement like, "what you have been putting into Sacramento obviously is not working, let's try something that has worked before," and then was strong enough to stand up to the unions, and stand up to the liberal left attacks (like Scott Walker did), he would get elected. However, reality is what it is, and we have Neel - barely better than Brown, but better.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary