The old saying, "As goes California, so goes the nation," proves to often be true. It is almost like California is the testing ground for liberal policies, and then when they fail, the Democrats apply them at the federal level anyway. After amnesty in the eighties, California flipped back in a liberal left direction, and has not been able to recover ever since. Republican candidates for governor are rarely more conservative than a number of the democrats, or turn out to be spineless once they try to take on the liberal establishment, and labor unions, as in the case of Schwarzenegger. Now that Jerry Brown is in office, worsening the State, and claiming to try to save us from bad policy, when what we are experiencing is largely due to his policies from decades ago, we have gotten to the point where we will take just about anyone other than "Moon Beam."
The thing is, in this State, Republicans don't win often.
Does that mean we are compromising? Perhaps. But if we wait for a pure candidate that is everything we want, I will be in my grave by then, and the chance to win will be even narrower.
Neel Kashkari is the candidate for the Republican Party. None of the conservatives like him, but many have decided they will vote for him, but hold their nose while doing it. Someone with a conscience will say, "If you need to hold your nose to vote for him, then you shouldn't vote for him."
The reality in our political system is that a no-vote for Kashkari equates to a yes-vote for Jerry Brown. You vote your conscience in the primary, but you vote for the "R" in the general election.
Earlier tonight I went to a meeting with Neel Kashkari and a few of my Unite IE compadres in Redlands, with a lot of reservations about the Republican candidate for Governor of California. The law office conference room was perfect for the meeting, providing the perfect number of seats for the dozen and a half attendees. All of us were hoping Neel is not as "establishment" as we believed.
When Kashkari entered the room he made sure to shake the hand of everyone around the conference table. He looked me in the eye throughout the handshake, a good sign, and though it was not as firm as a handshake as I deliver, it wasn't a wet fish, either. After he finished his journey around the room, he sat in his seat, and gave a ten minute rundown of his positions on the issues.
Kashkari explained that he wants to rebuild the middle class of California, improve our schools, and change the poverty situation in our State - pointing out that California is last when it comes to dealing with poverty. He explained he was raised in Ohio as an average kid. He mowed lawns to make some money, and lived the American Dream because he got a good education. As an adult he pursued his dreams, and wound up working for President Bush.
A Republican, he said, because he believes in hard work and personal responsibility. He said he believes there should be no government sponsored guarantees for outcome, it is all about ensuring everyone has equal opportunity. He grew up watching Ronald Reagan, and in his first election that he was old enough to vote in, he voted for George H.W. Bush.
Kashkari also explained that we need to tap into our oil and gas, where we have tremendous potential. Our oil production, he said, is currently at 3%. The jobs and energy, as well as economic benefits overall, would be incredible.
Neel Kashkari said he will go after regulations, reining in the regulations that makes California hostile to business. He also said that any new regulations need to have a ten year limit, so that they can expire, and fall away. Many of the regulations on the books, he explained, are antiquated, and there is no reason they should still be on the books.
The job of bringing jobs back to California must include bringing manufacturing back to California. Tesla went to Nevada because of Brown' unwillingness to do the things necessary to bring them to California. Kashkari said that Jerry Brown claims to have created jobs, but the jobs that have emerged are largely entry level jobs.
As for education, Kashkari said that he desires that all children have a good education. He then explained this is not just a message he gives to favorable audiences. Unlike Meg Whitman, who was caught changing her words depending on the audience, Kashkari said he never changes his message. It is the same to all groups. Black crowds, Hispanic crowds, conservatives, or others, he said he always says the same, "I want your kids to have a good education, and you to have a good job."
Accusing Brown of refusing to talk about poverty, because of the rising number of people in poverty in California, Kashkari added that Brown also doesn't want to talk about losing Tesla.
The first question was about his vote for Obama in 2008. Kashkari admitted he voted for Obama, it was the only time he ever voted for a Democrat, and he did it largely because when it came to dealing with the economic disaster we were experiencing as a nation, he believed the Obama administration had a better handle on it. Obama failed on all other counts, and though Kashkari didn't say he regretted the vote for Obama, it sounded like he did.
The next questions were about education, and that was the topic that dominated most of the evening. Kashkari said that he plans to reform schools, and improve education. He used Brown's record to explain how Governor Brown, going back to his first governorship decades ago, began the downward spiral of California schools. In fact, it goes all the way back to 1975, when Brown gave the California Teachers Association its power.
For 40 years, said Kashkari, Jerry Brown and the teacher's union has been violating the civil rights of poor and minority kids. When Jerry Brown first became governor of California in 1976, under Ronald Reagan California spent 2.9 billion dollars on K-12 education, and boasted some of the best schools in the nation. Jerry Brown made a deal with the California Teachers Association, and then signed the Rodda Act, a piece of legislation sponsored by the CTA. The new law gave the union power that they would use to destroy California's education system. Since that grant of power, the union brags about the fact that they've organized more than 170 strikes, and work stoppages, against California schools. The power given to the teacher's union was not for the benefit of the children, but the benefit of their own pockets. The union has demanded more money for the teachers, and have used their power to block any reforms that may stand in their way. The California Teachers Association is the biggest political spender, outspending all other lobby groups. The union's will has become more important than education, or the children, and Jerry Brown helped birth that power grab.
Children are being pushed through the system, and graduate not knowing what they should know as a graduate. Now, spending is at $42.5 billion, and California has dropped to 46th out of 50 States.
The California State Constitution guarantees children a good education. In 2012, nine young people sued California for not delivering on that promise. They were laughed at for their lawsuit against Jerry Brown, but the courts agreed with the kids. They did not get the education they deserve. As the CTA was dumping funding into Brown's campaign to keep the money-train going, the courts said that the kids were not getting the education they were promised. Earlier this year the ruling said the children were right. They were robbed by a broken education system, a system ruined by Jerry Brown, his decision to hand over power to the union, and the CTA. The broken education system, according to Kashkari, is robbing kids of their futures.
On August 29 of this year, Governor Jerry Brown filed an appeal against the ruling, siding with the labor union over the children. Brown's loyalties lie with the union bosses that have been funding his political career for 40 years.
When asked about Common Core, and the dangers it presents, Kashkari admitted he didn't know as much about the curriculum as he would like. He said that when it comes to education, he believed parents and teachers should be making the decisions. State sponsored one-size-fits-all programs don't take into account that all children are different, as is the local culture, and local needs. However, he also believes that independent standards are important. It is a matter of how those standards are applied.
Don Dix, the leader of Act for Corona, stated that Common Core is unproven. The systems being used to implement Common Core is a proven failure, Common Core was created by commercial enterprises who stand to benefit from the implementation of Common Core.
As Don was talking, I was also thinking about the fact that the team that created Common Core also has no experience educating K-12, and the few that do have any experience as educators, has only taught at the collegiate level.
Mr. Dix completed his comment with a question about Kashkari's opinion of Common Core, asking what about Common Core did Kashkari agree with, and what aspects about it he rejects.
Kashkari, trying to respond to the question, said he didn't like the privacy issues compromised by the curriculum, especially in regards to the data collection. He sees the program as an attempt at centralized, micromanagement of teachers. However, he agrees with an objective assessment used to gauge kids nationally. He used SAT tests as an example, but that after high school it is too late. A standard, he said, needs to exist. Kashkari wrapped up his comments about Common Core by saying he doesn't have his heart set on it, but we need a nationwide assessment, and he is not ready to chuck Common Core just yet, or at least until he knows more about it.
When the opportunity to ask a question came to me, I took an economic angle. I said, "You were one of the architects of TARP during Bush's final year, and it was based on principles from the Keynesian Economic Theory. Conservatives tend to be supporters of supply-side economics. Was your participation in TARP a momentary departure from your normal economic beliefs, or do you plan to use Keynesian economics as your basis regarding California's economy?"
Kashkari essentially called TARP a necessary evil. He said he prefers to let the markets work, but once every 50-100 years the free market system gets into trouble. Our tax code, he said, is terribly progressive, and it is for a reason. Any tax cut is by definition a tax cut for the rich, since they are the ones paying taxes.
When it comes to bringing jobs and businesses to California, he offered a ten year complete break on State taxes to attract them. Deregulation would also be on the table, to make the State lest hostile against business.
The next question was about immigration. It is being said that he supports amnesty, and he said otherwise. He believes kids that have grown up here and came here illegally by no fault of their own should receive a pathway to legalization, but he does not apply that to adults that knowingly come to this country illegally. As for the kids coming now, he said they need to be treated nicely, cared for, and sent home - repatriated. To do otherwise would be to encourage wave after wave of more illegal immigrants. He then said he believed it was more of a federal issue, than a State one.
The pollutants law regarding big rigs was coupled with AB 32 (Cap and Trade) in the discussion, Trucks are now required to have pollution standards that are ridiculous, and Kashkari admitted he has a real problem with it, commenting that there are "so many examples of feel-good policies that are bad for California."
When asked how he would deal with the democrat dominated legislature, Kashkari said that he'll have the line-item veto available to him, as well as the opportunity to go to "the people" with ballot measures, to battle the democrats.
I still have my reservations about Kashkari, but after meeting with him, they don't scream as loudly as before.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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