How Do I Vote?

Being the responsible citizen that I am, I received my mail in ballot for the upcoming California Primary, last week. I have before me several choices. And while many of those choices are clear some are dreadfully murky. Therefore I propose to put it before the readership of IACLAYST to get some feed back.

As you are probably fully aware, California is nearly hopelessly liberal. Before the electorate this year are several 'conservative' candidates. A number of whom are merely flogging the conservative label in the hopes that it will put them in orifice. I'm pretty well locked in on who I am going to select for Governor, Lt. Governor, Assembly, State Senate, etc. Where I'm having real trouble is with US Senate. If you're not familiar with the candidates, they are; Tom 'I voted to raise taxes, but am certainly electable versus Boxer' Campbell, Carly 'Voting booth? Never heard of it, but Sarah Palin endorses me' Fiorina, and finally Chuck 'I'm a true conservative with military, private and public service credentials' DeVore. Now, on the surface, this appears to be an easy vote. Chuck DeVore, all the way. The only problem? This:



Every poll I've seen, including the latest Rasmussen poll has him trailing behind the other two candidates. Now, I can hear some of you already. 'It's the primary, vote for the principled candidate!' 9 times out of 10, I'm right there with you. However, there is wide speculation, which I happen to buy into, that states in a case where Fiorina and DeVore are fighting for the conservative vote, the split between the two is likely to benefit Campbell. In other words, a vote for DeVore (because he's the trailing candidate) is a vote agaisnt Fiorina and therefore a vote for Campbell. It should be noted that Carly Fiorina got fired from the McCain campaign for telling the press that neither McCain, Palin, Obama nor Biden could run a fortune 500 company like HP. She certainly wasn't wrong, but it wasn't the right thing to say if she wanted to keep her gig with McCain/Palin.

I'm really wrasslin' with this decision and am having a hard time choosing the correct course of action. So what do you think? DeVore? Fiorina? Campbell? Let me know in the comments.

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Reason For Hope?

Angry White Man

In a piece humorously titled 'Revenge of the white men,' The LA Times lays out the case that November 2010 could make 1994 look like any other election.

Pollsters regularly ask voters whether they would rather see a Democrat or Republican win their district. By February, support for Democrats among white people (male and female) was three points lower than in February 1994, the year of the last Republican landslide.

Today, among whites, only 35% of men and 43% of women say they will back Democrats in the fall election. Women's preferences have remained steady since July 2009. But over that same period, white men's support for a Democratic Congress has fallen eight points, according to Gallup.

White men have moved away from Obama as well. The same proportion of white women approve of him -- 46%, according to Gallup -- as voted for him in 2008. But only 38% of white men approve of the president, which means that millions of white men who voted for Obama have now lost faith in him.

The migration of white men from the Democratic Party was evident in the election of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts. His opponent won 52% of white women. But white men favored Brown by a 60%-to-38% margin, according to Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates polling. Once again, Democrats could not win enough other votes to compensate for the white male gap.

It's no accident that the flight of white males from the Democratic Party has come as the government has assumed a bigger role, including in banking and healthcare. Among whites, 71% of men and 56% of women favor a smaller government with fewer services over a larger government with more services, according to ABC/Washington Post polling.

Obama's brand of liberalism is exactly the sort likely to drive such voters away. More like LBJ's than FDR's, Obama-style liberalism favors benefits over relief, a safety net over direct job programs, healthcare and environmental reform over financial reform and a stimulus package that has focused more on social service jobs -- healthcare work, teaching and the like -- rather than the areas where a majority of job losses occurred: construction, manufacturing and related sectors.

The Democrats will lose power in the short term, but unless the Republicans can come up with a way to replace major portions of the bill with free market alternatives, the long term is likely to favor Democrats. When you create an entitlement society, the prospect of working to receive anything you desire seems archaic.

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CA Senate Race Tightening: Boxer Suddenly In Trouble

Senator Ma'am

In a piece over at Hotline On Call, Steven Shepard breaks down the latest poll numbers in the CA Senatorial race:

A day after Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) camp announced that Pres. Obama would be traveling to Los Angeles for a joint fundraiser next month, a new Field Poll shows Boxer locked in tight races with each of the GOPers vying to challenge her in Nov.

...

General Election Matchups
Campbell 44% (+6) Boxer 45% (-5)
Boxer 43 (-5) Fiorina 44 (+9)

Boxer 45% (-6)
DeVore 41 (+7)

...

In a possible sign of Dems' concern over Boxer's re-election, the Boxer camp announced late yesterday that Obama would attend a joint fundraiser for their camp and the DNC in mid-April, though details have not yet been finalized.

How to tell when a Congressman is completely detached from reality: When they bring out Leadfinger Obama to hold a fundraiser for their reelection. Brilliant move, ma'am.

It's important to note that all three of the Republican challengers are within the margin of error, indicating that anyone with a pulse is considered a threat to Boxer's reelection campaign. That's saying something, when California's liberal senators are in trouble, you know the Democrats are going to have a rough November.

Possibly related, the comedy gold that is 'Hot Air: The Movie.' If you haven't seen Carly Fiorina's latest sketch comedy campaign video, here it is for your enjoyment.



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