October 27, 2016
Some Republicans, horrified by Donald Trump’s slap-dash campaign, personal sleaziness and lack of fealty to bedrock GOP conservatism, seem to think Mike Pence would be a dandy candidate for president in 2020. Many suspect he took on the thankless task of being The Great One’s running mate precisely to position himself for that election. If…
July 3, 2014
California Republicans who are clinging to the notion of winning at least one statewide race in 2014 — that of Controller — are about to have their hopes cruelly dashed in the ruthless analysis of Garry South, the take-no-prisoners Democratic strategist. South, the type of strategist who can recall turnout figures for Assembly races back in…
May 21, 2014
[caption id="attachment_231" align="alignright" width="300"] Democratic Political Consultant Garry South in studio at The Sacramento Bee in Sacramento on Wednesday, April 17, 2013.[/caption] Let’s face it, we already know who the next governor of California is going to be. Come 2015, it will still be Jerry Brown. New boss, same as the old boss. He won his 2010…
January 5, 2014
With no presidential race or U.S. Senate contest on California’s ballot next year, the 2014 elections mostly will be a moment of truth for downtrodden California Republicans. The state GOP and its new chairman, well-regarded former state Sen. Jim Brulte (also a personal friend, in the interests of full disclosure, and one of the smartest…
October 27, 2013
THERE are two things we know for sure about the Filipino-American community in our nation’s largest state. And what we know tells us that the community is a sort of tale of two cities, at least politically speaking. The first fact is that Filipino-Americans, as of the 2010 census, are now the biggest Asian American…
April 28, 2013
In California especially, Latino voters’ loyalty to the Democratic Party runs deep. Abel Maldonado, the Republican iconoclast most recently famous for his brief stint as California’s appointed lieutenant governor and his unsuccessful run for Congress last year, is making noises about running for governor in 2014 against Jerry Brown. Will putting up a Latino face for the…
January 6, 2013
“It’s probably only a matter of time before some nativist, anti-immigrant GOP yahoo refers to it as the 'yellow peril.'" Much has been made, both before and after last November’s election, of the serious problems Republicans have with Latino voters. GOP nominee Mitt Romney received only a pathetic 29 percent of the Latino vote, compared…
December 15, 2011
It looks like the biggest traffic jam in California next year may well be the various tax increases being pushed for the November ballot. So far, at least five big tax measures are in play. Think Long Committee for California, a group of high-powered movers and shakers funded by billionaire Nick Berggruen, has proposed a…
August 28, 2011
It’s pretty amusing to listen to the catcalls and caterwauling by California Republicans over the redrawing of electoral district boundaries by the Citizens Redistricting Commission. To hear them tell it, it was all a dastardly, malevolent plot to put Republicans at a disadvantage. “Illegal” and “probably unconstitutional,” raged state GOP Chair Tom Del Beccaro, in…
July 25, 2011
Speculation is rampant that Texas Gov. Rick Perry may be getting ready to announce for president, and Perry himself avers that he may be “called” to run. (Oh my God, another Republican presidential candidate who talks directly to God?) All I can say is: Another Texan for president? You gotta be kidding! When a single…