Rush Limbaugh’s “Just Say No” Strategy Succeeds
By Randy Shaw
Remember when, amidst all the excitement over Barack Obama’s inauguration, Rush Limbaugh announced that he hoped Obama would fail? Limbaugh argued that the Republicans’ best strategy for revival was to “just say no” to everything proposed by Obama, regardless of the negative impacts on the nation. Limbaugh was attacked for his negativism at the time, but less than two months before the midterm elections his strategy has played out perfectly. Republican obstructionism has left many voters disenchanted with Democrats failure to achieve “change,” sufficiently depleting enthusiasm to potentially create the low-turnout midterm election upon which Republican success now depends. A President willing to paint Republicans as obstructionists from the start could have defeated Limbaugh’s strategy, but President Obama chose a different course.
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By Randy Shaw
Remember when, amidst all the excitement over Barack Obama’s inauguration, Rush Limbaugh announced that he hoped Obama would fail? Limbaugh argued that the Republicans’ best strategy for revival was to “just say no” to everything proposed by Obama, regardless of the negative impacts on the nation. Limbaugh was attacked for his negativism at the time, but less than two months before the midterm elections his strategy has played out perfectly. Republican obstructionism has left many voters disenchanted with Democrats failure to achieve “change,” sufficiently depleting enthusiasm to potentially create the low-turnout midterm election upon which Republican success now depends. A President willing to paint Republicans as obstructionists from the start could have defeated Limbaugh’s strategy, but President Obama chose a different course.
New Latino Voter Poll Finds Strong Support for Candidates Who Back Preschool
By Catherine Atkin
Each week, we hear new reports about candidates’ efforts to reach out to the Latino community, which accounts for 1 in 5 registered voters, and their messages about creating jobs, fixing our schools and building a brighter future for California.
Left out of these proposals, however, is an important first step in education reform – providing access to high-quality early learning programs that help lay the foundation for our children to start school ready to learn and succeed. This is a critical issue for Latino children, who account for more than half of all children under age 5, and who by 2025, will make up almost half of the new labor force in California.
Eliminating Tax Breaks Will Result in Budget Surplus
By Willie Pelote
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
A recent article entitled “Eliminating Tax Breaks Could Cut Deficit” puts the lie to the claim that public pensions are the source of the state’s budget woes.
According to the article, Sacramento could produce a budget surplus simply by closing loopholes in California’s tax code, which replicates many federal tax breaks and creates an additional 36 loopholes of its own.
Among the many wasteful tax expenditures and incentives that should be done away with are the state’s failed enterprise zone program, which costs taxpayers $500 million a year, and $3 billion worth of tax breaks granted to multinational corporations in 2009 as a condition of passing the state budget.
These are the same recommendations that the American Federation of State County&Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have been calling for since 2009.
UC Study: Prop 23 Kills Jobs, Hurts Cities, Causes Legal Chaos
By Steven Maviglio
California Majority Report
Hot off the press this morning is an independent analysis of California's Proposition 23 that says the initiative would create legal uncertainty, reduce California state revenue, and jeopardize new and existing clean energy jobs. The white paper, released today byBerkeley Law's Center for Law, Energy&the Environment, reports Prop. 23 would also slow California's efforts to reduce climate change and could have a domino effect on other states. Here's the press release.