NFIB Helping Liberal Democrats

Steven Greenhut: The state’s business community routinely complains about our state’s abysmal business climate, yet so often these folks undermine Republican attempts to improve that climate — and they often do so at crucial times in the election cycle. I still remember how the California Chamber of Commerce had donate 90 percent of its money to Democrats during the Gray Davis era in an effort to win favor with Democrats rather than to challenge them. The business community also sat on its hands or actively undermined Tom McClintock’s efforts to become controller and governor. Now the National Federation of Independent Business/California is backing Assemblywoman Alyson Huber in a district that should go to a Republican. Huber has crafted a moderate record and has staked out some conservative-sounding positions on non-controversial issues (i.e., government transparency), but she is a reliable Democratic vote who can be counted on to bolster the positions of the state’s left-wing legislative majority. As I argued after the left-leaning Sacramento Bee endorsed her (because of her softness on the tax issue), “Huber is a Democrat who can be counted on to support her party when it matters and to act independently when it doesn’t matter — i.e., on throwaway votes that can be used to burnish her moderate image given the demographics of the district.” If Huber wins as expected, then the NFIB will get what it deserves as the Democrats continue their push for higher business taxes and more regulation.