Votes are still being counted in the California election, but the results so far raise some thoughts and questions.

Labor or Business — and the winner is?

Both sides can point to victories — and defeats. Business-supported candidate Catharine Baker, a Republican, surprised labor official Tim Sbranti, a Democrat, in Assembly District 16.

Ben Allen in Senate District 26 was also a big-business win in a Dem vs. Dem race.

Business kept the two-thirds barrier up, which will come into play on many policy discussions over the next two years

Labor scored with Tom Torlakson in the school superintendent race, where he beat reformer Marshall Tuck. Although the race was nonpartisan, both were Democrats.

In the swing vote on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, labor’s candidate Sheila Kuehl prevailed.

Up and down the state it looked like both sides could claim some satisfaction, but business insiders seemed pretty happy with the November results.

Education — reversing party loyalties?

The education issue, if handled correctly, could benefit Republicans by moving Democratic constituencies toward Republicans on education. This is what Neel Kashkari hoped to do by labeling education a civil rights issue.

Look at the recent Field Poll on the Tuck-Torlakson race. According to the poll, Tuck was preferred by double-digit margins among the state’s Latino and African American voters and by 7 percentage points by Asian-Americans.

Opportunity is knocking. Will the Republicans answer?

Tuck-Torlakson — an indication of things to come?

Can two Democrats qualify for a statewide office under the top-two primary? If so, you are likely to see reformers versus the status quo causing tears in the Democrats’ muscle.

Might it happen in the next cycle in races for governor, or lieutenant governor or attorney general?

(By the way, for those keeping score, Kamala Harris got 2,000 more votes in her re-election as attorney general than Gavin Newsom did for lieutenant governor, as of this writing.)

Do we really want that two-thirds supermajority?

Could it be that the governor and some Democrats are grateful they didn’t get the two-thirds standard? Now they can more easily resist the pressure of interest groups by saying, “Why bother? The Republicans won’t let us go there.”

Keeping to the script – over the decades.

Gov. Jerry Brown emphasized fiscal restraint, as he did in his 1978 re-elect. He won by 19.5 percentage points in November back then by supporting Proposition 13 after it passed in that year’s June primary.

This gubernatorial re-election (Act 2), he said no to Proposition 30 tax extensions and said he will control spending. Brown won by 18 percentage points.

How much does it cost to lose an election?

Meg Whitman spent $140 million and lost to Jerry Brown by 13 percentage points. Neel Kashkari spent $7 million (including the primary) and lost by 18 percentage points.

By Katy Grimes

As long as I have followed politics closely — since Junior High school in the 1970’s — I’ve said political consultants will be the death of the Republican Party.

And now, finally, a political consultant finally agrees with me. “The way it works is this–ever since we centralized politics in Washington, the House campaign committee and the Senate campaign committee,  they decide who they think should run,” Pat Cadell said at the CPAC conference. “You hire these people on the accredited list [they say to candidates] otherwise we won’t give you money. You hire my friend or else.”

“Pat Caddell, the Fox News Contributor and Democrat pollster who engineered Jimmy Carter’s 1976 Presidential victory, blew the lid off CPAC on Thursday with a blistering attack on ‘racketeering’ Republican consultants who play wealthy donors like ‘marks,'” Breitbart.com reports.

“When you have the Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee and the political director of the Romney campaign, and their two companies get $150 million at the end of the campaign for the ‘fantastic’ get-out-the-vote program…some of this borders on RICO [the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] violations,” Caddell told the crowd. “It’s all self dealing going on. I think it works on the RICO thing. They’re in the business of lining their pockets.”

What else could possibly explain John McCain or Mitt Romney, or in California, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina? These were all decisions made by the political establishment, despite other viable candidates.

“As a Democrat, Caddell said he could tell the truth about the failings of the Republicans 2012 campaign efforts since ‘I have no interest in the Republican Party,'” Breitbart.com reported. “He compared Republicans unfavorably to Democrats.’In my party we play to win. We play for life and death. You people play for a different kind of agenda…Your party has no problem playing the Washington Generals to the Harlem Globetrotters.'”

In other words, Republicans play for big money and self-enrichment, while Democrats play to win. Look at America right now, and look at California… could it be any more clear?

On the Romney campaign, Cadell said, “There was a failure of strategy, a failure of tactics, a massive failure of messaging. Most of all there was a total failure of imagination.”

“Caddell singled out Stuart Stevens, a key figure in Romney’s campaign, in a particularly withering critique. “Stevens had as much business running a campaign as I do sprouting wings and flying out of this room,” he said.

Meg Whitman spent $160 million on her failed campaign for California governor.

She paid millions each to seven consultant vendors:

* the Majority Strategies direct mail concern ($5.4 million)
* Arena Communications, GOP political mail experts ($5 million)
* Campaign advisor Scott Howell, whose “strategic media firm” touts ties to Karl Rove ($4.5 million)
* Tokoni Inc., a social networking concern that worked for Whitman in the primary ($3.8 million)
* strategist Mike Murphy’s Bonaparte Films LLC ($1.1 million)
* SJZ LLC, a Massachusetts fundraising firm founded by Spencer Zwick, an adviser to former Gov. Mitt Romney ($1.1 million)
* Intuitive Technology Solutions, which stages events ($1 Million)

And Whitman brought in the usual big-bucks GOP consultants and advisers, California Watch reported. “Tack on $11.6 million for political consultants, $10.5 million for mail and an astonishing $106.9 million for broadcast advertising, and you get an idea of how Meg Whitman spent more than $160 million,” California Watch reported.

* campaign manager Jillian Hasner ($829,000)

* senior adviser Jeff Randle ($512,000)

* deputy campaign managers W. Todd Cranney ($350,205)  and Tucker Bounds ($273,000)

* press secretary Sarah Pompei ($202,000).

“Even though Whitman’s campaign was largely self-financed, she also spent heavily on fundraising. Payees included GOP fundraising specialist Jill Huerter ($696,000), the online fundraising concern BlueSwarm LLC ($640,000) and On Target Fundraising of Oregon ($528,000).”

Whitman’s campaign is just one example of how much money flows through campaigns, and how much consultants and advisors make, win or lose.

While the California Watch report included some of Brown’s campaign spending, the glaring flaw was the omission of the vast union spending done on Brown’s behalf. Republican candidates face daunting union pushback, but that is no justification for the gross self-profiting.

“You won the House [in 2012] because of the reapportionment that came after the 2010 [Tea Party] victories,” Cadell said. “Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), elected in 2010, and Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), elected in 2012, had to fight this establishment at every step in the process and ‘claw their way’ to electoral success.”

By John Seiler

The two major themes of last weekend’s GOP convention were more grassroots organizing and more involvement by Latinos and other growing constituencies. Even those who not Republicans should welcome steps to make the party more competitive. Homogenized rule within a party doesn’t offer constituents many options.

A promising group highlighted at the convention was GROW Elect. Its Web site sensibly observes:

“The Republican Party has attempted a top-down approach towards breaking into the growing Latino voter market share. This attempt has failed.

“For all practical purposes there is no Republican Party in most Latino neighborhoods. No elected partisan Republican officials. No party structure. Nothing.

“There has been much talk of million dollar advertisement campaigns geared to move Latino voters. There is certainly a role for advertising, but GROW Elect takes another tact. The GROW Elect programs are focused on a bottom up approach.

“GROW Elect is a 527 political action committee that recruits, endorses, trains, and funds Latino Republican candidates for public office.”

For “top down” approach, they obviously had in mind such remote candidates as Meg Whitman, who in 2010 blew $180 million of her $1.3 billion fortune, almost all of it on TV ads, in a losing effort for governor. Her opponent, Gov. Jerry Brown, instead worked with public-employee unions to organize “the troops,” as he calls union members, and others for victory.

To use an old football cliche, it’s hard to win with just a “passing game”; you also need a “ground game.”

The Latino community is primed for a grassroots effort. Every year they form thousands of new businesses, most small, that create jobs. These businesses must run the gauntlet of state taxes and regulations. If the GOP can attract these Latinos with a welcoming message that advances smaller and more responsible government, then the party could start making a comeback.

Stifling taxes and job-killing regulations know no boundaries of race, creed or color.

Education is another winning theme if the GOP can embrace it in the right way. It isn’t Irvine where the high-school dropout rate is half of students, but Latino-majority Los Angeles Unified School District.

Here’s a YouTube that shows the promise of GROW Elect.

By John Seiler

The ghost haunting this past weekend’s California Republican Convention in Sacramento was the steroid-bloated, hulking apparition of ex-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Just eight years ago, in 2005, Arnold was the toast of the GOP. He launched a “year of reform” that led to a Reform Slate of initiatives on the November ballot to rein in public-employee union power, reform teacher tenure and reform redistricting. He was carrying the Republican Party on his shoulders and would bring them back control of the Legislature and more statewide offices.

There even was talk among Republicans of amending the Constitution to allow foreign-born citizens to become president.

Then it turned out the Reform Slate was badly organized. Arnold campaigned tepidly for it. And every initiative went down to smoking defeat.

After that, Arnold panicked and dumped his Republican-influenced policies, claiming “the people” had shown him now to go. According to Ian Halperin’s biography, “Governator,” Arnold then effectively turned over his administration to his wife, Democrat Maria Kennedy-Shriver. Maria hired Susan Kennedy (no relation), an activist left-wing Democrat, as Arnold’s chief-of-staff. Kennedy became the “little governor,” while Arnold frolicked among his Hollywood cronies. Republicans in the Legislature claimed they were frozen out of Arnold’s circle of influence.

In 2006, Arnold signed into law the jobs-killing AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Republicans should have worked for his defeat in his re-election bid that year. Instead, they overwhelmingly supported him. They figured he still was “our Arnold” when, in debate, he attacked the tax-increase proposals of Democratic nominee Phil Angelides. And after all, he still was The Terminator, Commando, Predator and Conan the Republican.

He advertised himself as a new kind of Republican, a pro-business moderate, just the kind George Skelton is suggesting the GOP needs to promote today in 2013. He was teamed with Republican New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (now an independent) as a new kind of GOP standard bearer.

Thanks to hefty GOP support, Arnold won re-election with 56 percent of the vote.

In 2007, he proposed a socialized medicine scheme for the state so radical even leftist Democrats in the state Legislature rejected it.

Crash

The economy crashed in 2008, taking the California budget with it. In 2009, Arnold snapped into action: Breaking his pledge not to raise taxes, he increased taxes a record $13 billion. Doing so, as Chuck DeVore has noted, increased state unemployment another percentage point than it otherwise would have been, to 13 percent.

Arnold a promising young, conservative Latino state senator, Abel Maldonado, to provide a crucial vote for the tax increase. Abel was rewarded an appointment to be lieutenant governor; and with an initiative, Proposition 14, which instituted an open primary Maldo thought would help him. It didn’t. He lost re-election as lieutenant governor in 2010 and for a congressional seat in 2012.

In the 2010 election, California Republicans repeated their folly, nominating another “moderate” business person, Meg Whitman, for governor. She was wiped out.

In 2011, Arnold left office in disgrace. In his last days in office, he commuted the murder sentence of the son AB 32 ally and former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. Arnold’s wife, Maria, ditched him after it became known he impregnated the family maid. It was a new kind of “Republican family values.”

At the end of the movie, “Commando,” Arnold single-handedly invades an island occupied by thousands of the troops of a foreign thug. After Arnold shoots everybody, an American general comes in for the cleanup, and asks, “Leave anything for us?” Arnold quips, “Juszt bodiez.”

After his seven years of misrule of California and attacking his own party, that’s what’s left of the California Republican Party: Just bodies.

By John Seiler

Republicans continue to mull over their two defeats by President Barack Obama. And their virtual dissolution in California, which once produced presidents who won landslides: Nixon and Reagan.

One of the best GOP strategists is Morton Blackwell, whom I met in the mid-1980s when I lived in Washington, D.C. He just wrote a new analysis attacking the party’s increasing dependence on high-paid consultants, “The GOP’s consultant problem.” He doesn’t specifically mention California, but what he says applies here more than elsewhere. He writes:

“Most consultants take a 15% commission (over and above client-paid production costs and his retainer) from media vendors for all placements.”

So for the $180 million of her own money that Meg Whitman spent on her losing 2010 gubernatorial campaign, $27 million went to the consultants — plus production costs and retainers.

Now, get this. The consultant only gets paid for big media splashes on TV and radio. He gets nothing, Blackwell writes, for “precinct organization … Voter ID phone banks … voter registration drives … youth efforts … the election day process to get out the vote.” That is, the essence of politics is avoided by the GOP consultants because it doesn’t earn them a 15 percent commission.

In the 2012 election, as well as in 2010, Democrats excelled at all those things. Maybe it’s a difference of culture. Democrats, especially in California, are dominated by unions, who are used to membership drives and organizing to fight for or against ballot initiatives. They always have had strong grassroots organizations.

By contrast, Republicans have a business background. They think you offer a “product,” put up some ads for it, and people either buy it or they don’t. If they buy it, you make a profit (or win the election); if they don’t buy it, you take a loss (or lose the election) and move on to the next product offering.

Rich candidates

Blackwell specifically attacks, “The suckering of many rich candidates who are falsely led by consultants to believe they can win.”

We certainly saw that in California in 2010 with Whitman’s campaign. The eBay billionaire had no idea what she was getting into. She talked about “running the California government like a business.” But politics isn’t business. Business means offering somebody a product that the purchaser can refuse and buy something else; it’s voluntary. Government is coercion. It’s putting a gun to the heads of taxpayers, taking their money, and spending it on special interests. Elections are, as H.L. Mencken wrote, “the advance auction of stolen goods.”

The same thing happened to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who thought he could bring his Hollywood bluster and contract negotiating skills to “running the California government like a business.” His personal charisma and the recall circus of 2003 brought him to power; the real-estate boom of the mid-2000s kept him in power in 2006.

But in the end, he was rolled by the Capitol power players for spending increases that blew out the budget and led to his record $13 billion tax increases of 2009. The state economy tanked much faster than the U.S. economy and he left office in disgrace followed by personal scandal.

The consultants to his campaigns took their 15 percent.

In addition to all their other problems, Arnold’s folly took a severe toll on the California Republican Party. After losing his 2005 special election slate of reform initiatives, Arnold shifted fast to the Left, embracing AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. It’s projected to kill 1 million jobs — long after he left office, of course.

And to show how things have changed, in the seven years since then, environmental extremists no longer even refer to “global warming,” but to “climate change,” which President Obama referred to three times in his State of the Union address this week. That way, any bout of bad weather becomes an excuse to increase government control over our lives vastly more than it already does to prevent a potential ecological catastrophe.

The result was that Arnold tarnished what was left of the anti-tax, small-government “brand” of the California GOP. Some say that was a good thing because they needed to move away from “extreme” right-wing positions. But now the CA GOP has no brand at all. It’s even losing seats in the Legislature in former Republican strongholds such as Orange County.

Blackwell recommends a return to grassroots organizing and online efforts such as those that have worked for the Demcorats. Incoming CA GOP Chairman Jim Brulte is recommending something similar. In California, it’s going to take a lot more than that. But it’s a start.

By John Seiler

“California is very hard to screw up,” noted author Victor Davis Hanson told about 130 California business and community leaders Wednesday. He spoke at the Freedom Forum held at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach. The event was co-sponsored by the Pacific Research Institute, CalWatchDog.com’s parent think tank, and the Lincoln Club of Orange County.

A classics scholar now at the Hoover Institution, Hanson comes from generations of farmers in Selma. He said the city now is at least 96 percent Hispanic. His observations there formed the basis of his controversial 2003 book, “Mexifornia: A State of Becoming.”

“California farm exports are $19 billion a year,” he said. “Farming is at an all-time high.”

As to immigration, he said, “Illegal immigration will stop, the natural melting-pot engine will assert itself” by absorbing the immigrants into the general American community and culture, “and things will get better.”

He pointed out that “the California budget last year” of $86 billion “is the same as the budget in 2006. Unlike the federal government, the state government can’t print money.” It has to balance its budget, more or less.

However, he lamented, “People are leaving who shouldn’t be leaving,” meaning working people who pay taxes.

National issues

On national issues, he dissected the Republican defeat a month earlier. He noted that Latinos gave only about a third of their vote to Mitt Romney. But they gave about the same amount to Ronald Reagan in 1984, even though he spearheaded immigration reform during that era that resulted in the 1986 amnesty program that normalized the status of millions of illegal immigrants.

“The GOP needs to engage the Latino vote,” he urged. Republicans, he warned, appear “not so much anti-Latino as anti-working class.”

He said he admired Romney and both presidents from the Bush family. But he noted that, along with Meg Whitman, the billionaire who lost the race for California governor in 2010, the Bushes and Romney are elevated too far above working-class voters to identify with them.

He said things were different for Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who won two elections for governor. Arnold reportedly is worth $700 million (at least before his divorce). But Arnold’s persona “as a movie star and immigrant” garnered 45 percent of the Latino vote.

Ignoring California

He criticized GOP presidential candidates for looking at California only as a place to get campaign donations. Even if California is unlikely to vote Republican in a presidential election any time soon, he still urged candidates to come here and meet our people. “They need to go to Bakersfield and engage people.” They should point out how “too many regulations” are killing jobs for the middle class.

He’s optimistic about the crop of potential candidates looking toward the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. He specifically mentioned candidates he thinks would have connections with working Americans: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

“I was a fan of Chris Christie,” the New Jersey governor, he quipped, “But I’m not anymore. Because I’m petty and I hold grudges.” Christie famously embraced President Obama during Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, which some conservative critics say helped the president gain votes nationally.

On the immigration question itself, he said Republicans should offer a two-part plan: First, a Dream Act variation that would grant amnesty to those already here. Second, totally sealing off the border so immigration is limited to legal immigration.

He also urged Republicans to play hardball with Democrats. If Democrats want taxes, then their wish should be granted — as taxes on liberal bastions. He said that, during World War II, a 50 cent surtax was placed on movie tickets.

He didn’t extrapolate. But that would be the equivalent to about a $5 surtax today.

Obama’s second term

Hanson said that, like all recent presidents, Obama faces a tough second term. Drawing on his classical background, he said that the president has what the ancient Greeks called “hubris” (extreme pride or arrogance) which inevitably brings about “nemesis” (the spirit or retribution).

Hanson said that Obama has cultivate class warfare to a degree not seen since the 1930s, in which achievers who earn more are envied by those getting government benefits. However, the “technocratic elite,” such as Obama and his cabinet, are exempt from this envy, even though they are exceedingly well off themselves.

He said hubristic actions by Obama include the blanket amnesty to illegal aliens granted without the approval of Congress; and trying to shut down a Boeing plant in South Carolina because it’s a right-to-work state that unions don’t like.

Nemesis will give Republicans opportunities to make gains before the 2014 mid-term election and the 2016 presidential election.

By John Seiler

On Sept. 25, I pointed out the similarities between Meg Whitman and her 2010 campaign for California governor and Mitt Romney and his 2012 campaign for president. I wrote:

“Remember Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor in 2010? You probably want to forget it. She certainly does. Its campaign theme was similar to Romney’s: “I’m rich. I’ll create jobs. Vote for me.”

“So far, it seems like Romney in 2012 is channeling Whitman in 2010.”

The meme seems to be catching on. On Sept. 30, Josh Whitman wrote in the Mercury-News:

“Super-rich, sucker-punched by a “September surprise” and still stuck courting a hard-to-please conservative base while trying to connect with everyone else.

“That’s been the story of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in recent weeks, but it also was the story of the 2010 California gubernatorial campaign of Meg Whitman, whom Romney hired three decades ago at the Boston-based Bain & Co. consulting firm.

I think a lot of it is that Republicans don’t care much about winning anymore. Getting the nomination is enough.

They also just don’t have good candidates. They had Reagan, of course, whom they constantly cite while ignoring his actual policies as president (not as governor, where he boosted taxing and spending). But Reagan was a former Democrat who always admired FDR. Eisenhower was pretty good, but he had beaten Hitler, then didn’t even decide to run as a Republican until a few weeks for declaring his candidacy.

Nixon resigned from office. Ford never was elected in the first place. The Bushes have been unmitigated disasters.

Of the losing candidates, Dole was “the tax collector for the welfare state” and McCain was unstable.  Goldwater was great, but 16 years early; he helped spawn the conservative movement that elected Reagan in 1980. Goldwater also faced a hyper-booming economy in 1964, and was stabbed in the back by liberal Republicans Nelson Rockefeller and George Romney, Michigan governor and Mitt’s pa.

Right now, Republicans just aren’t a good fit for the current electorate. That could change next year when the economy collapses.

By John Seiler

Maybe Mitt Romney will put in a boffo appearance at the three debates in October and go on to win. But for now, his campaign clearly is floundering.

Remember Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor in 2010? You probably want to forget it. She certainly does. Its campaign theme was similar to Romney’s: “I’m rich. I’ll create jobs. Vote for me.”

So far, it seems like Romney in 2012 is channeling Whitman in 2010. Play the following two YouTubes, one from each campaign:

.

Part of the problem is that Republican campaign consultants nowadays are an inbred lot. It used to be that, say, the 1980 Reagan campaign was a lot different from that of Gerald Ford in 1976, or Nixon in 1972.

For Romney, campaign aides who worked for Whitman include: Finance Chair  Spencer Zwick, Deputy Political Director Tod Cranney, Western Political Director Sarah Nelson, Deputy Coalitions-Women Adviser Courtney Johnson, Deputy Communications Director for Regional Press  Sarah Pompei, Deputy Director of Candidate Operations Matt Hall and Meg herself as national finance co-chair. Pompei was with Romney in 2008 and is back, after helping Meg lose.

And my colleague Steven Greenhut in 2010 pointed out that Meg’s campaign echoed John McCain’s losing 2008 bid.

For some perspective from 2010, on CalWatchDog.com I criticized Pompei for insulting Rep. Tom McClintock, the great California conservative. The Romney campaign has done something similar, dissing Ron Paul and his followers so badly they bolted from the convention.

I’ve watched both the Whitman and Romney campaigns closely, and they really do have a diffuse message. Romney has a six-point plan that he’s touting. (Although sometimes I’ve seen it as a five-point plan.) Meg had something similar.

Reagan’s example

On cutting taxes,  on “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Romney was evasive on the loopholes he would close to restore revenues. He doesn’t get it — even though Reagan showed him how.

In 1980, the Gipper campaigned on a platform of a 33 percent tax cut, keeping the deductions for charity, homes, etc. It was simple. Voters easily understood it — and they believed him.

Once elected, he kept his pledge by cutting taxes 25 percent — close enough for government work. (Yes, I know that later he increased taxes in some areas; but overall he cut taxes during his eight years in office.)

Reagan’s tax cuts formed the basis of the prosperity we enjoyed until the mid-2000s collapse.

What about the deficits that so concern Romney? It’s true that’s a bigger concern now because of the $16 trillion debt. But Romney should simply say, over and over: “First, I’m going to cut your taxes 33 percent.”

The second debate is a Town Hall format with questions from the audience. It could go like this:

Citizen: “You’re rich and will pay less taxes under your program.”

Romney: “Sir, please think in your mind how much you now pay in federal income tax. After I’m elected, you’ll have a third of that returned to you for your family. What would you spend that on?”

Citizen: “Ah, my son needs a new uniform for Pop Warner. My daughter needs braces.”

Obama: “Well, my tax increase will fund a new program for sports uniforms and Obamadentistry.”

This stuff isn’t hard, folks.

Here’s the Great Communicator showing how to defeat a sitting president, from a Reagan-Carter debate in 1980:

By John Hrabe

California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton kicked off the Democratic National Convention Monday by comparing Republicans with Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

“They lie and they don’t care if people think they lie… Joseph Goebbels — it’s the big lie, you keep repeating it,” Burton told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Joe Garofoli and KCBS Radio’s Doug Sovern.

Burton is already backing away from his comments with a clean-up statement issued Monday evening:

 “To correct press reports of my recent comments about Republican lies, I did not call Republicans Nazis nor would I ever. In fact, I didn’t even use the word. If Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, or the Republicans are insulted by my describing their campaign tactic as the big lie — I most humbly apologize to them or anyone who might have been offended by that comment.”

Burton’s comments — although offensive — aren’t surprising. Burton’s known for his “patented explosive rants” and “child-like attention span.” He’s been called “the state’s most powerful and profane Democrat.” The San Francisco Chronicle’s Vicki Haddock identified him as “a human Gatling gun of bleepable lingo.” In 2004, the Christian Science Monitor dubbed Burton “a brash Bulworth who defined an era of California politics.”

Of course, Burton’s reputation isn’t all expletives and rants. The Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition told the San Jose Mercury News in 2001, “He doesn’t double-talk you.” Former Republican Congressman Jim Rogan once described Burton as “a man of incredible integrity” and “the most honest liberal I’ve ever known.” And former State Sen. Ray Haynes said Burton is “a good an honorable man.”

CalWatchDog.com has reviewed two decades of archives to assemble, “The Complete Guide to John Burton’s Tirades, Outbursts and Expletives.”

The Daily Show Rant: Burton “Curse(s) More than a West Coast Rapper”

Last year, the state’s top Democrat became an Internet sensation with his expletive-filled rant on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Speaking about California’s initiative process, Burton said, “It’s totally [expletive]. It was put in place to protect people from the special interests. It’s now become a tool of the special interests to [expletive] the people.” Correspondent John Oliver told Burton, “You curse more than a West Coast rapper.” (Source: The Daily Show, 12/5/2011)

Burton: Gov. Brown “Can Try Shooting Somebody” to Get GOP Support for Tax Increases

In May 2011, Burton suggested that Gov. Jerry Brown “try shooting” Republican legislators that remained steadfast in their opposition to tax increases. “He can try shooting somebody and tell the next guy, ‘You don’t want that to happen to you, you better step up and vote.’ … What’s Jerry going to do unless he took out a gun?” (Source: Contra Costa Times, 4/29/2011 & H/T Joe Mathews, NBC Prop Zero)

Burton: “I’d End Up Shooting Myself or Somebody Else”

Burton’s shooting from the hip with shooting metaphors isn’t limited to Republicans. In 2004, he said that he’d rather shoot himself or somebody else if forced to make budget cuts to an AIDS clinic or “General Assistance people.”  Burton said, “I am not a gutsy guy. I would not want the choice between [expletive] this group of people — you know, the General Assistance people — or closing an AIDS clinic. I’d end up shooting myself or somebody else. I am really, despite what people think, an absolute wuss.” (Source: Kate Folmar, San Jose Mercury News, 12/1/2004.) 

Burton: “[Bleep] Shoot Me, All Right? [Expletive]!”

During the close of the 2000 legislative session, Democratic leaders inadvertently lost a bill that would have allocated $500 million in tobacco settlement money for health programs for the poor. “If my house lost Senator Escutia’s bill, then just [expletive] shoot me,” the Associated Press quoted Burton as saying on September 1, 2000.

According to the Metropolitan News Enterprise, “When asked how the Senate could have forgotten to vote on the bill, Senate President Pro Tem John Burton said he thought the problems occurred in the Assembly, then he got testy with a reporter who pressed the issue.”

“What the [expletive] difference does it make? It happened,” Burton said. “I cannot believe that we lost track of Healthy Families. If we did, [expletive] shoot me, all right? [Expletive]!” (Source: David Kline, Metropolitan News Enterprise, 9/15/2000.)

Burton to Protestors: “They Can Take a Dump in My Salad for $78 Grand”

At the California Democratic Party’s Spring 2011 Convention, Burton was asked to comment on protestors that interrupted President Obama’s speech during a San Francisco fundraiser. “They pay $78 grand, they can come back and insult me… they can take a dump in my salad for $78-grand,” Burton said. (Source: Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert, 4/30/2011.) 

Burton: State Finance Director Donna Arduin is  an “Ogre”

In 2003, then-Gov. Schwarzenegger brought in budget expert Donna Arduin to serve as the state’s finance director. Burton, then Senate President Pro Tem, referred to her as an “ogre.” Burton disapproved of Arduin’s past work in Florida, where she pushed for cuts to Medicaid programs. Arduin didn’t take it personally. “For a time, a mock yellow street sign on Arduin’s office door warned ‘OGRE XING’ — a joke from [then-Senate Republican Leader Jim] Brulte.” (Source: San Jose Mercury News, 3/8/2004)

Burton: The San Francisco Chronicle is a Piece of [Bleep]

In October 2010, Burton expressed his displeasure with the San Francisco Chronicle for its failure to endorse Sen. Barbara Boxer’s re-election. “The Chronicle is a piece of [expletive],” Burton told a reporter with The Forward. Boxer used to serve as a former Burton staff member, according to San Franmcisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross. (Source: The Forward, 10/29/2010.)

Burton Demands Correction: “I Didn’t Say [Expletive]… I said ‘[Expletive]’”

In May 2010, Burton demanded that CalBuzz’s Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine correct an inaccurate quote attributed to Burton. CalBuzz ‘s correction explains the incident: “In our Saturday post about the California Democratic Party’s ad attacking Meg Whitman, but masquerading as an ‘issues ad,’ we described the abrupt ending to our conversation with CDP Chairman John Burton. Through his spokesman, Burton on Monday complained that he had been misquoted. Burton says he didn’t say ‘[Expletive].’ His actual words were, ‘[Expletive].’ Calbuzz regrets the error.”  LA Weekly’s Gene Maddaus coined it the “Correction of the Decade.” (CalBuzz, 5/11/2010) 

Burton on Arnold: “Like Somebody Snorting Up Two Lines of Coke”

When asked to give public speaking advice to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Burton said, “[My advice] would probably be, if you’re in a group of more than seven people, dip your tongue in your brain before you speak. He gets in front of a crowd, man, and it’s like somebody snorting up two lines of coke.” (Source: Los Angeles Daily News, 12/6/2004.)

Burton was speaking from experience. According to the Chronicle, Burton “had grappled with a cocaine problem himself as a congressman in the 1980s.”

Burton’s Foie Gras Ban: Save Donald Duck, [Expletive] Wolfgang Puck

In 2004, Burton authored legislation to ban the sale and production of foie gras in California. The ban, which included a seven-year phase-out period, took effect this year. At the signing ceremony, Burton shared the slogan he used to convince Gov. Schwarzenegger to sign the ban: “Save Donald Duck, [Expletive] Wolfgang Puck.” The famous chef had urged the governor to veto the bill. (Source: Contra Costa Times, 9/30/2004.)

Burton: Ward Connerly “Put a Little Pepper in the Salt”

Burton, who has championed affirmative action and civil rights legislation, attacked then-member of the UC Board of Regents Ward Connerly for his plan to ban race-based admissions. “Probably the most evil consequence [of affirmative action] is the fact that Ward Connerly got on the Board of Regents, not on his ability but because he put a little pepper in the salt,” Burton said. Connerly, who is African-American, contends his appointment to the board was based on his qualifications, not race. (Source: Washington Post, 10/29/1996)

Burton Flipped Off KGO Reporter After Meeting with Arnold

Following a meeting with then-incoming Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Burton jokingly flipped off KGO radio reporter Bret Burkhart. According to San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross, “Burton didn’t much care for Burkhart putting a microphone up to Schwarzenegger and asking what he thought about the Senate president.” (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 10/26/2003.)

Burton: No Time for Press Because “I’ve Got [Expletive] to Do”

Reporters are a frequent target for Burton’s expletives. In 2003, while pushing legislation to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants at the end of the legislative session, the Orange County Register reported that Burton yelled at reporters, “I’ve got [expletive] to do. That’s my quote.” (Source: Orange County Register, 9/1/2003)

War in Afghanistan Causes Outburst in the Gym

In October 2001, Burton was at the gym when President Bush announced the start of the War in Afghanistan. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Matier and Ross have the story:

“David Monetta was in the Bay Club locker room Sunday morning when President Bush came on TV to announce the bombing of Afghanistan. And, boy, did Bush get an earful — from state Senate President John Burton, who happened to walk in right at that moment. Burton took one look, shook his head, then let out a barrage of swear words as he walked away.

“About 15 minutes later, Monetta said, Burton came back in — stopped again for a moment in front of the TV — and then “proceeded to restate the same eloquent speech he gave earlier.”

“Burton — a liberal Democrat known for his expletive-laced explosions — doesn’t deny the colorful commentary but says it was just a reflex he has whenever he sees Bush.

‘I had no idea he was announcing the bombing. I thought it was a replay of something earlier,’ Burton said.” (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 10/10/2001)

Burton Hurled Expletives at Antonio Villaraigosa and the Speaker’s Staff

Back in the late 1990s, Burton had a habit of berating then-Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa and his staff; Villaraigosa now is the mayor of Los Angeles. According to the San Jose Mercury News, “More than one legislative source has complained about Burton’s hurling expletives at the speaker’s staff — even at the speaker himself.” When asked about the incidents, Burton replied, “That ain’t my problem. My problem isn’t the [expletive] Assembly Democratic caucus.” (Source: Hallye Jordan, San Jose Mercury News, 8/20/1998)

Burton: “I Don’t Get This ‘New Democrat’ [Expletive]”

Burton has repeatedly criticized the Democratic Party for being too moderate. In 1998, Burton complained, “I don’t get this ‘New Democrat’ [expletive]. There are only so many ways you can feed hungry people, or get jobs for people who don’t have them, and get kids a good education.” (Source: Mark Shields, Seattle Post Intelligencer, 3/23/1998)

Burton echoed the complaint in 2001, when he once again believed “his party has sold out the disenfranchised in its quest to capture the moderate middle. My whole thing is caring for people on the edge that nobody gives a [expletive] about. Who the [expletive] stands for anything anymore? What’s wrong with making sure all kids have medical insurance?” (Source: Hallye Jordan, San Jose Mercury News, 3/26/2001.)

Burton: “The Emperor [Jerry Brown] Has No Clothes On” 

In 1990, then-Assemblyman Burton led a failed coup against then-California Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Brown.  “Somebody had to stand up and say the emperor has no clothes on,” Burton said in a New York Times interview, which the paper described as “laced with expletives.”  Burton was unhappy with Brown’s fundraising and voter registration efforts. Of Brown’s party chairmanship, Burton said, “When he came back, I said: ‘If you want to rehabilitate yourself, I love ya. But you better do it right!’ We had the plan, but when it came time to get the money to make it work, he panicked and we were left with nothing.” (Source: New York Times, 11/27/1990.)

2001 Energy Crisis Expletives: Gray Davis, “He Just [Expletive] Himself”

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “Senate leader John Burton ended it [2001 legislative session] with expletives and a collective middle finger from the upper house extended toward Gov. Gray Davis.” Burton didn’t like the idea of bailing out Southern California Edison, which he described as “a pile of [expletive] and a corporate giveaway.”  When Gov. Davis tried to blame the state Senate for failing to address the crisis, Burton replied, “I mean, insulting us? He just [expletive] himself.” (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 9/16/2001.)

Gov. Gray Davis wasn’t the only recipient of a Burton energy crisis related tirade. When Debra Bowen, then-chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, tried to clarify procedural rules, Burton responded, “’I’m just telling you what they told me, Debra. Well, fine, you’re the [expletive] lawyer. Ask her. She knows it all.” (Source: Copley News, 1/31/2001)

Burton: Davis Administration “Can Go [Expletive] Themselves, All Right?”

In 1999, the Davis administration tried to thwart Burton’s health care reform agenda by floating a poll that showed its low favor with voters. The tactic “prompted a particularly angry response from Sen. Pres pro Tem. John Burton.” He told the Associated Press, “Our job is to pass legislation. Those people can go [expletive] themselves, all right?” (Source: State Net Capitol Journal, 8/16/1999.)

Burton on 2000 End of Session Bash: “Only an [expletive] Would Think This is a Conflict”

To commemorate the end of the 2000 legislative session, Burton hosted an “end of session” fundraising bash for his Democratic colleagues to mingle with Capitol lobbyists. When asked if the party, which raised $200,000 for Democratic campaign efforts, posed a conflict of interest, Burton said, “Only an [expletive] would think this is a conflict. This is like a [expletive] party. This is a $100 event.” (Source: Associated Press, 8/30/2000.)

Burton Attacks [Expletive] Davis Press Secretary and Teacher Tax Exemption Plan

It seems like ancient history now, but in 2000, California had a record budget surplus. Then- Gov. Gray Davis floated the “big idea” of exempting California public school teachers from income taxes.  Burton dismissed the idea “with a profanity-laced diatribe attacking the proposal and, by extension, the governor.” Burton said, “What [expletive] is big about saying I’ll give you a lot of money? It takes a lot of [expletive] courage: I’m going to give you guys $100? What a [expletive] sport. I mean, give me a break.”

According to then-Orange County Register columnist Dan Weintraub, Burton also called Davis’ press secretary a “[expletive] and the governor’s well rid of him when he leaves.” In 2000, Davis’ press secretary was Michael Bustamante, who now works for the Sacramento-based public affairs firm California Strategies.  (Source: Dan Weintraub, OC Register, 5/16/2000.)

Burton on His First Race: “No [Expletive] Way. No [Expletive] Way. No [Expletive] Way.”

In a fitting omen of future tirades, when then-Assembly Speaker Willie Brown asked Burton to return to politics in 1988, Burton’s first response was, “No [expletive] way. No [expletive] way. No [expletive] way.” (Source: Hallye Jordan, San Jose Mercury News, 3/26/2001.)

2011 Redistricting: Pro Publica Report is a “Complete [Expletive] Fabrication”

Every 10 years, California redraws the state’s political boundaries. And redistricting seems to be a touchy subject for Burton. After the nonprofit investigative news outlet ProPublica released a scathing indictment of Democrats’ manipulation of the redistricting process, Burton called it “a complete [expletive] fabrication.” Burton played a major role in the previous two redistricting processes. (Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, 12/22/2011.)

2001 Redistricting: Burton Says Rep. Tauscher is “Full of [Expletive]”

In 2001, then-Rep. Ellen Tauscher accused Burton of gerrymandering her congressional district “under the Democrats’ still-secret redistricting plan.” Tauscher believed Burton’s unfavorable line-drawing was retaliation for her support of Rep. Steny Hoyer’s leadership bid over rival Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a fellow San Francisco Democrat who “is like family to John.”

Burton said of the moderate Tauscher, “She’s full of [expletive]. She ought to quit whining about what’s going to happen to her district because something is going to happen to everybody’s district. I have no idea why she would be voting against the best interest of the state by voting for someone from Maryland.” (Source: Contra Costa Times, 8/3/2001.)

1991 Redistricting: “I Wish That [expletive] Brother of Mine Could Come Back for Just an Hour or Two”

Not all of Burton’s expletives are intended in a derogatory manner. During his 1991 redistricting machinations, Burton spoke nostalgically about the legendary redistricting deal making of his late brother, Rep. Phillip Burton.  “I wish that [expletive] brother of mine could come back for just an hour or two.” (Source: Lou Cannon, Washington Post, 9/22/1991.)

Burton on School Board Appointee: “She’s a Dynamite [Expletive] Principal”

Another positive expletive came in 2001 for state school board appointee Nancy Ichinaga. In explaining why he’d vote for the nominee, “Everybody just says she’s a dynamite [expletive] principal.” (Source: Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/11/2001.)

Top Two Primary: “Dumbest [Expletive] Thing the State Legislature Has Done in 175 Years”

Asked earlier this year for his opinion of the state’s new top-two primary system, Burton said, “It’s the dumbest [expletive] thing the state Legislature has done in 175 years.” (Contra Costa Times, 3/9/2012.)

Burton on His Protegee Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Fiona Ma

Burton is responsible for nurturing the careers of countless Democratic stars. Sen. Barbara Boxer is a former Burton staff member. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi “is like family to John,” according to former Sen. Don Perata.

Another of Burton’s protégées is Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Fiona Ma. During her first legislative campaign, Burton was accused of masterminding her meteoric rise. He responded, “Right, like I’ve got all this [expletive] power. Like everything, I want people to [expletive] do, they do.” (Source: Matier and Ross, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/31/2006.)

Burton Stormed Out of 2004 Workers’ Compensation Negotiations

In 2004, while negotiating a deal with then-Gov. Schwarzenegger on reforming the state’s workers’ compensation system, a frustrated Burton “stormed out of the governor’s office, barking, ‘Hey, man, no hard feelings, I can’t [expletive] do this.’” He eventually returned to the bargaining table. (Source: Orange County Register, 4/16/2004.) 

2003 Budget Negotiations: No More [Expletive]

While negotiating the 2003 budget deal, Burton expressed his frustration with the governor. “No more [expletive]. We are going to see if we can come up with something we can live with and present it to him and see if he can live with it, or whatever.” (Source: Copley News Service, 12/4/2003)

Burton: Arnold’s Common Courtesy “The Day Before He Decides to [Expletive] You”

In 2004, then- Gov. Schwarzenegger met Burton for lunch the day before Schwarzenegger endorsed two initiatives opposed by Burton. “I would think I deserve the common courtesy when you’re eating lunch together the day before he decides to [expletive] you on a piece of legislation you’ve worked hard on,” a displeased Burton said of the endorsements. (Source: Contra Costa Times, 9/11/2004)

2003 Budget Negotiation: “Take The Whole [Expletive] Thing Out of Corrections

In a heated exchange with then-Gov. Gray Davis during 2003 budget negotiations, Burton “clashed immediately after the governor said Democrats should not add spending to the budget above what he proposed in May. Burton shot back with an expletive. ‘So we take the whole [expletive] thing out of Corrections. Is that OK with you?” (Source: Contra Costa Times, 6/15/2003)

Burton on Automated/ Recorded Political Calls: “Less Intrusive Than Some [Expletive] Who’s Calling with a Financial Plan

When asked his take on automated political calls, Burton said, “People seem to get less [expletive] about the recorded ones than the live ones. And, to me, they’re a lot less intrusive than some [expletive] who’s calling with a financial plan for you.” (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 2/27/2002.)

Burton Demands Apology from Whitman Campaign Surrogate

For all of his gaffes, Burton’s been quick to demand apologies of others. In June 2010, Burton attacked Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman for an off-the-cuff birther joke by campaign surrogate Mark Larson. Burton released a statement calling the joke “reprehensible” and demanded an apology.

“For Whitman to rely on ‘Birther’ stand-up comedy to gin-up her crowd is beyond reprehensible. She should once and for all disassociate herself from the Tea Party crowd and apologize for stooping so low as to use this sleazy shtick at her campaign events,” the statement read.

Burton’s Response to Arnold’s Girly Man Comments

When asked to respond to then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s controversial “girly man” comments, an epithet the governor threw at Democrats in the Legislature for not passing his program, Burton told NBC’s Today Show, “Why would I possibly call him? I mean, what are you people, nuts? ‘Hi, this is the scumbag girly boy. How are you doing? Give my best to the kids.’”

At the time, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, then leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus, noted the irony, “You’re asking John Burton whether you can use certain language?” (Source: Alameda Times Star, 7/20/2004.)

Burton would return to the “girly man” line later in the year by applying it to Schwarzenegger. Burton said, “I’m very disappointed that he decides to play girlie man for the Chamber of Commerce and go against providing health insurance for the working people of California.” (Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 9/11/2004.)

Today, Burton left the convention to return to California for a root canal. That’s the only known way to stop the expletives.

By John Seiler

I like Steve Maviglio, the longtime Democratic and union activist and spokesperson, because he summarizes what those he represents are thinking. So it’s worth reading what he says on the the legislative vote for AB 1500, a tax increase, a bill my colleague Katy Grimes wrote about yesterday.

It needed two non-Democratic votes to pass in the Assembly because it’s a tax increase. One came from Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, I-San Diego, who bolted the Republican Party earlier this year; the other came from Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert. After the vote, Nestande quit his post as chairman of the Republican Caucus.

Maviglio:

“And while Nestande hasn’t left the Caucus yet, some, such as San Diego Union Tribune capital reporter Mike Gardner, are speculating that he might join fellow San Diego Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher as the second member of the Republican Caucus driven from its ranks by Conway.”

In fact, as my colleague Steven Greenhut detailed, Fletcher left in a hissy fit because the party didn’t endorse his candidacy for mayor of San Diego, a race he lost on June 5.

As to Nestande, I could be wrong, but I doubt he’ll leave the party. His father, Bruce Nestande, was a longtime Republican assemblyman and Orange County supervisor.

“What was Nestande’s crime? Supporting legislation by Assembly Speaker John Perez to close a tax loophole for out-of-state corporations and use that revenue to fund scholarships for low- and middle-class kids who want to go to college.”

If we’re going to raise taxes, why isn’t the money being used to close the state’s $16 billion budget deficit? Why new spending?

University presidents

And as to high tuition, how about cutting the massive pay and perks enjoyed by university presidents, as we have detailed here on CalWatchDog.com? Do they really need salaries of $400,000-plus a year for these fat cat academic timeservers?

And by the way, how about pension reform for all state and local government workers to save money to cut tuition costs?

The 2009 tax cut wasn’t a “loophole,” but a tax break given to multistate corporations that do business here. Although these corporations are headquartered out of state, to pay the tax they have to do business here — so in that sense they’re also California companies.

Raising their taxes will just encourage these multistate companies to do business elsewhere. Moreover, this tax increase might not have been as onerous if the money raised had cut taxes elsewhere, such as on capital gains to prompt more investment in jobs and business creation. But no, the $1.2 billion estimated from the tax increase will be spent.

California companies

“Despite the fact that not a single California company will see its taxes raised nor that it won’t raise the tax of any individual in California, Conway apparently thought that helping the Speaker achieve a meaningful reform was bad for the Republicans.”

Again, although these multistate companies are not headquartered here, they’re still “California companies” because they do business here — unless they get so disgusted they leave. A really bad part of this tax increase is that it means companies will have to deal with three different tax regimes in six years (2008 to 2013). That causes uncertainty and increases costs for accountants and tax lawyers.

“Remember though that Nestande’s vote wasn’t anything radical. In fact, the California Business Roundtable issued a statement after the vote praising the San Diego Assemblyman for reaching across the aisle to support the Speaker’s bill.”

Well, in Democrat-dominated state, it’s not surprising that business groups sometimes sell out to their imperial masters.

“But Conway would have none of that. Her pledge to obstruction apparently even trumps the goals of the Republican business community — which used to be the backbone of the party. Now Conway kowtows to the Tea Party instead.”

I’m sure Steve has noticed how “the Republican business community” has been eager to throw the best interests of the state under the bus when convenient. Look at those great Republican business leaders Arnold Schwarzenegger and Meg Whitman. The Tea Party isn’t percolating all that much in California, but it gives the party its only remaining caffeination.

Obstruction

“But Conway would have none of that. Her pledge to obstruction apparently even trumps the goals of the Republican business community — which used to be the backbone of the party. Now Conway kowtows to the Tea Party instead.”

But with the passage of Proposition 25, which dropped to a majority from two-thirds the threshold for passing a budget, Republicans already are irrelevant except on one thing — raising taxes, which still requires a two-thirds vote to pass. So Democratic activist Maviglio is urging Republicans to cave on the one remaining principle they have to power to uphold.

Of course, in the end the demographics are leaning way against Republicans. Immigrants tend to vote 70 percent Democratic. And following the pattern of the past 20 years, Republicans continue to flee California’s toxic jobs and business climate for states with more freedom, such as Arizona.

Democrats now run everything. And they’re going to take the blame as, to paraphrase the late Californian Jim Morrison of the Doors, the whole outhouse goes up in flames.