[For those interested in an expansion of how we use words today, as promised, I have addended the 'Fake News Defined' commentary that opens with a retort to Mr Steven Frisch's most recent contribution to these pages. gjr]

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223 responses to “Sandbox – 29nov18”
@5:44pm.
Join the crowd, Don Jr.
“I guess this is as close as I’ll get to an apology where yet another ‘bombshell’ bites the dust.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/38910/donald-trump-jr-responds-npr-finally-retracting-james-barrett?fbclid=IwAR2auj1Na_93lDSY9XnKJfPhcjzWvQUIxh-upsjqP8ThRhkGOnKXnnJKYdA
—————————————————-
Walt:
Mueller’s edict from the beginning was to investigate charges related to Russian collusion,” says Dan. Anything not related to the collusion scheme had to be farmed out of the special counsel’s office right back into the standard federal justice system. The prior charges they had on Cohen which he plead to before, were plead to in the southern district. Not under the jurisdiction of the Special Counsel. Meaning that Cohen’s charges…may have been criminal as they’re alleging but had nothing at all to do with Trump or collusion. Why do we know that? Because the Special Counsel referred it out…if it’s not collusion they send it back into the federal system. The fact that he took a plea today to charges levied by the special counsel’s office is significant because it says again that Mueller is bringing them back in to the collusion side despite the fact that Cohen is on the record saying ‘I have nothing to do with the collusion side.’
Dan’s advice to everyone today? “Take a chill pill. Cohen is not credible at all.”
https://bongino.com/desperation-time-why-mueller-put-the-squeeze-on-michael-cohen/?fbclid=IwAR3DmEZ6uGTs3qhu7W4NUmwrG4WQ8ytcL1j9e5EeEQ8gPAvNFrGP51XD4O0
————————
And a meme. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Absolutely zero legal jeporady forTrump. Never was, despitet he never ending “bombshells”.
https://www.facebook.com/PaulaPriesse/photos/a.380309120895/10155720079760896/?type=3&theater
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Paul 2:12pm
Yeah, ya have to wonder what’s up! Anyone who doesnt know the meaning of free enterprise, and businesses that hire the people who produce everything are dumb…cuz they’re the ones that run our economy. Either the gov cooperates or destroys its own income…dumb de dumb dumb.
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Quotes from Trey Gowdy on Comey suing to block the GOP supenoa to answer questions behind closed doors. Comey wants a public forum. Of course he does.
“Did (Comey) interview Hillary Clinton in public? Did he interview George Papadopoulos in public? Did he interview Michael Flynn in public? Did he interview Huma Abedin…Cheryl Mills? Has the FBI ever conducted an interview in public and has the FBI ever conducted an interview where you are limited to five minutes, which is what happens in Congressional hearings.”
“The last time I saw Jim Comey in a public Congressional hearing, almost 100 times he said ‘I can’t answer in this setting,’” Gowdy continued. “So why in the world would he want to go back to a setting where he knows he can’t answer all the questions? I’m sure he only wants me to have five minutes. I’m sure of that,” he said.
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Farewell, Mr. Bush. Now you can be with Barbara forever.
https://m.facebook.com/georgewbush/photos/a.660336390675423/2379797475395964/?type=3&source=48&ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_highlights
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Legalized voter fraud. And in Ca. no less.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/11/30/exclusive-election-fraud-expert-californias-ballot-harvesting-favored-democrats/
“A lot of things that we perceive to be voter fraud … are actually legal,” Eggers said. “So California changed the law so that ballot harvesting allows for a third party … participants to collect ballots or harvest them from voters and then be able to drop them off at polling places. They just changed the law in 2016.”
“As soon as these people get on the rolls, you now have political campaigns, regardless of whether people should be voting or not, the political campaigns now have free license to go find you, and essentially even if they don’t find you, just turn in a ballot in your name,” Eggers continued. “That’s what ballot harvesting is.”
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,,,no Walt,,,just more Breitbart for the braindead,,,
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/california-motor-voter-act/
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M – that Snopes article does not address the abuse of existing laws.
The Breitbart article is accurate.
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Posted by: ”’M”’ | 01 December 2018 at 08:10 AM
SNOPES?
Oh dugsKKKi……/
#sad
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RIP 41
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Here is an “oh shit” moment.
The LIBS will want a recount after recount until they win.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/alaska-republican-wins-house-race-by-1-vote-after-contentious-recount-expects-legal-challenge-from-democrat
Even if it goes to a coin flip, and the DEM loses,, expect a demand for a re-do.
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M @ 8:10 am
As a side issue, voter fraud comes of greater interest to me in practice than the laws on the books. Did you know that with Motor Voter in CA, if a voter registration is filled out and the box that asks if you are a US citizen or not is left blank, the DMV workers are instructed to put a check in the box that says “Yes”. This is because of a lawsuit filled by a group claiming voter suppression in CA which specifically targeted the DMV. So, as a result, voter registration applicantions through the DMV which are not properly filled out are erroronously put on the voter rolls instead of tossing the form or sending a letter to the applicant. That is how it is done in practice where the rubber meets the road, pun intended.
Another problem in practice is someone applying for a driver’s license or State ID in CA showing the DMV employee their green card. They are given a voter registration form, even though the state employee knows full well they are not citizens. I don’t blame the workers for following orders. It’s part of their job if they wish to retain it.
The above is something that those who react vehemently in knee jerk fashion to ANY suggestion or slightest hint of voter fraud fail to address. Honor system? We need to look at the system.
“ I checked it out n Snopes, my research is complete!” Perhaps you are asking the wrong questions. Perhaps.
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Walt 839am – Yes, and as I mentioned in the most recent Scattershots –
[28nov18 update] As the last echoes of the election die down, we should always be reminded of the words of Josif Vissarionovich Stalin – “It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.”
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An update to a previous post. (The mystery seismic event)
Now, check out what it looked like.
https://twitter.com/matarikipax/status/1061590953876582402
It sure doesn’t look natural. Space aliens? That wave looks like something out of a sifi movie.
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Walt
Yeah, that CA race with the R lady up by 14 points the morning after the election and seemingly appeared to be the first female Korean-American in Congress lost….after a week or so of counting ‘provisional ballots’. That one seemed odd to me.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=208308343394252&set=a.118718109019943&type=3&theater&ifg=1
https://m.facebook.com/RowdyConservatives/photos/a.217983685002343/1475618645905501/?type=3&source=54
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Look at me…..look at me……what a good boy am I!
View all posts by jeffpelline
November 30, 2018
Remember when charitable giving was a thing done quietly and not with the goal of public acclaim.
#Tawdry
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Apparently, the State GOP is waking up to the fraud perpetrated on the election by the democrats. A bit late however. As we saw on election night many R’s had comfortable leads and as the late ballots were “counted” the democrats were getting 58% of them and overtaking the leads to claim victory. Well a small change in the law that I did not know about seems to be the opening the democrats used to stuff the ballot boxes on election day. Previously only a family member could turn in a ballot but the change for this election was ANYONE could turn them in. So now the democrats stole 8 seats in California and the rest will be stolen in 2020.
Also, Marcus Breton of the SacBee has a screed against Giants owner Mr. Johnson for his donation to Ms. Smith in Mississippi. It was trash of course and just another example of a minority crying “racism” and hate for white people. I sent him a email and told him he is in fact the racist and fascist as he does not understand free speech or even free press. These people in charge of the inkpots are dsgusting racist dogs.
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Here is one way the democrats stole all those seats. Pretty creative I would say.
http://www.tedhowze.com/blog/226-vf?fbclid=IwAR0fnQVUA55oWA7cLvN352jBj-jANm-fTxro_Ph8u5xy1BwzEY-lBICuPuw
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I encourage you guys to keep believing Republicans got clobbered in California and lost the House because of cheating by Democrats.
That means you won’t change a message that clearly didn’t resonate with a lot of voters this time and won’t work in 2020.
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Way to go team Pacific Legal –
The frogs don’t live there. But the agency said the site met the legal definition of “critical habitat” because its rare, high-quality breeding ponds and distance from existing frog populations made it essential for the species’ conservation. With some modifications, the agency said, the site could provide a suitable home for the species.
The landowners sued, arguing their land shouldn’t be considered a viable habitat and that the government failed to fully consider the economic impact of its action. Both the district and Fifth Circuit courts ruled against them, with the Fifth Circuit ruling the decision was made under the agency’s discretion and therefore was unreviewable, according to the Supreme Court’s summary.
In its ruling in Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit and ordered it to take a closer look at the economic analysis and the definition of “habitat,” which represents at least a temporary victory for the landowners. But the declaration that the agency’s decision was subject to judicial review at all may be the more significant take-home point.
“Fish and Wildlife has always said, and the courts have agreed up until now, that you couldn’t question [their decisions],” said Mark Miller, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation who represented the landowners. “Now, the Supreme Court said that was wrong, and they said it unanimously. You have a right of access to the courts.”
https://freebeacon.com/issues/case-endangered-frog-may-indicate-strengthening-property-rights/
😉
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GeorgeB 1100am – Does this gleeful advice mean that you are a Democrat Mr Boardman?
Given the ideological demographics of today’s CA voters, if you step away into neutral territory, what advice re messaging would you then give Republicans? Specifically I’m interested the kind of advice that would differentiate them from Democrats of, say, the last 40 years. Having today’s Republicans parrot the more centrist Democrats of 1980 will not cut it, but such counsel will confirm that the Dem Party has moved markedly leftward (i.e. toward globalist collectivism).
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Well spoken George B
I keep encouraging Todd to get to work and help rebuild the Republican Party to be viable opposition in California but he is caught in a time warp and thinks everything is fine.
Ironically I was tossing out newspapers this morning and found one from Nov 3rd that had a editorial piece by Todd that headlined “That Coming Wave has Turned Red” It’s purely delusional. Todd still believes the Republicans won the Nov elections.
We need at least two viable political parties in California but the Republicans can’t even field a team anymore. I wonder how many Todds there are dragging the party down.
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Hummmmmm.. Boardman and Emery are a little too happy that Proggys “may” have rigged the process. They must be BAMN members.(By Any Means Necessary)
Kinda like their pissy attitudes about all the great things Trump has done. The sooner their side returns America to the welfare state their side created under “O”and Co.,, the better.
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Was there anything illegal about the election Walt that could have swung the votes? Details please.
More complaining from the Right instead of looking at the core reasons the Republicans lost. Antique Repubs like Walt and Todd need to be retired to allow new contemporary voices andI don’t mean Trumpers who are in for a harsh ’20 election.
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PaulE 1159am – Paul, if we cut the quibbling and accept your and Mr Boardman’s imprimatur on the CA election, then Mr Boardman’s implied message comment (1100am) makes a cogent point. I would also then ask you to join Mr Boardman to answer my 1133am question. What advice would you give Repubs seeking resurgency?
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Paul Emery | 01 December 2018 at 11:38 AM
How is it you think we did not win Paul Emery? You have the House, we kept the Senate. We have the Presidency, And now we have the SCOTUS. Sounds to me you lost and I won. If you disagree then prove it.
If anyone needs to get going it would be you and your green libs. Hell you don’t have one seat anywhere in America! I have most of the states and their legislatures and Governors. How many do you have?
I have put a link up showing how the democrats swiped all those seats in our state which exposes Paul Emery as someone who does not read other’s posts.
Boardman, yes we now have lost California but 2020 will be a remake of 2016 and you will have to endure four more years of Trump which is fine with me. And pray tell, what are your policies for America? We are waiting for your top ten.
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Here is a link someone sent me on how the democrats swiped the seats.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/11/30/exclusive-election-fraud-expert-californias-ballot-harvesting-favored-democrats/
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I wouldn’t presume to tell Republicans how to craft their message, but here’s a place to start:
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article222383860.html
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One should never be surprised how low the socialists can go –
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/12/01/left-attacks-george-h-w-bush-after-his-death-blatant-racism-and-toxic-masculinity-fk-him/
😉
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George Boardman | 01 December 2018 at 12:33 PM
Typical lefty response. You certainly have no problem telling us what is wrong and we should fix it. So this is just a load you libs toss all the time. What a wimp.
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“Oh look, now Gregory is casting out threats: “One more and you’ll win the prize of your.family being fair game for remarks.” Another one of our longtime local “high achievers.” LOL.”
-His Larndess
The reason for my warning is that his repeating the name I have not used is proof he’s looking at MY family information and making fun of it.
So Jeff, just stifle the urge lest it bounce back at you or yours.
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C’mon, George – surely you didn’t really believe you would get any kind of straight answer from those two.
Yes guys, we know – the demographics are changing in California. The conservatives are dying off or leaving the state. The bad is driving out the good. The R’s ‘need to be more relevant’! That actually says precisely nothing. There really isn’t any point in the Rs being ‘mee-too’ Dems. May as well just register and run as a Dem.
The really funny part is that folks like Boardman and Emery see their hated Rs run out of office and their wish has come true. The lefty Dems get to run everything. And it will go down in flames. Then what? Admit they were wrong? Heavens no. All they can do now is constantly blame absolutely everyone else in the world for California’s steady march off the cliff.
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Bessee- “How low socialists can go”? I guess Tump’s swipe at Bush went right over your head. Not hard to do. On many occasions Trump has made a mockery of Bush’s 1,000 points of light phrase. Just last summer in Montana he quipped, “1,000 points of light? What in hell is that supposed to mean? I can’t even believe that was dreamed up by a Republican (Bush).” In the memo dripping with crocodile tears he released today, Trump used (with obvious forked tongue in cheek) the phrase “1,000 points of light” to offer his condolences. I think that was pretty stinking low ball, even for Trump. But of course Todd will come back with something to the effect that it was just a joke.
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I can see why Todd would reject a former speech writer for Pete Wilson and a scholar at the Hoover Institution when he writes: “…it’s a story of a GOP that’s disconnected with an electorate that’s educated, evolved and in search of solutions to everyday problems like health care, housing and transportation.”
“Educated and evolved” certainly doesn’t describe Todd.
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‘an electorate that’s educated, evolved and in search of solutions’ Really, are we talking cali?
The state ranked 41st in conditions that help children succeed, 39th in school finance, and 30th in achievement.
“California has refused to take meaningful action to address the education issues facing our state, so it was unsurprising to see California’s poor grade remain the same year over year,” Silicon Valley entrepreneur Dave Welch, who financed a failed challenge to California’s teacher-protection laws, wrote in an email. The lawsuit, known as Vergara v. California, maintained that tenure and layoff laws harm poor children and those most needing access to high-quality teachers.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/05/california-schools-earn-c-in-national-ranking/
😉
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I got a giggle from an email with a Dark Lord of Liberal Lament Land lame swipe forwarded, all it shows is he is suffering memory loss.
😉
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George Boardman | 01 December 2018 at 01:09 PM
Sure GeorgeB, you are just so much smarter. NOT! For goodness sake you are simply a partisan liberal democrat shyster and a lousy journalist to boot. Where did you learn to write? North San Juan U? Anyway I have more intelligence in my little finger than you do in your bloated body. I am quite happy with myself and I know you are not and that makes me smile.
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Since Emery and Boardman have no problem with the way Calif. has rigged the system for Progressives to stay in power in perpetuity,
Just how much state over regulation, new tax after new tax can they happily endure? Or is the thinking,, “well,, we don’t have that many years left, so screw it! Let’s see have far Socialism will go “
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George Rebane asks:
What advice would you give Repubs seeking resurgency?”
Good question George since it’s in all of our best interests to have a viable two party system in California.
First of all the Repubs need to distance themselves from Trump. there is a strong possibility that he will take a severe fall in the next two years and that he has lost popular support throughout the country and will likely be stripped back to his core which at it’s optimistic best is probably is in the high 30’s. That’s even more severe in California so unless the Repubs find another way to brand him his core California support is likely below 35% and that’s optimistic. So that means unless he has a strong recovery, support for him will be a liability for a Republican rebound.
Next the Repubs need to craft an appeal to urban voters. they have the support of the countryside but that has translated to having only 7 or 8 house seats as of Nov 6. Trumps profound unpopularity with urban woman will be a hill to climb when it comes to proposing policy that would appeal to more women. If Roe v Wade becomes an issue it will make that almost impossible. The policies Trump has to adopt to energize his base are profoundly unpopular in Califoria-Guns, abortion, environmental positions, etc so the extent that he relies on those tactics to be viable in ’20 will work against him in California.
As far as the Republican Party in California , they have to realistically access why they did so poorly. They have lost Nevada County for example, long a gimme for Republicans and while it didn’t change the district 1 final outcome it should be a warning as to how badly the Repub brand has fallen in urban regions, of which Nevada County is. La Malfa also lost Butte County as well, another example.
Assemblyman Dahle is an example of the right direction. He is a reasonable man with a reputation for working across the aisle in advocating Repub positions.
In short, avoid the Trump trap, develop support by advocating positions on issues that appeal to urban voters and choose reasonable candidates that can work with the Dems.
There is much more but that’s what comes up right now.
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Well, I did try. But Mr Boardman’s view of CA voters as an ” electorate that’s educated, evolved and in search of solutions to everyday problems like health care, housing and transportation” kinda shoots down that conversation thread. As my commentaries (with profuse citations), readers like DonB above, and an abundance of test data have shown, in the aggregate CA voters are anything but how the gentleman characterizes them. And the only solutions to the enumerated problems the Dems have shown is to tax and regulate us into a bigger state government that is demonstrably dysfunctional in almost every dimension. And our super-majority legions of gimmes in the voting booths see not a thing wrong with the direction we’re heading.
We are way beyond the tipping point for any return to reasonable governance to avoid the inevitable and carefully concealed bankruptcy. The only thing certain is that it will not be the Dems’ fault.
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AI in all its glory –
But then, at around the 4:08 mark of the video, CIMON starts to act a bit squirrely. Beyond this point, the demonstration looks like a scene taken from 2001: A Space Odyssey, with CIMON playing the part of HAL 9000 and Gerst as David Bowman.
Unwilling to move past music mode, CIMON accuses Gerst of not being nice, and asks him to stop being so mean. The shared glance between Gerst and Auñón-Chancellor at this point—at the 6:04 mark—is absolutely priceless. Acting like a three-year old, CIMON asks, “Don’t you like it here with me?” and promptly starts to sink toward the deck. And then he asks the crew when it’s time for lunch.
https://gizmodo.com/in-video-debut-cimon-the-iss-robot-throws-an-unexpecte-1830768737
😉
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PaulE 158pm – Thanks much for the expanded answer. The only thing missing, besides a general exhortation to be more Dahle-like, are specific policies that can still be called Republican. Recall my 1133am, recommending Repubs to abandon their ideals to become more like Dems of yore is not a two-party solution – it would just yield a center-Left party and a hard core socialist party. Right now we’re basically under the control of one socialist party in Sacramento that has demonstrated its distance from what used to be ‘the center’, has outlined a series of socialist programs it wants to implement, and has the numbers to bring it about in the near future – all to the strong approval of those about to receive new and/or more government checks.
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Where did you rip that off from Paul? Those sure ain’t your words.
Your real good at using others words. Your real crappy at using your own.
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George
Political strategy requires pragmatic not philosophical positions. The Republican brand is so diminished in California it will take a few election cycles to reclaim a viable percentage.
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Just off the op of my head this is an example:
“As a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in “whatever district on the coast” I support Senator Feinstein in opposing offshore drilling off the coasts of Santa Barbara. It is in the best interests of California that our coastal communities are protected from the potential of oil spills that have plagued the Gulf states……..etc etc… You get the idea.
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All my words Walt. George asked an intelligent question that I was happy to engage in answering.
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No Paul, plagiarizing.
The mark of a true urinalist.
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Punchy 226pm
In other words, a pragmatic position is one that uncritically accepts the Democratic mob position. Bipartisan means GOP (and Libertarians, not that we count) taking the Democratic line.
In the offshore drilling position you suggested for California GOP, in exchange for an uncritical acceptance of fracking on land, perhaps. But I don’t sense that sort of quid pro quo pragmatism is what you had in mind.
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So let me see. The democrats have run California’s legislature all my 68 years except onw, 1996 and let’s look at their accomplishemnts for the people and the trillions of dollars in taxes.
Water shortages
Forest fires
roads and bridges crumbling
housing shortages
The most regulations on building houeses
Highest or ear top taxes
Fees for everything
The most regulations on everything
Lousiest schools
Once free colleges now expensive
Highest welfare in America
Highest poverty rates in America
Highest electrical rates
Highest gasoline prices
Most litigation
And many many ,more wonderful things the democrats have done for us.So Paul Emery how would you fix any or all of that?
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Todd
The question George asked and that I responded to was about a strategy the Repubs would need to adopt to regain a reasonable political presence in California. What is your strategy for the Republicans in California?
Remember this from Marat Sade
“Talk is cheap, the price of action is colossal.
Gregory
I was improvising off the top of my head as to what could be popular position for a Republican running for the House in a coastal District. You cannot get in a position to compromise if you do not have Representatives in office.
For whatever reason the Republicans have fallen to he point if irrelevancy in California and they need a strategy with which to stage a comeback.
Todd, again , what are your ideas?
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PaulE – “Political strategy requires pragmatic not philosophical positions.” Well said. And very true if the utility of your politics is just ideology-free power. Arguably the master pragmatic politician of the 20th century was Hitler; he changed his policies, programs, and partners more frequently in the post-WW1 years than anyone could follow, always taking the most pragmatic path up the power ladder in the years of German chaos (1918-1934) as so well documented by historian Heiden in ‘Der Führer’.
But the Repubs can’t make their party platform ‘we just want to be in power, whatever it takes’; only Hillary and Pelosi seem able to get away with that message. And doing something like permanently opposing offshore drilling or fracking is in almost all cases unreasonable if cheap energy is what the economy needs. And doing it to prevent climate change is insane. But, of course, not for the Left. So does political pragmatism that abandons ideology give the only – ‘my way or the highway’ – bipartisanship with the Dems in California? Remember, Repubs are a national party, so what they surrender in CA can and will bite them in ass elsewhere.
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