Seventy-nine Cents on the Dollar

Thats what California gets back from the federal government. Only seventy-nine cents back for each dollar we sent to DC...

Oh, but it wasn't always this way. Back in 1994, the Golden State got 98 cents back for every dollar. What happened since then? Well, California got a lot more liberal and congress got a lot more conservative. The GOP congress wouldn't be playing favorites would they?

Sierra Club Saga

Well, I've received a message from Beverly at the Sierra Club HQ explaining the situation.

The club has endorsed both Angelides AND Westly. Odd move.

She also informed me that they have endorsed Jerry Brown for Attorney General and Debra Bowen for Secretary of State. Thats who we're going with as well.

Sierra Club Endorsing Everyone in Sight

On Friday, I received an email from the folks at the Westly campaign annoucing the Sierra Club had endorsed Steve Westly for Governor.

Eight hours later, Angelides sent out an email also claiming a Sierra Club endorsement.

Either the Sierra Club is endorsing everyone, or someone is lying. I've contacted some folks there to find out what the hell is going on.

On the Westly Blogroll

Thanks to the folks at the Westly campaign who have graciously added this humble site to their Rally CA blogroll.

The Angelides/Westly Battle - 92 Days to Go

The Democratic primary battle is shaping up to be a clash of money vs endorsements. State Treasurer Phil Angelides is close to receiving the endorsement of the states largest labor group while State Controller Steve Westly is ahead in cash and just added another $2.5 million from his personal fortune to his campaign's warchest.

An article in today's LA Times details the different strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of each campaign.

Two big name advisors may stand out to you in that article: Garry South for Westly and Bob Mulholland for Angelides. You'll remember South as the guy who as Gray Davis' advisor crafted the strategy to destroy Richard Riordan in the Republican primary so Davis could coast to victory against the weak and politically extreme Bill Simon in the 2002 general election. Mulholland is the big campaign guy at state party HQ, and if you've ever met him or heard him speak, you'll be hard pressed to forget his flamboyant style. I had the unique experience of watching the 2002 State of the Union with Mulholland and some others and lets just say he had some interesting comments.

Westly's Ad Goes on the Air

We called for it, and Steve Westly has now aired his first ad of the campaign year.

In our opinion, the Westly ad is much better than Phil Angelides'. Westly touts his past accomplishments and throws out some positions of his that resonate with California voters. He doesn't mention Schwarzenegger or Angelides by name which makes him come off as more confident. In contrast, the Angelides ad seems to whine about Schwarzenegger.

Frankly Phil, whining about Schwarzenegger is our job.

Weak Re-Elect Numbers

According to a new Field Poll, only 37% of voters are inclined to re-elect Schwarzenegger. The poll also indicates voters know little about his challengers, but that will change soon enough as they have both launched an ad blitz. In fact, I just saw the first Angelides ad last night. Come on Westly, get on the ball and release an ad.