Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Pauly v. Spitzer: An Epic David and Goliath Battle for the Sinking Orange County Titanic.


We often say that we view the world as we are, not as it is.  Take for example, Thomas DelBeccaro’s piece 10 Reasons Obama will Lose this Fall published today in Breitbart.com.  While his reasons are compelling, there are three reasons why Mr. Obama has a good shot at a second term: 1)The Mostly Radical Left & Hyphenated Media  (MRLH) and 2) Its target market and 3) Class warfare
Now, effective politicians, regardless of ideology use rhetorical devices to persuade and or manipulate the electorate.  Take for instance the President’s insistence on the Buffet Rule, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, other than to have the MRLH media amplify the message.  As Shakespeare might say, “fo shizzle my nizzle, it’s the mutton and not the sizzle that count” Worse,  President Obama is worth 11 Million, yet he gives daughters $48K in tax free gifts, Joe Bidens give a paltry  0.3%, while Romney gives 10% of his income to charity- but I digress.
A recent editorial by the Orange County Register titled  Editorial: O.C. GOP boss warms to union supporter Spitzer County supervisor candidate Todd Spitzer complies with letter, not spirit, of Scott Baugh's edict against on accepting union support makes the argument that  Orange County Republican Party boss Scott Baugh is hypocritical in his endorsement of  supervisor candidate Todd Spitzer,
”…the former supervisor and state assemblyman who more recently was fired from the District Attorney's Office and is now trying to get back on the board..” according to the editorial.  Particularly because “Mr. Spitzer was the lead advocate on the Board of Supervisors for a 2001 pension increase for deputy sheriffs that retroactively increased their pensions to the unsustainable "3 percent at 50" formula – guaranteeing a pension of 90 percent of a 50-year-old employee's final year's pay after 30 years of work.  Mr. Spitzer since has said he was wrong on that vote but mainly he blames others for not warning him.”
Chairman Baugh
Chriss Street has been warning about the county’s fiscal tsunami using the Titanic as an illustration, painting the board as adept as Italian cruise captain Francesco Schettino.
If you consider that Chuck DeVore is no longer in the running in 2012 against Mr. Spitze and  that Mr. Spitzer is well-financed, that he has the support of almost the entire GOP establishment, should the voters board do as captain Francesco Schettino and give the signal of full speed ahead?  That is the essence of our question to Councilwoman Deborah Pauly when we asked her why she decided to run against Mr. Spitzer in 2012.  After all, that would be a David Vs. Goliath battle, not for a country, but for quickly sinking Orange County.


Councilwoman Pauly in no uncertain terms told us that this is the reason she is running, echoing the Orange County Register’s editorial that Mr. Spitzer is part of the problem and not the solution, to the Titanic disaster facing Orange County and while severely under funded, she expects that voters will a second look at her, once the word gets out that she is serious about this race.


While the Cotobuzz applauded the January 2010 Baugh Manifesto, we thought it did not go far enough.  We contacted all of Orange County city council members that February and only Ms. Pauly took a stand.  That is to say, when Ms. Pauly speaks, voters listen.  And we do as well.
For his part, Mr. Spitzer says in response to our request for comment:   “I am eager to take the fiscal crisis head on. I was there in 1996-2002 with a tight fiscal belt working to emerge us from the Bankruptcy debt. I have the knowledge skill and experience to make the tough decisions to right the ship and control government spending “
For her part, Councilwoman Pauly responded:   "If Mr. Spitzer considers his irresponsible retroactive pension spiking vote to be a 'tight fiscal belt,' then the dangers of returning him to the Board are even greater than I thought," observes Ms. Pauly.
We have also asked Mr. Baugh to comment for this piece, but have not heard from him.
The question for the Orange County third voters is, does the Pauly v. Spitzer race matter, or is it just another Buffet Rule argument?  Do voters care, or are Orange County voters a microcosm of the President’s target market:  The 69% dependent, apathetic and or stupid electorate, using  the President’s own words.
One thing we know for sure is that like her or not, councilwoman Pauly is a change agent.
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Posted By CotoBlogzz 02-11-2010 | 09:00 AM
Villa Park, CA - Our quest to find out  whether Orange County City Hall supports the Baugh Initiative has started to yield good fruit.  The Baugh Initiative advanced by Orange County GOP’s Chairman Scott Baugh requires politicians to choose between the GOP or the  the union.
An interview of a different kind
Posted By CotoBlogzz
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA -  We were looking forward to a substantive debate between Mr. Chuck DeVore and Mr. Todd  Spitzer as they attempt to make their case for a Third District Board of Supervisors seat in 2012.  Given their collective experience in public service, the operative question is whether they have become part of the problem, or part of the solution.  We are still looking.
We publicly challenged both candidates to see whether they had any specific bold proposals - emphasis on bold, for what should be obvious reasons- for the fiscal tsunami facing the county, and to make sure they got the memo, we tried to reach them multiple times via their Facebook accounts, asking them to respond by no later than April 29, 2011 at 5:00 pm.    Mr. DeVore was gracious enough to respond.  We have yet to hear from Mr. Spitzer.
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A view of Senator Obama Using a  Disgruntled Homeowner Prism During a recent blogging exchange with Assemblyman Todd Spitzer , he referred to a particular constituent as a disgruntled member of a homeowners association.  Now, we have heard the term disgruntled employee regularly in employer-employee spats and usually in whistle blowing scenarios.  We have also hear the term disgruntled resident in the context of an argument between representatives of a homeowners’ association and the resident itself.  Never from a politician to characterize a constituent.
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The 2010 Union Voting Guide - Use at your Own Peril - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - There is a lot of truth in the old adage that "we should not judge a book by its cover." But what if we have access to the Cover, the Table of Contents and the Appendix? Can we get a good idea as to the contents of the book? In other words, using another adage "tell me who you associate with and I will tell you who you are?" and applying the latter to political elections, if we know the candidate's supporters, we should be able to have a good idea about how that candidate will govern. Take for instance Van Jones, Reverend Wright, the National Representative of the Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan, the Reverend Al Sharpton,  terrorist William Charles " Bill" Ayers and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel all supporters of candidate Obama.  Should this not have been a good indicator, largely ignored, of the contents of the now Presidential Book?
The California Air Resources Board acknowledges that "no direct public health impacts" are expected from Prop 23. The proposition delays control of greenhouse gas emissions, implicated in global warming. It delays implementation of AB 32 (the global warming solution), which penalizes sources of emissions, especially refineries and fossil fuel power sources.
The 2010 Union Voting Guide - Use at your Own Peril
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - There is a lot of truth in the old adage that "we should not judge a book by its cover." But what if we have access to the Cover, the Table of Contents and the Appendix? Can we get a good idea as to the contents of the book? In other words, using another adage "tell me who you associate with and I will tell you who you are?" and applying the latter to political elections, if we know the candidate's supporters, we should be able to have a good idea about how that candidate will govern. Take for instance Van Jones, Reverend Wright, the National Representative of the Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan, the Reverend Al Sharpton, terrorist William Charles " Bill" Ayers and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel all supporters of candidate Obama. Should this not have been a good indicator, largely ignored, of the contents of the now Presidential Book?
2010 California Propositions Voters Guide
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Comments

WAKE UP ORANGE COUNTY, WE'RE SINKING!!!!!

Dear Citizens of OC, We have ONE month and the race for OC Supervisor is over. If we are going to stop this ship from completely going down we MUST get Deborah Pauly elected. Do whatever you can, get involved, donate, spread the word and fast. If Special Interest Spitzer wins this race it will be more of the same and worse, look at his own voting record!!
Don't just stand there and hope that things will change, we can make it happen.

Not just the OC

Sadly, it is not just Orange County.  For those who think they can simply go Texan, they are just delaying the inevitable.  California's Triple Constraint:  The symbiotic relationship between politicians, unions, lobbyist and bureaucracies, such as CLRAQBLAFCOOCTA and thousands others.  Then there is the US Economic Freedom's Triple Constraint:  1.  ObamaCare, 2.  EPA\Regulations 3)  Unions -  While you can run, you cannot hide.  So goes Orange County, So goes California, so goes the Nation.

Voters can change the direction of OC and the country

It all starts on the local level. If people would take even a very small amount of time out of their busy schedules, especially now with so many critical elections coming up, we absolutely could get these entrenched career politicians (like Spitzer) OUT for good! We're all busy but we can ALL do a little bit and donate a little bit.
This is not only our future but our kids and grandkids. Let's do it!

Leopards Don't Change Their Spots

By itself, Spitzer's pro Big Labor record on the Board of Supervisors disqualifies him as a candidate. Spitzer also lacks integrity as exemplified by his time in the State Assembly when he made a post-election decision to take a $12,000/yr taxpayer funded pay raise after first rejecting it.
To use another ship disaster analogy, and even though he would be just 1 of 4 other board members, putting Spitzer back on the Board of Supervisors would be akin to naming Joseph Hazelwood the new captain of an oil barge.

By itself, Spitzer's pro Big

By itself, Spitzer's pro Big Labor record on the Board of Supervisors disqualifies him as a candidate. Spitzer also lacks integrity as exemplified by his time in the State Assembly when he made a post-election decision to take a $12,000/yr taxpayer funded pay raise after first rejecting it.
To use another ship disaster analogy, and even though he would be just 1 of 4 other board members, putting Spitzer back on the Board of Supervisors would be akin to naming Joseph Hazelwood the new captain of an oil barge.

orange

Anyone who lovingly voted for John McCain, Meg Whitman, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, anyone who cherishes public employee unions and what they have done for education, law enforcement, and illegal aliens, anyone who believs that California is quickly becoming a paradise for business, job growth, and emense liberty will LOVE Todd Spitzer. However, the sane among us appreciate Deborah Pauly.

CA Triple Threat & US Economic Freedom

For years, I have been writing about California's Triple Threat: the symbiotic relationship between politicians, unions, lobbyists and bureaucracies, such as the AQB, CLRC, LAFCO. The same is true for Orange County and the nations and why I continue to make the case we do not need lawmakers. We need problem solvers instead.

Ms. David and Golliath

One other aspect not questioned in this piece is the reason "WHY". From either candidate, why are they willing to jump onto a ship that is surely on rough waters and how can they contribute to to OC's future? Underfunded by respected by voters, particularly in the Tea Party segment (those who will be voting on this race) Ms. Pauly who doesn't seem to be afraid of the challenges ahead. She's taken on similar battles politically in the past and faired well. Mr. Spitzer who appears to be the political shoe in, with the war chest (including union funds which he says he isn't touching) and a desire to also be the County District Attorney. While he's raised lots of funds, do those donors vote or just willing to be part of the 'winning side'? Why return to the scene of the crime on his part? Both most likely will build on political credibility if they win. From following Ms. Pauly around throughout the County for the past three years at various functions and rallies, I believe she's connected to those who vote and want someone in office they can rely on and believe in. Where as Ms. David the battle may be a bigger struggle, don't count her out. This race may be more about guts than glory.

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