The Fresno Bee, Mike Briggs and Proposition 56
February 18, 2004
Today's endorsement by the Fresno Bee of
Assembly candidate Mike Briggs was about as shocking as the Bee's (gasp)
forthcoming endorsement of Senator John Kerry over President George W. Bush
for the November election.
It would be great if the Bee would take ANY
unpredictable position prior to an election, but I guess we will have to
wait for another day. With the Bee's selection of the most liberal GOP
candidate for Assembly District 29, and its endorsement of Proposition 56, I
have to hand it to them for consistency. The editorial board is comprised of
some really fun, great people, but they have no conservative leanings
whatsoever.
The Bee's endorsement of Briggs (http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/story/8137700p-8991400c.html)
should be offensive to the Republican voters in the 29th Assembly District
for many reasons.
First, having supported Briggs in his quest
for the City Council, in his first campaign for Assembly, and for Congress
two years ago, I can't really be accused of bias here. I have in the past
walked precincts, made public statements for, and donated money to Brigg's
campaigns. I hold no ill will against him personally and never will. He is a
really good guy and has a nice family.
His candidacy should be rejected, however, as
he is singularly responsible for voting for three budgets (the Bee is
impressed with this!?) which created the $38 billion deficits in California,
and triggered increases in the car tax and state sales tax.
Briggs will counter that he secured a $1.2
grant for a little league field for Clovis and tax breaks for agriculture in
the $200 million range, in exchange for his votes.
I counter that the $15 billion deficit bond
on March's ballot (Proposition 57) is entirely his fault, and will cost
households in the 29th Assembly District an average of $2,000 each to pay
off, for a total cost to the District, conservatively, of $590,000,000.
(Memo to the Bee - this is the cost of "working across party lines"). In
addition, Briggs can brag about the "Ag tax breaks", but Workers'
Compensation costs for Ag increased over $1 billion during his terms in the
Assembly - hardly a bargain compared to the "tax cuts".
Second, Brigg's acceptance of a job from Democrat speaker Herb Wesson, right
after providing a pivotal vote on the 2002 State budget, was not only bad
judgment but smacked of quid pro quo deal making unbecoming a statesman and
Republican elected official. The deal stunk to high heaven and Brigg's
former Assembly colleagues went ballistic when they heard about it.
Even now, 29 of 32 members of the GOP
Assembly caucus have united to oppose the Brigg's candidacy in favor of Mike
Villines. Apparently, members of the Assembly GOP caucus don't value "working
across party lines" if it means going to work for the Democrats right after
you vote for their outrageous budgets. For these reasons, among others, the
Lincoln Club of Fresno County urges the rejection of Mike Briggs candidacy
on March 2nd.
Proposition 56 would lower the current requirement for passage of the State
budget from the current 67% to 55%. This initiative is supported by the
Fresno Bee and opposed by literally every taxpayer and business group in the
State, including the Chamber of Commerce. Let's be real clear here - Prop 56
would eliminate the Republicans from the tax and spend debate and cause the
State budget and tax rates to explode to unprecedented levels.
Proponents of this initiative read like the
who's who of the spending lobby - public employee unions, teachers, health
care workers all dependent upon unlimited government funding. They cleverly
put a "hook" into the initiative that their polling showed would help its
passage - no pay for legislators if the budgets are late. Who could be
opposed to that? Of course, if the measure passes, the budgets will never be
late, so the entire pay issue is a distraction. Proposition 56 is a pig. A
huge pig. It deserves overwhelming defeat at the polls March 2nd.
California's very livability is as stake.
Finally, I find it amusing that the Bee places such a virtue on "working
across party lines" but it itself almost never does. I hope one day it will
actually make a conservative choice on an issue - just to show us how they
"work across party lines".
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