Hadley's Praiseworthy Praise for the California ARB

"It's pirate time, GOP!" Peggy Noonan exhorted her dispirited conservative colleagues after the disappointing 2012 elections.

One of her pieces of advice? Steal ideas from the Democrats. Go left on certain issues. If the banks are too big to fail, then they are indeed to big to exist.

Republicans are embracing ideas which the mainstream media and other outlets have long considered "Democratic" issues.

Seems counterproductive. With the grassroots and the conservative base fed up with Washington Republicans funding President Obama's illiberal agenda, would we really want legislators anywhere in the country going left on anything?!

The truth is that successful Republicans are not necessarily going left as much as making it clear that the bread and butter issues which Californians and local cities care about -- Republicans care about them, too.

When it comes to fighting poverty and hunger, we are there.  Republicans have been keen and are more aggressive on fighting Wall Street, Big Business, and making the environment better for all

Most people still view the GOP as the party of Old White People doing bad things to anyone of color, or to anyone who does not have money.

The problem with this false perception, however, is that Republican principles of free markets, free enterprise and free people are exactly what is needed to help people get out of poverty and into prosperity.

Republicans have been fighting for civil rights for decades. The story needs to be told.

In California, more people of diverse national and ethnic backgrounds are Republicans.

There are plenty of conservatives who care about the environment, and do not believe in reducing government to zero. Conservatives do care about clean water, clear air, but also making sure that measures to protect our land, sea, and air do not clean out our wallets.

One of those Republicans is. . . David Hadley.

The Los Angeles Times  just recognized the Assemblyman for a strange piece of legislation released for consideration in this legislative session:

Republican lawmakers typically aren't too fond of the California Air Resources Board, an influential state agency known for its aggressive work to combat climate change. Many in the GOP--and some Democrats as well--say the board has accumulated too much power to push new regulations.

But one Republican Assemblyman, David Hadley of Manhattan Beach, is extending a friendly gesture to the board.

Hadley has introduced a resolution thanking the ARB for helping uncover how Volkswagen cheated on pollution emissions tests. The board initiated an investigation into the software Volkswagen used to conceal certain vehicles' true emissions.

Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Torrance)

No company should cheat on any test. None. Granted, I would like to see the ARB removed entirely, but even when any agency does its job, more people should line up and say "Thank you." Without the actions of the Public Integrity Division of the LA County DA's Office, the Huntington Park City Council would have gotten away with violating the First Amendment rights of two citizens in their city council chambers.

The resolution, ACR 112, praises the agency for "its unwavering diligence and dedication to preserving air quality in the state."

Hadley, a first-term lawmaker in a swing South Bay district, was one of two Republicans to vote for last year's sweeping climate change legislation.

For the record, SB 350 was hardly sweeping. In fact, even-handed moderate Democrats working with the pro-middle class Republicans gutted a great deal of Big Green out of the bill.

"The ARB was the regulatory body that distinguished itself in uncovering malfeasance," Hadley told The Times, adding the resolution is meant to show the Legislature is open-minded in overseeing the agency.

What an idea - a legislature which reviews every agency with a willing eye to find things done right as well as wrong.

"I don’t believe you’re credible when all you do is criticize state agencies if you aren’t fair-minded enough to acknowledge good work when it’s done," he said.    

I am so glad that someone has fallen put another set of empty talking points to silence. So many liberals and Democrats crow that Republicans want to sink the size of the state until it can fit - and drown - in a bathtub. That is simply not true.

I wonder if Hadley has any labored praise for the California Public Relations Board, too!

I also wonder how Sacramento Democrats must have felt when Hadley introduced this legislation. He certainly beat them to it. . .