I am proud to pen this commentary from my new office space,
referred to around the state Capitol as “the Dog House.” The Dog House is where
you get sent as punishment when you draw the ire of the leaders for standing up
to them on principle. I have heard of Republicans being punished for voting for
a tax increase, but I have never heard of a Republican being punished for
voting against one.
This is truly outrageous!
Who put her in the Dog House? Chad Mayes, with the help of his Democratic Bromance Boyfriend Anthony Rendon.
Shameful! What kind of a Republican does that to a fellow Republican?
Answer? A RINO, a total traitor!
How I found myself in this glorified closet space is sadly a
story about how petty and unprincipled politics is in the statehouse these
days.
I am fed up with unprincipled people.
Most Californians have heard about the cap-and-trade deal
that went down in the Legislature. An increasing number are aware that the
Assembly Republican Leader, Chad Mayes, broke from the policies he campaigned
on and that were overwhelmingly supported by his caucus, when he joined
Democrat leaders in voting for cap and trade. Even worse, he pressured other
Republicans to fall on the sword so some Democrats in battleground districts
wouldn’t have to make a tough vote. What many Californians do not know is that
cap and trade significantly raised taxes and that much of those taxes will go
toward another failed program, the now infamous high-speed rail project.
And that's what really, really irritates me! Sabrina Cervantes and Sharon Qurik-Silva did not want to vote for Cap and Trade. They knew that would have killed their re-election bid.
Then Mayes decided to go along with that corrupt program.
Just months ago, it appeared that finally the governor and
his extreme leftist legislative leaders would be forced to moderate their
policies. Fiscal conservatives watched with glee as one-by-one Democrats joined
Republicans in publicly rebuking the latest cap and trade and funding of Jerry
Brown’s boondoggle bullet train-to-nowhere. I sat there with great hope that
both cap and trade and the ridiculous high-speed rail project would finally
face market restrictions and Gov. Brown would be forced to do right by
Californians.
I did too, Melissa. I did too!
However, our embattled Assembly GOP Leader Mayes could not
resist the temptation, and negotiated quite possibly the worst deal in
legislative history. Believe it or not, Mayes is proud to report that in return
for Republican votes to pass cap and trade, he received a non-binding assurance
that Jerry Brown and Democrats would support a ballot measure requiring a
two-thirds majority to spend cap-and-trade funds on high-speed rail. Then, if,
and only if, the ballot measure passes, a super-majority would be required to
spend those funds — sound familiar? Here’s the rub: if all of these things go
exactly as planned, the new law requiring a two-thirds majority would not take
effect until 2024, leaving Democrats with seven years to freely spend cap-and-trade
funds on high-speed rail before facing a financial “speed bump” for its
ballooning costs.
Terrible deal. It was a fraud and scam from day one. I sense that Chad Mayes is waiting for some lobbyist job when he gets thrown out of office.
In light of this deal, I chose to resign from my role as
assistant GOP leader under Mayes because I knew that one of two things had
happened: either Mayes just saved the Democrats’ failed policies that were
starting to face bipartisan opposition or he had sold out his caucus and the
citizens of Californian for political expediency. Neither is acceptable to me.
Mayes did both--add to that the fact that he also cheated on his wife, and we have a perfect traitor!
Subsequently, Mayes’ retaliated. He proposed canceling a
critical agreement with our party that unites Republicans for winning
elections, stripped me of my committee assignments, and banished me to “the Dog
House.”
Mayes wants to burn the Republican Party down. Why? What is his gripe or his grief?
Assembly Republicans in the Capitol must turn the corner and
set a long-term course for making gains in the Legislature that will bring
balance to the public policy-making process. One-party rule is demoralizing
Californians and it all rests on the GOP’s ability to win elections.
It's destroying the state!
If given the distinct honor to serve as Assembly GOP leader,
I will work to unite our caucus behind one common goal: breaking the Democrat’s
supermajority in the November 2018 election. To do this, it is not enough to
just rail on the gas tax or cap and trade, we must make impassioned cases for
our principles and policies by abandoning the worn-out messaging of the past,
connecting with voters in their local communities, and understanding what is
most important to them.
How about "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"? Those are eternal values.
Together, Republicans must unite and prove to the voters of
California that we are not ones to kowtow to the 11th-hour dealing of the
legislative process by the Democrat majority — let the Democrats own their
policies and pay the price for them.
Very likely the Democratic program would have collapsed completely.
Let them own their failed policies that have led California
to the highest poverty rate in the nation; half of our kids are on government
subsidized health care and one-third of the entire nation’s welfare recipients
reside in California.
That is beyond criminal.
The voters of California must know for certain that when we
say we are going to hold the line and fight for better economic policies, that
we will do it, no matter what pet projects or pork spending is thrown our way.
Simply put, we must get our house in order.
Anthony Cannella was bought at a very low price. Pork spending into his district, which he can then run on for a possible Board of Supervisors bid. Maybe we should pass a law which will prevent retired assemblymembers and state senators from seeking office in other non-partisan positions throughout the state.
Republican ideals can put California back on the right
course by ending the spikes in violent crime, spurring a vibrant economy, and
creating more good paying jobs. Doing so requires a new era of Republican
leadership that will offer Californians the opportunity to rid their state
house of a culture of corruption that has persisted for too long. As Assembly
GOP leader, I will welcome and foster healthy debate on differing opinions, but
last-minute capitulations to special interest handouts will be met — must be met
— with consequence.
Yes! I support Melissa Melendez for Assembly Minority Leader!
