Here is some news from the
Californian Republican Convention last week. Peter Foy, Ventura County
Supervisor and California director of Americans for Prosperity, is looking at a
run against Republican Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, E-Bay executive Meg
Whitman and former Congressman Tom Campbell for Governor. All three of these
potential candidates have formed exploratory gubernatorial committees. Last
week at the Republican Convention each of these hopefuls criticized the state
budget plan for imposing new taxes, but Foy said his opponents would be likely
to cut deals with Democrats. He, on the
other hand, would not work with Democrats who hold a clear majority in both
houses of the California Legislature.
Last winter Foy kicked off a
California chapter of his organization by calling for all those who believe in
unregulated free markets and no new taxes to join with him to oppose any budget
compromise in our state.
Foy says he is a stronger fiscal and
social conservative than either Poizner or Whitman and would represent the
party's pure orthodoxy. Along these
lines, his religious beliefs make him a pro-life candidate in a state that is
decidedly pro-choice.
Additionally, the web site
describing the views of Americans for Prosperity puts Supervisor Foy in the
global warming denier category on environmental issues. Even extreme Republicans like our own 19th
State Senator Tony Strickland and his wife Audra who represents the 37th
Assembly District pay lip service to environmental issues and talk of funding
for "green jobs."
Foy runs an insurance and employee
benefits consulting business in Woodland Hills and although he readily admits
that he can't raise the kind of money either Poizner, Whitman or Campbell can
he is confident that his Republican base is stronger than theirs. These are the
words of a true believer who is decidedly quite out of touch with voters in our
state.
We can imagine that if Foy does
mount a campaign for governor that only the most extreme orthodox social
conservatives will vote for him.
Democracy Watch is a blog devoted to debunking extreme right wing Republican rhetoric, media, printed material, blogs, videos and all campaign TV ads that are untrue.
