LA Times Dubs CA Recall Frontrunner Larry Elder "The Black Face Of White Supremacy"

[TBoneTX 45,914]

7 hours ago, laylalex said:

I want to say thanks to @Mike E whom I do not share politics with, but who has explained his positions as a fellow Californian with nuance and politeness. It's always good to hear from voices that are informed, steady and reasoned, even if I don't agree with them.

We need more posts -- and attitudes -- like this.  

[Dashinka 24,731]

10 hours ago, laylalex said:

I am not a huge Newsom supporter. I think he's done an okay job on COVID overall -- currently we are one of only three states to have exited the "red" (high) level of risk of transmission to enter "orange" (substantial), along with CT and VT -- but it hasn't been perfect. There were many times it was unclear what the rules were, and the start/stop of the economy was also confusing. We lost many businesses, ones I regularly visited, who couldn't adapt to the changes. Unemployment and gas prices are high (but gas prices are always high in the summer here, and I have seen higher.) But... the economy here is pretty good, lots of new businesses are opening, schools are reopened and the surplus has helped prop up a lot of renters and landlords. I know a lot of people here will disagree with me, and that's okay. We can have differing points of view, and I know I'm unlikely to budge yours. 

 

Newsom has made a lot of difficult decisions, but not all of them were right. I find him too much of an elitist and I feel like his messaging is often muddled. His inaction on homelessness and removing red tape/excessive regulation on new home building (particularly multifamily homes in areas that desperately need capacity) is not a good look. I want to see who his challengers will be in the primary -- we have a jungle primary, so it's possible we end up with two Democratic candidates, but not necessarily. I am very open to seeing other faces and hearing other voices with plans, not amorphous "blah blah Newsom sucks" arguments for why they should be elected. It is not enough to be "anybody but him" -- there needs to be policy and a plan for practicing that policy set out. Newsom is going to have a lot of goodwill right now after this recall, but it's his to squander. 

 

I want to say thanks to @Mike E whom I do not share politics with, but who has explained his positions as a fellow Californian with nuance and politeness. It's always good to hear from voices that are informed, steady and reasoned, even if I don't agree with them.  

Do you really think Newsom is interested in taking on the bureaucracy deeply embedded in CA?  I am not sure any person from any party can eliminate the red-tape/regulations that have been created there. 

[laylalex 7,300]

14 hours ago, Dashinka said:

Do you really think Newsom is interested in taking on the bureaucracy deeply embedded in CA?  I am not sure any person from any party can eliminate the red-tape/regulations that have been created there. 

I really don't know. The red tape problem can be laid at the feet of both parties -- until very recently, this was not a one party state, and no one is innocent here. But fixing the problems should be a bipartisan issue. There are plenty of voices from the CDP and much further left who want to cut through things that just aren't fit for purpose, but without losing sight of what makes this place so special for us all, like preservation of our shores and natural environment. These things CAN be done, but we need to think bold -- how much of the existing laws truly achieve those aims without adding too many layers of unneeded complexity?

 

I don't have any answers, but then I'm not a politician, I don't work for a think tank, and I don't do this kind of "blue sky" thinking. But there are people out there working on innovative paths -- one of the pandemic's strange fruit has been a suspension of a number of building related regulations in LA County, for example, to make it easier to build ADUs (accessory dwelling units, i.e. granny flats, back houses, etc.) on single family properties. We need more housing desperately, and being able to put up small units can help a little with the crunch. The world isn't falling apart because of this, new businesses specializing in constructing ADUs in the methods and designs preapproved by the county, and more housing in places people actually want/need to live is going up. More of this please!

[Dashinka 24,731]

11 hours ago, laylalex said:

I really don't know. The red tape problem can be laid at the feet of both parties -- until very recently, this was not a one party state, and no one is innocent here. But fixing the problems should be a bipartisan issue. There are plenty of voices from the CDP and much further left who want to cut through things that just aren't fit for purpose, but without losing sight of what makes this place so special for us all, like preservation of our shores and natural environment. These things CAN be done, but we need to think bold -- how much of the existing laws truly achieve those aims without adding too many layers of unneeded complexity?

 

I don't have any answers, but then I'm not a politician, I don't work for a think tank, and I don't do this kind of "blue sky" thinking. But there are people out there working on innovative paths -- one of the pandemic's strange fruit has been a suspension of a number of building related regulations in LA County, for example, to make it easier to build ADUs (accessory dwelling units, i.e. granny flats, back houses, etc.) on single family properties. We need more housing desperately, and being able to put up small units can help a little with the crunch. The world isn't falling apart because of this, new businesses specializing in constructing ADUs in the methods and designs preapproved by the county, and more housing in places people actually want/need to live is going up. More of this please!

I know everyone wants to say it is all about both Parties, and sure, the GOP has become a lot more fiscally irresponsible as of late, but in CA at least since the 1990's, the legislature has almost been entirely controlled by Democrats except for one year (1996 where the Assembly was GOP), and there have been many years where the Governor's office, the Senate and the Assembly were in Democrat control and no years when all three were controlled by the GOP.  Sure there have been a few GOP governors, but we all know, the governor of CA is not supposed to be a dictator.  Regardless, it really looks like the Dems have screwed up CA along with their major union allies.  If local bureaucracies are being reduced, hopefully they will stay on that track, but I would not hold my breath as once the Covid19 panic is over, it Global Warming will be the next panic to take its place.