Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://oj1.opinionjournal.com/forward3/dqDdYcRCD" target="_blank">http://oj1.opinionjournal.com/ forward3/dqDdYcRCD</a>!97d0e381771b4d10 >>Phil Angelides has become the Rodney Dangerfield of California politics. First, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown dissed him by telling a columnist that his party's nominee for governor "doesn't look good on TV and doesn't sound good on radio." Then Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez didn't even bother to deny that he wants Arnold Schwarzenegger to win re-election this year so that he can run for Mayor of Los Angeles when the current occupant of that post, Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa, runs for governor in 2010 (by then, Mr. Schwarzenegger would be term-limited out of office). None of this works if Mr. Angelides wins this November. All this became painfully clear on Saturday when Mayor Villaraigosa wouldn't answer a direct question about whether he backed his own party's candidate over Arnold the Republican. "I'm a Democrat, as you all know, but I've not made any endorsements at this time," Mr. Villaraigosa told reporters. "At some point, I would campaign for [Mr. Angelides], should I endorse him." After that obvious non-endorsement, Mr. Angelides responded by declining to take a position on the mayor's plan to assume control over the troubled Los Angeles Unified School District, a move fiercely opposed by teachers' unions that have backed Mr. Angelides' candidacy. Governor Schwarzenegger, of course, is lapping all this up. As an added incentive to keep Mr. Villaraigosa on the sidelines, he has just appointed Mary Lou Villar, the mayor's sister, to the Los Angeles Superior Court. Conservative commentator Steve Frank calls this "a brilliant move on the part of the Governor. He appoints a woman, a Hispanic, a Democrat, and the sister of a major Democrat leader! A four-fer!!!" Mr. Angelides trudges on. He may not be getting any respect from big-name Democrats, but don't count him out. He has friends in very high places -- the heads of the public employee unions who just last November spent $140 million to defeat Mr. Schwarzenegger's entire slate of reformist ballot initiatives. If Mr. Angelides can convince them to pour that kind of money into his race against his Republican opponent, it may not matter how much sand big-name Democrats kick in his face. <<
Originally Posted By gadzuux What 'meat' does the above story really have? Willie Brown (who has a daily radio program and is something of a "pundit" these days) says the dem candidate isn't a polished media hound. That doesn't mean that brown doesn't support angelides - in fact he does. And the assembly speaker has a personal career motivation in seeing a republican win the election, because that frees him up for a run for mayor of LA. Hardly a groundswell. And I'd venture to guess that "some CA republicans" aren't supporting arnold either. Non-story of the day.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://ktla.trb.com/news/la-me-dems17jun17" target="_blank">http://ktla.trb.com/news/la-me -dems17jun17</a>,0,5750639.story?coll=ktla-news-1 >>Tension between Antonio Villaraigosa and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Angelides surfaced Friday as the Los Angeles mayor declined to say whether he backed his own party's candidate to unseat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The rift between two of California's top Democrats became clear just after they appeared with Magic Johnson to celebrate the opening of a Starbucks on Crenshaw Boulevard. Minutes after Villaraigosa's tepid remarks on his candidacy, Angelides refused to take a stand on Villaraigosa's plan to take over the Los Angeles public schools. The dual snubs were part of a broad conflict between the two Democrats. Villaraigosa is torn between party loyalty and the potential rewards offered by his new alliance with the Republican governor. He plans to campaign with Schwarzenegger for bond measures on the November ballot that could offer Los Angeles billions of dollars for schools, housing and traffic relief. And the governor would decide where much of that bounty went. There is also a matter of personal ambition: Villaraigosa is widely seen as a top Democratic candidate for governor in 2010 — provided that Angelides loses. For Angelides, support from Villaraigosa, a major political star, is crucial, especially in Southern California. But the mayor's top priority is his school takeover plan. And it should come as no surprise that Angelides is distancing himself from that: The effort's No. 1 opponent, the California Teachers Assn., has spent more than $1 million promoting Angelides for governor. With that backdrop, the mayor was less than enthusiastic when asked outside Starbucks whether he supported his party's nominee for governor. "I'm a Democrat, as you all know, but I've not made any endorsements at this time," Villaraigosa told a media cluster as Angelides waited nearby for the camera crews and reporters to turn his way.<<
Originally Posted By jdub <And I'd venture to guess that "some CA republicans" aren't supporting arnold either.> Exactly. And in each case--who cares? It's a sad world when people lock step into party lines vs. voting according to a candidate's qualifications. As for Mayor Villaraigosa, read up some more on him; he is "just a little" politically dependent upon the governor at this time. We'll see later where his endorsement goes.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "As for Mayor Villaraigosa, read up some more on him; he is "just a little" politically dependent upon the governor at this time. We'll see later where his endorsement goes." Antonio will do whatever is best for Antonio when the time comes. You're right, he needs Schwarzenegger right now, at least in terms of this school board issue he's pushing. With Antonio however, he's increasingly become about as transparent as one of the 999 ghosts.
Originally Posted By jdub Ooohhhh... that would be spookiedookie, putting political faces in the doom buggies with us...EEEEEK!!!
Originally Posted By cmpaley Why would ANY Democrat want Schwarzenegger to be reelected? Why would ANY Christian want this pro-abortion, pro-ebryonic stem cell research, pro-gay "marriage," anti working person so-called "Catholic" to be reelected? So what that he "moved toward the center" this year. His true colors of anti-working person and pro-business, power-hungry rabid right-wing Republicanism showed forth last year with his special interest election. Only someone who is totally loyal to a party and not to an ideology could vote for him.
Originally Posted By Dirk_D_from_Oregon When the other option is a liberal democrat, Arnold looks great. That is why he will win again. You do know that he is going to win right?
Originally Posted By cmpaley So, the actual thoughts and beliefs are less important to you than party affiliation. At least you're honest. Oh, for a good pro-life, pro-working person party!
Originally Posted By patrickegan Isn’t Baghdad Bob Mulholand on the Angelides campaign? He make’s Dean look like a polished professional?
Originally Posted By dlkozy Too bad that the Dems decided to put Angelides up against Arnold. They could have done sooo much better! Angelides was behind a big development near where I live, a few years back that became a BIG boondogle. After that big mess he then tried to push a change in zoning in my area and get a gas station put in the middle of a residential area-because he had interest in the property-not in the people. He was defeated in that effort-but not forgotten by the people here. This is a guy totally without thought of anyone else but himself and his bank account.
