Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Cole is on a roll !

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Another missed opportunity for Jamie Dimon to just shut the fuck up.

This blog will pay for itself.

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a *fraudulent* bond!

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

In after Baud. Damn.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

He really is that stupid.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2018 / Going Full Trump: Walker Stapleton

Going Full Trump: Walker Stapleton

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Colorado primaries are coming up. We’re gonna need a new governor. The Democratic governor candidates of course are running against the orange-in-chief, but also touting the need for single-payer health care, saving our beloved open spaces and education, among other things.  In honesty, the top three Dems are solid candidates and I’d be happy for any of them. I am supporting Congressman Jared Polis in the primaries.

On the Republican side – I have’t paid much attention to it, except the entire process for getting petitions signed turned bloody quickly.  Fraud was discovered and good ole racist Tom Tancredo dropped out early.  And one candidate is Romney’s nephew and has no political experience at all. But, hey, governor looks like a good place to start, right?

The candidate that has suddenly stood out to me is State Treasurer Walker Stapleton. He has some pretty deep skeletons in his closet: Hit and Run Charges and questions on how he’s run the the treasury.

But this is what caught my eye, he’s the first Republican candidate to go full Trump:

Be interesting to see how this plays out in the primaries. I live and play in a fairly blue section of the state, so I’m not a good judge on how Trump is seen here overall.  But one Republican is running on a pro-business, anti-California platform and the other two haven’t made enough noise for me to notice yet, it remains to be see if  they’ll swing full-trump, too. The primary is June 26, should be interesting.

 

Reader Interactions

198Comments

  1. 1.

    Jeffro

    I wonder how long it will take the #NeverTrumpers and right-leaning ‘independents’ and what not to realize: the GOP as they knew it ain’t coming back, and perhaps the dirty hippies aren’t so bad after all? It’s Trumpism or the Dems, folks.

    Nah, who am I kidding? They’ll cling to their delusions, just like everyone else…

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    Speaking of Republican Venality, the Honorable Man syndrome strikes again:

    James Comey
    ‏Verified account @Comey
    7h7 hours ago

    Dangerous time when our country is led by those who will lie about anything, backed by those who will believe anything, based on information from media sources that will say anything. Americans must break out of that bubble and seek truth.

  4. 4.

    WereBear

    I’ve been hearing about the Wingnut Wurlitzer going Full Metal on the whole “anti-California platform.”

    You know, that place with the WORLD’s sixth biggest economy and running a surplus in the budget.

    The horror.

  6. 6.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    Republican is running on a pro-business, anti-California platform and the other two haven’t made enough noise for me to notice yet, it remains to be see if they’ll swing full-trump, too. The primary is June 26, should be interesting.

    Aren’t a lot a Californians moving to Colorado? I don’t think this is a great strategy.

  7. 7.

    Racer X

    “anti-California platform”? I didn’t realize that California was an election issue. WTF?

  12. 12.

    TenguPhule

    @WereBear:

    You know, that place with the WORLD’s sixth biggest economy and running a surplus in the budget.

    The horror.

    Republicans are upset at such a large pot of money that they haven’t been able to steal yet.

  13. 13.

    sixthdoctor

    I hope he wins the primary so that the Democrat can win by reminding everyone, at every opportunity, with Norm McDonald-esque delivery, that the opponent’s name is WALKER STAPLETON.

  14. 14.

    TenguPhule

    @Jeffro:

    I wonder how long it will take the #NeverTrumpers and right-leaning ‘independents’ and what not to realize: the GOP as they knew it ain’t coming back, and perhaps the dirty hippies aren’t so bad after all? It’s Trumpism or the Dems, folks.

    Republicans: Good point. Nazis it is then!

  15. 15.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @TenguPhule:

    My fellow Americans, I have signed a Yuge executive order outlawing California forever. Bombing begins in five minutes.

    Ryan and McConnell: “We support the president. God Bless America.”

  17. 17.

    TenguPhule

    In rather bad but not unexpected news, the IRS has ruled that States can’t get around the new cap on state tax deductions through their inventive workarounds.

  19. 19.

    jl

    ” anti-California ”
    Is that a big policy issue in Colorado? If a GOper wins, should we expect a declaration of war out here, or just a spate of mean and insulting proclamations? Or will CO pass a blanket anti-California law?

    And a quibble. The bar for going ‘full Trump’ is getting higher every day/ How many countries are making payoffs to the guy? Just Russia won’t do the trick anymore. That is low energy, and shows lack of the Art of the Deal.

  20. 20.

    Major Major Major Major

    To answer everybody’s question, Coloradans have been bitching about Californians moving there for decades. “Don’t Californicate Colorado!” was a popular bumper sticker when I was a kid. They blame out-of-towners (esp. Californians) for the housing crunch.

  22. 22.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Sam Stein @ samstein
    “This is it, if you have been wondering what the bottom looks like,” Jeff Flake tells Harvard Law grads.

    If only there were something this sitting senator (and media darling) in a party with a one vote majority who will not face re-election but will hold office for another seven months could do about this….

    “Our presidency has been debased by a figure who has a seemingly bottomless appetite for destruction and division and only a passing familiarity with how the Constitution works,” Flake declared, according to an advanced copy of the commencement address he was delivering to graduates of the Harvard School of Law. “And our Article I branch of government, the Congress is utterly supine in the face of the moral vandalism that flows from the White House daily.”

    Wow! them sounds like fightin’ words!

    Flake acknowledged that he votes consistently with the president’s legislative agenda but argued that it was misplaced to demand that he “ought to hobble” Trump on items in which they had ideological agreement.

    Oh.

  23. 23.

    gene108

    The end of Walker’s ad is why we can’t have nice things. He’ll “take the fight to the liberals, and beat them again”.

    He’s not opposing a specific policy, but he’s going to beat a specific group of people in his state.

    I know sometimes politicians do this with outside groups like “I beat the tobacco lobby, and got the state a huge settlement”, but they aren’t saying they’re going to defeat actual people because they think differently.

    And this is considered moderate right-wing rhetoric.

  24. 24.

    jl

    @Major Major Major Major: I for one, take malicious glee in promiscuous Californification of all, these, our great, United States.

    So, I’d like my name to go in the anti-California law, or whatever it is. Who do I contact in Denver about that?

  25. 25.

    JPL

    @TenguPhule: What folks don’t realize is that affects wealthy areas in red states also. In parts of the 6th district of GA 10,000 is not unusual for property taxes and that doesn’t account for the state income tax. If you are single like I am, I think the cap is half of that.

    What happened to that party that didn’t believe in paying taxes on taxes.

  26. 26.

    Miss Bianca

    What a douche canoe. Honestly, I am embarrassed for our state. Oh, well…at least we seem to have some decent Dems running. But this “unaffiliateds voting in the primary” schtick – I really, really hope this doesn’t come back to bite us all in the ass, besides being hideously expensive.

  27. 27.

    MisterForkbeard

    @WereBear: Republicans I talk to keep talking about how this MUST be a hellscape because it’s so expensive to live here and people keep moving out of the state.

    Of course, it’s expensive to live in some parts of the state because *they’re in high demand*, and the state’s population is growing. But they’re convinced the state is awful partially because Democrats run it.

  28. 28.

    TenguPhule

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Flake acknowledged that he votes consistently with the president’s legislative agenda but argued that it was misplaced to demand that he “ought to hobble” Trump on items in which they had ideological agreement.

    Flake: “He’s a dirty rotten bastard and I am in complete accord with his state of mind.”

  29. 29.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: sorry to go OT but I’ll bring it back to Colorado

    Benny Sarlin @ BenjySarlin
    I think when people look back on Flake, the confusing aspect will be why he didn’t make specific demands regarding this apparently existential crisis and withhold votes to address it. By contrast, Cory Gardner (R-CO) blocked all DOJ nominees and won huge concessions on pot.

    confusing if you discount ‘fucking coward’

  30. 30.

    TenguPhule

    @JPL:

    What happened to that party that didn’t believe in paying taxes on taxes.

    I’m sure they will follow the traditional Republican answer to this problem and cheat on their taxes.

    Their chances of an audit are only slightly better then winning the lottery thanks to the GOP.

  32. 32.

    TenguPhule

    @gene108:

    And this is considered moderate right-wing rhetoric.

    At least guns being used are not involved in the ads. So far.

  33. 33.

    jl

    @WereBear:

    “the WORLD’s sixth biggest economy”
    Excuse me, California is now fourth or fifth, depending on whether you want to include the rest of the US in the comparison. Just passed France.

    @MisterForkbeard: California hot spots doesn’t mind spreading the wealth by sending the scutwork to other parts of the state, And after that, to other states. Nevada is helping out with warehouses. Others can join in. Far preferable to sending our tax money to keep a bunch of red states on the dole.

  34. 34.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    Can anyone tell me why my nym and e-mail info for commenting keeps disappearing every time I comment? It’s very annoying to have to keep typing it in every time.

  36. 36.

    SenyorDave

    @gene108: He’s not opposing a specific policy, but he’s going to beat a specific group of people in his state.

    Modern Republican party at work. The POTUS doesn’t even bother trying to be president of all people, he pretty much brags about how his policies will get certain people. This country has been changed forever.

  37. 37.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    Thanks, TaMara. Victor Mitchell is the other Rethug candidate advertising quite heavily. His first set of ads claimed he’s an “outsider candidate with new ideas” (and swear to dog I heard the narrator say “no ideas.”) And as mr. h commented, electing an outsider businessman has worked SO well for the country /snark/

    I backed Kennedy in the caucuses; I haven’t decided if I will vote for her or Polis in the primary.

  38. 38.

    trollhattan

    Speaking of furriners invading California.

    A Republican super PAC is launching a last-minute effort to boost a handful of House GOP candidates in southern California. The goal is to block Democrats from getting a candidate into the general election in some key House races.

    The American Future Fund, an Iowa-based GOP group, has dropped almost $700,000 to boost four GOP candidates in three districts, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.

    Their goals are to elevate some flagging Republicans and try to help them make the November ballot in districts that are key to Democrats’ hopes of winning the House this fall.

    California’s “jungle” primary system allows the top two vote-getters to advance to the general election, regardless of party. That’s led to concerns among Democrats that their candidates could split the Democratic vote, allowing Republicans to finish in the top two spots in some congressional races and immediately costing them chances at a handful of winnable seats in the state.

  40. 40.

    Gin & Tonic

    @jl: I remember “Don’t Californicate Colorado” bumper stickers four decades ago.

  42. 42.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    Excuse me, California is now fourth or fifth, depending on whether you want to include the rest of the US in the comparison. Just passed France.

    Thought that was Great Britain. Who committed economic suicide.

  46. 46.

    Miss Bianca

    @Corner Stone: “Dangerous times that a jumped-up, holier-than-thou asshole who bought his own hype about what a righteous man he was helped to BRING ON, Comey, you piece of shit.”

  47. 47.

    trollhattan

    @Bobby Thomson:
    I’m sure that’s true but must point out the locals’ nickname for the Rockies is the “Texas Alps” due to how many Texans sully the joint. It would be hilarious for a Colo Dem to do “Defending Colorado from Texas values” featuring their asshole governor, lt governor, congressional delegation and things in Texas blowing up all the damn time.

    ps Popular Colo bumper sticker in the 70s-80s: “Don’t Californicate Colorado”

  49. 49.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Bobby Thomson: I mean it’s probably a good strategy for a primary election, but what about the general? I guess it depends on whether the anti-California rhetoric pisses enough people who live in Colorado who are from Cali.

  50. 50.

    Cacti

    @WereBear:

    You know, that place with the WORLD’s sixth biggest economy and running a surplus in the budget.

    The horror.

    Yep. The place that produced 16% of the country’s job growth since 2012, and has seen it’s GDP grow faster than the national average for the past 10 years.

  52. 52.

    A Ghost To Most

    I signed Jared Polis’ nominating petition.

    Fuck Stapleton. And Victor Mitchell.

  55. 55.

    dexwood

    @Gin & Tonic:
    There were “Don’t Californicate New Mexico” bumper stickers on cars when I moved hear in 75. I know a guy who says he coined the phrase which was copied in other states, but, well, he says a lot of things.

  56. 56.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @MisterForkbeard: Oh, we tried having Republicans run California. The budget never got passed on time, infrastructure wasn’t maintained, parks had to close, the state finances were a shambles, we started charging tuition at our public universities…. Yeah great record there, Republicans.

  57. 57.

    jl

    @TenguPhule: The news reports about it a few weeks ago were too polite to name the country we passed, so I just checked the wiki. France. I remember years ago it was Italy, then India, but they are eating our dust now.

    UK will take some time, since CA is 15% below. Will take a 7% swing on each side, so maybe someday, if pessimistic Brexit forecasts pan out. Or if UK breaks up. I’m fine with fourth place, and don’t mind a little slippage. Too much competition for jobs here.

    No offense, but the rest of these our great United States aren’t in even in the running (Edit: TX needs to keep just a smidgeon ahead of Canada, and hope it can pass Brazil first), so no need to worry about them catching up. Share the wealth, I say!

  61. 61.

    Jeffro

    @TenguPhule: “He’s an existential threat to our republic…but I’m the Kochs are getting what I they want, so there’s that…”

  62. 62.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @jl:

    Or will CO pass a blanket anti-California law?

    The mind spins at the possibilities. No avocados? Banning of all Hollywood produced entertainment? All Apple Products confiscated? Will California be officially “That State we do not name”?

  63. 63.

    trollhattan

    @jl:
    LA Times

    California’s economy has surpassed that of the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth largest, according to new federal data made public Friday.

    California’s gross domestic product rose by $127 billion from 2016 to 2017, surpassing $2.7 trillion, the data said. Meanwhile, the U.K.’s economic output slightly shrank over that time when measured in U.S. dollars, due in part to exchange rate fluctuations.

    The data demonstrate the sheer immensity of California’s economy, home to nearly 40 million people, a thriving technology sector in Silicon Valley, the world’s entertainment capital in Hollywood and the nation’s salad bowl in the Central Valley agricultural heartland. It also reflects a substantial turnaround since the Great Recession.

    All economic sectors except agriculture contributed to California’s higher GDP, said Irena Asmundson, chief economist at the California Department of Finance. Financial services and real estate led the pack at $26 billion in growth, followed by the information sector, which includes many technology companies, at $20 billion. Manufacturing was up $10 billion.

    California last had the world’s fifth largest economy in 2002 but fell as low as 10th in 2012 following the Great Recession. Since then, the most populous U.S. state has added 2 million jobs and grown its GDP by $700 billion.

    Germany’s next ahead, then Japan and China.

  64. 64.

    jl

    I’m going to write Jerry and suggest California start a sovereign development fund to invest in those other little dinky states.
    Jerry can invite some GOP governors to the announcement, throw a $100,000 a plate dinner for access. project pitches, and genteel groveling. Preferable on camera with HiFi sound.
    Make it a big deal. I’ll watch for it on the evening news.

  68. 68.

    Jeffro

    Btw no linky needed or provided ’cause he’s a douche and I don’t want to give him any clicks, but the WaPo’s Marc Thiessen noted today that Trumpov “is the most fearlessly pro-life president in history…and that’s why so many Christian conservatives are sticking with him”

    Marc, m’man…that ain’t why they’re sticking with him. He’s sticking with THEM, ’cause without their support, he’s fucking toast. They’re sticking with HIM ’cause he’s a white male supremacist who’ll do and say absolutely anything they want.

  69. 69.

    john fremont

    @Bobby Thomson: I’m so old I can remember when Coloradans were griping about Texas ruining the state in the 80’s during the oil and gas boom. California has passed Texas!

  70. 70.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @jl:

    Jerry can invite some GOP governors to the announcement, throw a $1000,000 a plate dinner for access.
    Make it a big deal. I’ll watch for it on the evening news.

    Remember when the Governor of Texas came out to California and was badmouthing our state, Jerry didn’t take to kindly to that. Where’d that guy end up, he had smart guy glasses?

  71. 71.

    jl

    @trollhattan: Thanks. I just noticed that the wiki entry comparisons don’t quite match up on the year between states and countries. i only listened to radio stories on it, didn’t check papers.

    However, note that rest of my arrogant bragging is on firm ground and will not be retracted.

  72. 72.

    trollhattan

    @jl:
    The highlight would be Jerry challenging various governors to pull-up contests.

  74. 74.

    gene108

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Oh, we tried having Republicans run California. The budget never got passed on time, infrastructure wasn’t maintained, parks had to close, the state finances were a shambles, we started charging tuition at our public universities…. Yeah great record there, Republicans.

    Wish the rest of the country would realize nothing good has ever come from a Republican administration, and stop voting for Republicans for Congress and President.

  77. 77.

    jl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: IIRC, Brown said (paraphrase) ‘you guys in the press are like little lapdogs, every time the GOP farts you run to sniff it. It was barely a far, barely a burp.”

  78. 78.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Bobby Thomson:

    anti-California sentiment has deep roots in Colorado.

    Like Oregon and Nevada -Colorado lives off California hand me downs. Thus the hating. Also all of the Trumpism is driven by fear of the Silicon Vallification of the rest of the country.

  81. 81.

    john fremont

    @Gin & Tonic: I also remember a T shirt in the early 90’s that said in all caps ” COLORADO SUCKS! …now go back and tell your friends from California.”

  83. 83.

    No Drought No More

    “Anti-California”?

    WTF? We’re a state that has- what?- the sixth largest economy in the world?

    What on earth does any republican find objectionable about that?

  85. 85.

    jl

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: At first, the hand me downs were good (Earl Warren, public infrastructure and education investment)/ Then for a while, IMHO as a CA-ian, the hand me downs stunk (Prop 13, tax revolt, Reagan), and I apologize.

    But things have turned up, and I hope the state is making amends.

  89. 89.

    p.a.

    @Major Major Major Major:

    They blame out-of-towners (esp. Californians) for the housing crunch.

    Well to be honest, Republicans DO have the solution: make a place unlivable. Inflow problem solved. Mexican immigration plumetted after W & conservative economics sank the economy.

  90. 90.

    gwangung

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I think a lot of detractors will point to the income disparity and the high cost of living and the growing homeless problem.

    Which are all true….but the question to think about is….aren’t these problems more tractable when you DO have that wealth and large economy?

  91. 91.

    debbie

    Tamara, he didn’t say he had grit. Every friggin’ ad I saw here, the conservative insisted he or she had grit. Other than that, he sounds pretty Trumpy.

  93. 93.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Major Major Major Major:

    It doesn’t change that California’s housing production and transportation infrastructure, particularly in magnet areas, have been woefully inadequate for many years.

    We were pretty much run by Republicans from 1983 to 2011(with a short break for poor Grey Davis). Did you notice my comment about Republican governance?

  94. 94.

    Mart

    @gene108: That stood out to me, not only is Walker Stapleton pro-Trump; he will also punch dirty hippies. With that kind of “strong” messaging, I think he has a great chance to win the primary.

  98. 98.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @trollhattan

    : Which is hilarious given each wants their Very Own Silicon Valley.

    Yes,t the concept that getting High Tech means getting new ideas and new ideas means including The Other just sends them into apoplexy inducing rage.

  99. 99.

    Mary G

    Speaking about bragging on California, the SacBee says: California’s budget surplus is billions bigger than expected. Will Jerry Brown spend it?

    Gov. Jerry Brown’s reward for guiding the state budget out of its recession abyss is a swelling surplus that lawmakers are prepping to fight to spend over the next month.

    He’s scheduled to release his final 2018-19 budget proposal Friday morning. All indications are that it’s even sunnier than the draft he published in January when he projected a $6 billion surplus.

    How good is it?

    Tax collections are up about $3.8 billion above what Brown anticipated in January, according to the State Controller’s Office.

    So instead of $6 billion, it’s going to be almost $10 billion. The legislature is itching to spend it, but Jerry wants to save and only spend on very important one-time expenditures.

  100. 100.

    Major Major Major Major

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Yes, and I wasn’t debating it, I was just saying that it’s not expensive only because people want to live there. There are lots of places people want to live just as much which are cheaper.

    ETA as you yourself noted, it’s not like the regulations have changed between the Republican years and now.

  101. 101.

    cain

    @Racer X:

    “anti-California platform”? I didn’t realize that California was an election issue. WTF?

    Californians have been spreading themselves everywhere – Portland, Seattle, Austin, Denver, Boston etc and taking money from selling their homes to buy cash for property. So cosequently, the cost of living has gone up in all these cities and it’s been a struggle for a lot of low income folks. Hell a struggle for even upper middle and middle class people. It’s getting hard to even buy a home these days.

  102. 102.

    jl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I for one can agree with BillinGlendale, for once.
    some of the notorious CA problems are due to malicious GOP governance. Even the relatively moderate Arnie, who is still in delusion and clinging to GOP supply side tax myths, even though good on transportation, health care and climate change policy.

    Edit: a problem is CA’s very unstable pro-cyclical tax revenue structure, which is a reason for Brown’s being chronically stingy with surpluses. In general, Brown is correct, CA does have to save extra hard for future rainy days. Not sure he has to go to such extremes. But the CA tax revenue structure is definitely a product of GOP BS, so I don’t think just standard political blame game.

  104. 104.

    cain

    Cory Gardner is going to be gone. He knows it. In general, the Democratic party at least here in Denver is very active. They smell blood in the water and seem to be quite aggressive. The times I’ve gone to their events it’s been quite lively.

  105. 105.

    Mary G

    This thread is cute, though it only contains one dog picture:

    Alright, I’m home from my 15 year high school reunion and waiting for Kit’s medicated shampoo to soak in, so here’s the story of the time I asked Ryan Seacrest to be my prom date. pic.twitter.com/msEPWWifZd— Amanda Smith (@AmandaRTubbs) May 20, 2018

  106. 106.

    Fair Economist

    @WereBear:

    the whole “anti-California platform.”

    You know, that place with the WORLD’s sixth biggest economy and running a surplus in the budget.

    Also growing faster than the country as a whole and that’s even with being held back hard by restrictive zoning laws.

  108. 108.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Mart:

    That stood out to me, not only is Walker Stapleton pro-Trump; he will also punch dirty hippies. With that kind of “strong” messaging, I think he has a great chance to win the primary.

    Isn’t Hippie Punching a Conservative Standard? What’s be bringing to the table then, punching an actual Hippie on TV when Staplenton is elected?

  109. 109.

    Fair Economist

    @Mary G:

    The legislature is itching to spend it, but Jerry wants to save and only spend on very important one-time expenditures.

    Often I think Jerry is too conservative (in both senses of the word) but he’s right on this. CA gets most of its income from income taxes, which are quite variable, and needs to have a large rainy day fund set up at times like now.

  110. 110.

    jl

    @cain: CA isn’t exporting enough people, on net, to do that to the whole country. That is a systematic national problem in housing policy and macroeconomic management, IMHO. Still a lot of people coming here. I think far over 20K new jobs a month over last few years. Lower income people are leaving though.

  111. 111.

    Mnemosyne

    @WereBear:

    Most populous county in the US, and our homicide rate just keeps going down (though note that you have to add the City and County numbers together in that article to get the full picture).

    Yep, it sure is a hellhole out here. The big scary crime story on the news was people who sneak into unlocked cars and steal stuff when the owner is pumping gas.

  114. 114.

    TenguPhule

    @No Drought No More:

    What on earth does any republican find objectionable about that?

    Democrats are in charge of it and won’t let Republicans steal that big pot of budget surplus.

  118. 118.

    Roger Moore

    @WereBear:
    California is pretty much the Republicans’ worst nightmare. We’re majority minority (including a large immigrant population), we do all kinds of crazy liberal stuff, Republicans are almost irrelevant in state government, and our biggest problems are the result of too much growth and money.

  119. 119.

    TenguPhule

    @Mary G:

    The legislature is itching to spend it, but Jerry wants to save and only spend on very important one-time expenditures.

    Can he become governor of Hawaii next? We could do with the help.

  120. 120.

    Ruckus

    @Racer X:
    CA is successful. That alone makes running against it a rethuglican staple. If the liberal stronghold of the country is successful, while the bright red jungles of Kansas and Indiana, etc start to look even more pathetic. And if the moron in chief looks as bad to more and more voters……..

  121. 121.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    Not sure he has to go to such extremes.

    Donald Trump is running the federal government.

  124. 124.

    Major Major Major Major

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: We also have a complicated anti-density bias (which intersects with anti-transit biases in many ways). We can’t have too many people/those people/too many of those people ruining our schools/making it hard to park/driving down property values.

    See: BART expansion into Marin; housing construction in Marin

  125. 125.

    Fair Economist

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    It wasn’t any regulation that changed, just that they needed space to build and they’re pretty much ran out of land in the basin.

    Not true; residential development was greatly restricted in downtown LA until the adaptive reuse ordinance allowed conversions of commercial to residential.

  126. 126.

    TenguPhule

    @MomSense:

    More depravity. Winery fundraiser underage prostitutes

    Now we know what the Russians have on Nunes. Child prostitutes.

  129. 129.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Yarrow:

    I’m sure others have already answered your question, but based only on the first paragraph of his Wikipedia entry, my guess would be yes:

    Walker Stapleton’s family has been active in Colorado since the early 1900s. Walker graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, and he holds a graduate degree in business economics from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is the son of diplomat Craig Roberts Stapleton. His great-grandfather Benjamin F. Stapleton served as mayor of Denver.

  132. 132.

    Chris T.

    California definitely has its problems. I mean, where else does a teardown house (post-fire, not salvageable) cost over $1 million? But not to worry, when you buy the place for a measly $1 million, you can sell it a year later for $2 million…

    (I’d add “/sarcasm”, only, it isn’t…)

  133. 133.

    TenguPhule

    And Trump now threatening Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs on automobiles and automotive parts if they do not concede on NAFTA talks.

    SMH.

  138. 138.

    TenguPhule

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: We’d like them too, the problem is the people in charge of building it 1) keep lying about the costs 2) keep stealing from the money assigned to the project for personal perks.

  139. 139.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    OK, so does the executive branch just get to do whatever the fuck it wants with tariffs? I feel like this is something the legislature ought to control.

    Trump apparently intends to invoke the National Security exception clause.

  141. 141.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Mnemosyne:

    Yep, it sure is a hellhole out here. The big scary crime story on the news was people who sneak into unlocked cars and steal stuff when the owner is pumping gas.

    City I live in, had it’s first murder in five years. Completely out of control.

  142. 142.

    TenguPhule

    North Korea must disarm before any economic relief, says Mike Pompeo

    I can’t tell anymore if Pompeo, Bolton or Trump is the one off message here.

    Mike Pompeo has said the US will use a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un to demand North Korea completely and rapidly surrenders its nuclear weapons programme before it receives any economic relief.

    Pompeo added he was “very hopeful” the summit would still go ahead on 12 June.

    The US secretary of state was speaking in Congress a day after Trump had cast doubt on the timing of the summit in Singapore, and appeared to drop the insistence of “all-in-one” unilateral disarmament before receiving any reciprocal steps from the US. Last week, a senior North Korean official said that position was not acceptable to Pyongyang, raising doubts over whether the summit would happen.

    The confusion over the Trump administration’s bargaining position has raised anxieties among Washington’s regional allies, who are concerned the US president might concede too much in his eagerness to call the meeting a success, or resort to military action if the talks collapse.

    Appearing before the House foreign affairs committee, Pompeo was asked repeatedly about his two recent meetings with the North Korean leader and what the US meant by the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, a goal that both parties share but which is vaguely defined.

    “I can tell you what it is that Trump has instructed me to do with respect to how we are going to proceed against North Korea,” Pompeo said. “We are not going to do trade for trade. We are not going to let this drag out. We are not going to provide economic relief until some time as we have an irreversible set of actions – not words, not commitments – undertaken by the North Korean regime.”

  143. 143.

    Mary G

    Republicans are convinced they will win in CA this November, because we have a new gas tax they’ve been bitching about for a year now. It’s to fix roads. People get that concrete isn’t free. All the people who were going to move out of the state because income taxes on the rich went up are still here.

    @TenguPhule:

    I can’t tell anymore if Pompeo, Bolton or Trump is the one off message here.

    Obligatory “All of ’em, Katie.”

  146. 146.

    Doug R

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Like Oregon and Nevada -Colorado lives off California hand me downs. Thus the hating. Also all of the Trumpism is driven by fear of the Silicon Vallification of the rest of the country.

    Every DC show you see on the CW is produced in Vancouver (except Black Lightning). Does that count as Canadian GDP or California GDP?

  149. 149.

    Amir Khalid

    Walker Stapleton has that curious dead-in-the-eyes smile I see on so many Republican politicians.

  151. 151.

    Chris T.

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I know, I’m just quietly (ok, noisily) flabbergasted.

    This plus Prop13 creates really weird dynamics. The neighbor who bought the house in the 1960s pays $2k/yr in real estate taxes, the neighbor who bought the other identical house last year for $1M pays $17k/yr in real estate taxes. The low-tax neighbor should downsize and move close to his kids but then his taxes would triple…

  153. 153.

    Doug R

    @Mary G: My opinion on surpluses is do all three: Save some, spend some and lower taxes a tiny bit to give you some leeway when you have to raise them.

  154. 154.

    Mnemosyne

    @Roger Moore:

    My ex-sister in law just sent us some of my niece’s prom pictures with just her and her female friends. Out of a group of about a dozen girls, my niece and maybe two others were white. And this is near, like, Westlake Village.

  155. 155.

    chris

    Christ, what an asshole! As a Canadian I don’t understand why anyone would be proud of beating single payer.

  158. 158.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: Thank you for the link

    THIS IS WHY JARED KUSHNER GOT THE CLEARENCE
    Trump signed the security clearance reform bill, but said the Constitution gave him responsibility over the security clearance process.

  160. 160.

    Elizabelle

    Cole’s twitter feed has photo of Lily looking splendiferous in her little purple polka dot bow, after another chemo session.

    Sweet puppy.

  161. 161.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Chris T.: Prop 13 was a badly written piece of shit, I voted against it. However, property taxes were rising really fast in the mid 70’s and were forcing folk out of their homes(mainly retired folk), that’s why it won.

    @Major Major Major Major: Something like a property tax?

    ETA: Prop 13 was on the first ballot I was able to vote on.

  163. 163.

    Mnemosyne

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    It was a pretty big deal recently that they found three dead guys all at the same time. They had been reported missing from Bakersfield and were found here. Given their ages, it was most likely drug-related, but the investigation is still ongoing.

  172. 172.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @TenguPhule:
    I could Google but I’m just asking for conversation’s sake (and laziness); is it the same as a property tax?

    ETA: Never mind.

  173. 173.

    burnspbesq

    Californians love to bitch, and there are plenty of things about this state that could be better. But in the ongoing, vote-with-your-feet referendum, California wins every day.

  177. 177.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Why not?

    Because you unite all the private landowners of undeveloped property with the usual suspects against additional taxation. As I recall, because it taxes the value of the land itself, which varies depending on who makes the determination, it punishes landowners who don’t want to economically exploit their real property. It encourages development over preservation.

    California already has water issues, among other things.

  180. 180.

    Major Major Major Major

    @TenguPhule:

    it punishes landowners who don’t want to economically exploit their real property. It encourages development over preservation.

    There are obvious ways around that, like an additional tax scheme that makes sure the external costs of environmentally-harmful exploitation (remember that city density+transit is greener than sprawl) are borne by the exploiter. Or some other sort of green credits. And exemptions for historic structures or what-have-you.

    But yes, keeping a single-family home in the middle of a big city would become hellaciously expensive, and you’d be encouraged to redevelop into apartments. Which is the entire point. The land supply is fixed, and therefore (IMO) how each parcel is managed becomes a communal issue.

    Maybe you can do it just for residential properties.

    ETA as for water issues, if you accept that the goal is to increase the number of people who can live in California affordably, then density is a plus since it reduces yards.

  183. 183.

    Major Major Major Major

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: In the wikipedia article for “property tax”, the first paragraph states:

    This tax can be contrasted to a rent tax which is based on rental income or imputed rent, and a land value tax, which is a levy on the value of land, excluding the value of buildings and other improvements.

    Obviously this is not the final word on the topic, but it’s always been my understanding that a property tax is distinct because it taxes… the property.

  184. 184.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Major Major Major Major:

    keeping a single-family home in the middle of a big city would become hellaciously expensive

    That’s already the case, unless it’s passed down through the family. Then you’re back to the Prop 13 problem. As Burnsy said, you ain’t gonna repeal Prop. 13.

  186. 186.

    Major Major Major Major

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Yes, hence the distinction. I’m glad we agree. ETA I’ll concede the point if you’ll allow that it’s a subset in the same way a tobacco tax is a subset of a sales tax

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Then you’re back to the Prop 13 problem. As Burnsy said, you ain’t gonna repeal Prop. 13.

    Well, no, I’m talking pie-in-the-sky tax schemes.

    And to be clearer, keeping a single-family home would be hellaciously expensive compared to a more efficient use of the property, to a degree that it isn’t currently. Probably. Obviously zoning comes into play too, but a LVT would put pressure on those regulators.

  188. 188.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Major Major Major Major: If you repeal Prop. 13 AND you change zoning AND you allow for destruction of historic properties, maybe. Ain’t gonna happen even in your lifetime.

    ETA: I’m not sure if you’re aware of a bill in the Legislature to change zoning around transit to allow more density, there’s a huge pushback from homeowners.

    ETA II: I still think you’re missing my point, WE HAVE LVT as a subset of our current property taxes. It is skewed to hell by Prop. 13, but it is there.

  189. 189.

    Major Major Major Major

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: But I’m going to live forever and become a robot.

    Besides, we talk about outlandish fantasies all the time here, like Republicans being banned from holding power ever again.

    ETA Yes, that was my senator’s bill, it died in committee a month ago. Of course there was pushback from homeowners. It would have been bad for their investments.

  190. 190.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Besides, we talk about outlandish fantasies all the time here, like Republicans being banned from holding power ever again.

    I think my outlandish fantasy has a better chance then yours. :P

    I’m not trying to meddle with one of the universal constants of the universe.

  192. 192.

    kindness

    Prop 13 nearly killed California. I know something had to be done. People who had owned their homes for decades and had retired found themselves unable to afford the rising property taxes. The fuse was lit and Howard Jarvis ran with it with the help of the usual suspects. Limiting the property tax increases hurt local towns because they are the ones who get that. What hurt the state was the attached rule that any tax increase by the legislature had to pass with a 67% margin in the legislature. So for years it was 60% Democratic but there were enough Republicans that just wouldn’t vote yes. With inflation taxes go up every year so Repubs had us by the huevos. For years it was like we were being run by the Freedom Caucus. Our own Brownbeck experiment. Well people finally got sick of it and voted in a supermajority of Democrats in both houses & Jerry’s second run at governorship. Dems voted to kill that part of Prop 13 so that increases only needed a majority, not a supermajority. And we’ve been paying off our debt and digging out of the morass we found to what we have today.

    It’s funny. I moved out to N. Cal in the 70’s from NY to live with some friends of mine who had moved there. About 4 years later many of them moved to Colorado because California was getting so crowded. Now they heard people bitching about Californians moving to Colorado then. That was the early 80’s. Some things never change.

  194. 194.

    J R in WV

    @TenguPhule:

    …the never ending boondoogle of a Rail project is worse.

    Wait…they want to build railroads between the Islands??????? Whut….!!???

  195. 195.

    jl

    @kindness: From what I read, the crisis in residential property tax that produced Prop 12 was a result of a big residential real property asset bubble in CA in the 70s and a very local, very discretionary tax assessment system that CA used. Led to some big scandals and corruption, CA legislature tried to clean it up and did not do a good job. Fixed income people couldn’t afford the tax rates. Jarvis scumbags used it as an excuse to gut CA property tax system in favor of large corporations.

    I think no way Prop 13 can ever be repealed. As more people who never could afford to own residential property age into prime voting age, chances of reforming it grow, and someday I think it will be reformed through vote, to end the insane give away to giant corporations. I think Prop 13 type treatment for single home property will be here for a very long time.

  196. 196.

    jl

    @J R in WV: If Hawaii has corruption and embezzlement problems with its rail project (never heard of it before) then that needs to be fixed.

    But, OTOH, I think any large infrastructure project that a country has no experience with and builds for the first time is going to be a boondoggle. Whether government or private industry builds it. Carnegie’s innovative big steel bridge had to be put on hold, and I think he resorted to the 19th century version of crowd sourcing to finish it, then its holding company went bankrupt, and I think caused local financial crisis.

    We need more local and regional passenger rail. So, CA needs to pull up its socks and learn how to build rail. Boondoggle schmoondoggle. Crying top much about that ignores the history of big innovative construction projects going back for as long as there are records about them.

    Little pissant government treasurers and controllers are always moaning about the cost of everything, but they don’t understand the value of anything. And then you have the Jarvis turds. They’d gripe about a penny increase in tax revenue even if that is all needed to divert a giant meteor headed straight for the middle of the state.

  197. 197.

    Saint Vincent

    Educators such as myself have no affection for Mike Johnston, whose contempt for us is manifested in his championing of continual performance reviews and the elimination of due-process protections for those who receive poor evaluations in two consecutive years. You can bet that older teachers–who have finally begun to earn a competitive salary–will be deemed “poor performers” and replaced by less-experienced, cheaper labor, to the detriment of students and society.

  198. 198.

    Quaker in a Basement

    Jared Polis has strong name recognition and would make a fine governor, but the missus and I favor Cary Kennedy this time around.

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