San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
State Republicans go easy on those who break ranks
Republicans are hammering their own in other states for committing one of two political sins: voting to impeach Donald Trump or to remove QAnonbelieving Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her House committees.
But not in California. Here, those sinners are rewarded. Celebrated, even.
So while the Wyoming state GOP censured Rep. Liz Cheney for her vote to impeach Trump, California Republican Party leaders have declined to scold Rep. David Valadao, RHanford (Kings County), for his.
“If you talk to people about the biggest issue of the day ... it’s about the direction of the state.”
Nor have they criticized Rep. Young Kim, RFullerton (Orange County), for being one of 11 Republicans who joined House Democrats in stripping Greene of her committee assignments. Why not? Because top California Republicans may belatedly have figured out the obvious: They have no shot at regaining relevance if they eat their own.
Instead, state Republicans are focused on something they can all agree on: a recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, which increasingly looks as though it will come before voters this year.
“If you talk to people about the biggest issue of the day, it’s not about impeachment, it’s not about Marjorie Taylor Greene, it’s about the direction of the state,” GOP strategist Sam Oh, who advises Kim and other House Republicans, told me. “That’s why we’re focused on the recall. There’s a total failure of leadership. On vaccinations. On reopening schools. On how they’ve handled the fraud” at the Employment Development Department.
Another reason Valadao is getting a pass: His seat is far from safe for Republicans. Valadao defeated Democratic Rep. TJ Cox by just 1,522 votes in November in a San Joaquin Valley district where Democrats hold a 16percentagepoint advantage in voter registration.
“I have to go with my gut and vote my conscience,” Valadao tweeted by way of explaining why he was one of only 10 House Republicans to back impeachment. Trump’s “inciting rhetoric was unAmerican, abhorrent and absolutely an impeachable offense.”
That got Valadao scolded by the Fresno County Republican Party executive board, which called his vote “a slap in the face to those who donated or worked on his campaign.” Yawn. A mean Tweet from county party functionaries? It will be forgotten by sundown. It’s more important to watch what House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy does. So it was telling that the Bakersfield Republican thought so little of Valadao’s impeachment vote that two days later, he appointed him to the House Appropriations Committee.
Why is that a big deal? That committee greenlights a lot of porkbarrel spending, so members tend to rake in more campaign contributions than the typical lawmaker. Valadao raised $3.2 million in 2018, the last time he served on Appropriations, far more than the $2.1 million the average House member collected.
Valadao is going to need that kind of cash because not only will he be facing at least two Democrats — Cox, who beat Valadao for the seat in 2018 before losing last year, and former Assembly Member Nicole Parra — along with a Republican, former Fresno City Council member Chris Mathys, a Trumpist who promises to “never allow America to be a socialist country.”
Valadao is hardly a neverTrumper: He voted with Trump 97% of the time in 2017 and 2018. Figure Democrats will focus on that in his race next year, just as they’ve already started an ad against Kim for not voting to impeach Trump. It’s all a preview that once again, the hottest House races in the country will be fought in California.
California Exit Interview: The story of why people are leaving California will dominate upcoming political campaigns. We’re beginning a regular feature called California Exit Interview where we ask some recent
Kieran Blubaugh dreamed of living in California when he was growing up in Indiana. He played the Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game and envisioned himself skateboarding down San Francisco’s crazy hills.
After paying off his student loans four years ago, he landed a job with a tech company and moved to San Francisco. At first, life was heavenly. He had a sevenminute commute on his motorcycle. He could pay $30 to see Incubus, one of his favorite bands, a short walk from his apartment.
Soon, however, his California dream soured. Thieves broke into his locked garage and did $8,000 worth of damage to his motorcycle, doubling his insurance rates. His dog nearly died after eating human feces on the sidewalk. Seeing people either getting arrested or being treated for an overdose outside a nearby building was a regular occurrence.
“And I live in a nice part of town,” said Blubaugh, 33.
Not anymore. On Saturday, Blubaugh moved out of the $4,000amonth twobedroom apartment he shared on Russian Hill and moved to Dallas, where he will pay $1,300 a month for a place the same size.
It’s not that he set out to ditch San Francisco for Dallas. “But it was the financially responsible thing to do,” he said. Fortunately, his employer has an office there.
The final insult: Blubaugh paid $3,000 to rent a van for the move out of town. It cost him $300 when he came here from Portland, Ore., four years ago.
The last overpriced item he paid for: “Lunch today.” A $17 salad.
What would make it better in California: “We need more police. There’s a general lawlessness that’s just scary.”
Bay Area experience he wished he had: hiking Muir Woods. It was always too crowded. “I’ve never been to a place where you get in a traffic jam just to see the nature parts of it.”
What he will miss most: quick access to snow and nature.
What will he miss least: being “yelled at by three different people” on a twoblock walk near his apartment. “I feel bad that I sound like (I’m) complaining about the homeless population, but I will not miss that.”
Translating Gavin: Sometimes, Gov. Gavin Newsom dives so deeply into policywonk speak that it’s hard to understand what he’s saying. So it was the other day during a news conference in Fresno, where Newsom was describing a plan to reopen schools.
We’re here to help you understand with a recurring feature called “Translating Gavin.”
:“I maintain confidence that we will announce a deal as early as Friday with the Legislature that will allow our youngest cohorts to return safely to school, starting with kindergarten to second grade, and ultimately get cohorts up to sixth grade.”
You may know “youngest cohorts” by their more common name, “kids.”
By the way, no such deal was announced Friday. Maybe this week.