Fighting the One-Party State at the Local Level in California

By Edward Ring
02/12/2020
It isn’t a partisan observation to say that California is a one-party state. It’s just stating a fact. The Democratic Party controls all the levers of political power in California. Consider the evidence: GOP registration is down to 23 percent of registered voters. There is a Democratic “mega-majority” (75% or more) in both chambers of the...

TAGS: corporate cronyism, corporate welfare, Democratic Party, Edward Ring, Gavin Newsom, homelessness, initiatives, teachers union, Tom Steyer, Transparency

Gov. Brown Appoints Radical Environmentalists to Public Utilities Commission

By Katy Grimes
01/05/2017
Governor Jerry Brown has just appointed two radical environmental justice activists to the California Public Utilities Commission, replacing two commissioners whose terms expired January 1, 2017. Awaiting Senate confirmation are Clifford Rechtschaffen and Martha Guzman Aceves — two Brown insiders with shady records and a history of Environmental Justice. Don’t let the term “Environmental Justice”...

TAGS: Tom Steyer

Unions and Corporations Both Want to Build Stuff as Rift Grows In California Labor Movement

By Luke Phillips
05/26/2016
There’s a rift in the American labor movement, and enterprising Republicans might be able to exploit it. Here’s Politico this week, documenting the disagreements between service-sector and labor unions as highlighted in a letter published recently by leading labor unions: “The labor federation and many of its member unions have embraced environmentalism as a pillar of...

TAGS: Tom Steyer

The Unions’ “Accountability” Libel Against Charter Schools

By Larry Sand
10/27/2015
The teacher union war on charter schools ramps up with empty billionaire and accountability accusations. Charter schools are like pesky chewing gum that the teachers unions just can’t quite get off their shoes. They have been persistent in trying to just get rid of the alternative public schools – except for the few they have...

TAGS: accountability, American Federation of Teachers, California Charter School Association, Charter schools, CREDO, Democracy Alliance, Eli Broad, Eric Owens, George Soros, In the Public Interest, John Stocks, LA School Report, Larry Sand, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Education Association, Nina Rees, Occupy Wall Street, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, Tom Steyer

Dear Randi,

By Larry Sand
06/17/2014
You seem to be very unhappy lately, but cheer up – things aren’t nearly as bad as you think!  In your recent foray into BuzzFeed, you seemed a bit verklempt (for you non-Yids, that means overwrought) and I would like to help you feel better! Regarding Common Core, the piece reads: ‘The right’s vitriol is...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Common Core, crony capitalism, Democracy Alliance, John Stocks, Karen Lewis, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Tea Party, teachers union, Tom Steyer

Oligarchy in the 21st Century

By Matthew Continetti
04/29/2014
Think rich conservatives rule the world? Think again. “To see what is in front of one’s nose,” George Orwell famously wrote, “needs a constant struggle.” In front of my nose as I write this is a copy of last Sunday’s New York Times. I have opened it to the business section. Below the fold isone of many Times articles on Thomas...

TAGS: Barack Obama, Center for American Progress, Democracy Alliance, George Soros, New York Times, Tom Steyer