Cavala: For Republicans, It Indeed Looks Like the Winter Of Discontent

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

towashington 089.gif By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

So Hillary Clinton has one of the worst favorable/unfavorable ratios seen in politics (46-51) - - and she beats John McCain in a poll match-up by 12 points here in California according to the PPIC poll released today.

Wow!

I heard Adam Mendelsohn bravely try and spin things the Republican way at a panel the other evening. But when you’re down 54-37 to Obama, you can spin all you want.

Here is the un-spinned (unspun?) truth. Voters aren’t paying attention to the minor differences between the two Democratic candidates. They aren’t paying attention to the media narratives. They are indifferent to the demographic composition of each candidate’s entourage.

Voters see a Republican administration which has shamelessly followed economic policies favoring the rich and powerful at the expense of the rest of us.

A Republican administration which has consciously violated laws passed to protect our environment and our endangered species.

A Republican administration whose policies have allowed oil companies the ability to charge ruinous rates for gasoline to rack up record profits.

A Republican administration whose reckless deficit spending has the economy teetering on the brink of dangerous inflation.

A Republican administration that took us into a war using our fear of terrorism and false information – a war which the Republican nominee now defends.

The Republicans can’t speak to any of these issues in a way that changes the 54-37 reality. So they won’t. Instead, they’ll try and win the election through their usual appeal to bigotry combined with efforts to use the power of the government to suppress the vote of poor people.

It will be ugly. But this year, it won’t work. Republicans are about to reap the whirlwind.

Bill Cavala was Deputy Director of the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services where he worked for over 30 years.

He attended undergraduate and graduate school in the 1960’s and received a doctorate in political science at UC Berkeley. He taught political science at UC Berkeley during the 1970's while he worked part-time for the State Assembly.

Cavala left teaching at UC Berkeley and went to work for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown in 1981 until his tenure as Speaker ended in 1995, and he has worked for his five successors as Speaker up to and including Speaker Fabian Nunez.

Mr. Cavala manages election campaigns for Democratic candidates.

Posted May 22nd, 2008 by Syndicated