In California Voting Your Conscience Means Voting For Kevin de León! And Antonio Villraogosa-- Really!

by Dorothy Reik

In this crazy world of "top two" primaries, we Democrats who want to flip Republican congressional seats need to be strategic. We need to vote to be sure Democrats are the top two contenders in the statewide races for Governor and U.S. Senate. As I write this, Franklin Graham is revival-touring our state to turn out radical evangelicals to vote for Republicans "Can you imagine if your school boards were controlled by evangelical Christians?" he asked the pastors in Pasadena. "The gays and lesbians have their people run for politics and win," he said. "As Christians, we are just being stupid."

Gubernatorial frontrunner Gavin Newsom is GOTV texting Republican frontrunner John Cox supporters to make his own general election race easier. To hell with congressional and legislative races which will suffer with a Republican competing candidate at the top of the ticket! Fewer Republicans turn out if there are no Republicans at the top of the ticket. They deserve-- richly deserve-- this grotesque fate for cynically forcing the jungle primary on California.

Those who think voting their "conscience" means voting for one of the outlier candidates need to realize that anti-Semite Patrick Little could wind up on the ballot instead of Kevin de León who, as President Pro Tem of the California Senate, led our state in fighting Trump's policies with progressive legislation that kept immigrants safe, our air and water clean and-- if Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon would have cooperated-- would have brought Medicare for All to our state. Little says, "I propose a government that makes counter-semitism central to all aims of the state. A government:

1) Of a People, for that people, free from jews
2) That cannot revoke the right to bear arms, such that this people can remain free from jews
3) that forbids all immigration except of biological kin, where no person of jewish origin may live, vacation, or traverse

Is it voting your "conscience" to give Little a statewide platform to promote his vile hatred? Remember, you are NOT voting for who will be your Senator, you are voting for who will be on the November ballot! Not one of the other Democratic candidates-- besides Feinstein and de León-- has a chance to get in the top two.

Meanwhile in the Governor's race we have Gavin "to hell with Congress"  Newsom GOTV texting supporters of Trump-endorsed Republican John Cox to make his own general election race easier. Cox wants to end the sanctuary state status of California and take it back for white people. Hold your ears or the dog whistle could blow out your eardrum: President Trump Endorses John Cox: "California finally deserves a great Governor, one who understands borders, crime and lowering taxes. John Cox is the man-- he’ll be the best Governor you’ve ever had. I fully endorse John Cox for Governor and look forward to working with him to Make California Great Again!"

We have to face reality, neither Delaine Easton nor John Chiang can beat Cox-- Chiang is polling at 9% and Easton at 6%-- and make it into the top two! The vote here has to be for Villaraigosa!  Remember again- you are NOT voting for Governor-- you are just voting for who will be on the ballot! And Gavin is doing more than just texting: "Newsom figures he’ll have an easier time defeating Republican John Cox in November and is airing ads "attacking" Cox in ways that could help him gain GOP votes for one of the top-two spots in the June primary.

The top two primary system was designed to hurt Democrats by making them spend their money in the primaries. It did that and more. With Newsom determined to turn out the Republican vote he has made California's bid to lead in turning Congress blue even more difficult. The Cook Report runs it down race by race.

Eric Bauman, California Democratic Party Chair, has the last word on the top two primaries:

“From the outset, the Top Two Primary system was designed by its sponsors to bleed the Democratic Party. Before the vote to amend California’s Constitution, the Sacramento Bee recalculated the prior Primary Election and found that Prop 14 would result in 24 Dem on Dem races and 3 Rep on Rep races-- guess what we had in November 2016... you got it. They sold this as a tool to "moderate" who sat in Sacramento and DC. Instead it’s been a farce that has cost Democrats tens-of-millions of dollars. We are looking at how best to repeal or amend it, ASAP!