Libertarian Barr Says GOP Is Played Out

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman, said today that the Republican Party has utterly failed to present a "new program, new leadership or vision."

"What's wrong with John McCain is symptomatic of what's wrong with the Republican Party in these first years of the 21st century," Barr said on "Fox News Sunday." "They talk one thing but do something different, and that's become very obvious to the American people."
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Posted on 6/30/08; 9:12:04 AM to the Not Reported in Kern County Department Send email to Yellow Dog- Discuss

Novak; Powell will endorse Obama

Robert Novak, in a column on "Obamacons" (Obama-backing Republicans), says he expects a high-profile defection:

powell:

Neither Powell, first-term secretary of state for George W. Bush, nor Hagel, retiring after two terms as a U.S. senator from Nebraska, has endorsed Obama. Hagel probably never will. Powell probably will enter Obama's camp at a time of his own choosing. The best bet is that neither of the two, both of whom supported President Bush in 2000 and 2004, will back John McCain in 2008.

Powell praised Obama back in February, saying, " Mr. Obama has done an incredible job . . . He has energized a lot of people in America. He has energized a lot of people around the world." Some have even suggested Obama pick Powell as his VP.
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Posted on 6/29/08; 9:36:59 AM to the National Leaders Department Send email to Yellow Dog- Discuss

Climate change disclosures gain steam

Investors and some California state legislators are pressing the Securities and Exchange Commission to require full disclosure of the risk that global warming poses to corporations.

The investors’ appeal to federal regulators could get a boost if a disclosure bill is approved by the California State Assembly and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

State Sen. Dean Florez, a Democrat, and a group of 20 institutional investors and environmental groups expect the bill to create climate disclosure standards for California businesses. Should it became law, the investor group predicts it would prompt action from the SEC.

The group includes Ceres, a network of environmental and investment groups, and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

“We hope this bill will have a trickle-up effect to Washington and show the government that California will act if they don’t,” said Florez, the bill’s Democratic sponsor.
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Posted on 6/27/08; 9:31:02 AM to the California Politics Department Send email to Yellow Dog- Discuss

Florez laughs off latest Republican ploy

SACRAMENTO – Senator Dean Florez, D-Shafter, issued the following statement today in response to false allegations by the Republican Party and Assemblymember Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, that Florez worked against her in her bid for State Assembly:

“Nicole Parra’s latest accusation is the type of silly politics people are tired of. We may not always see eye to eye, but I have never endorsed or assisted any Republican to defeat her.

I’ve endorsed Nicole, I’ve VOTED for her, and I appeared in her campaign literature. I even appeared in a radio advertisement on her behalf.

With less than 6 months left in her term, I think Nicole’s claims today are a sad attempt to remain relevant.

If anything, her fight is with the Kern County Democratic Central Committee who are rightly upset about her open support for Republican Danny Gilmore. That the Republican leaders she has aligned herself with would back her claims in support of their candidate should come as a surprise to no one.

Let’s move on to actual issues taxpayers are dealing with in this state and stop this silly grudge she insists on carrying. The voters deserve that.”
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Posted on 6/20/08; 5:15:22 PM to the Local Dems Department Send email to Yellow Dog- Discuss

Kern Democrats rip Parra for support of Republican candidate

Democratic Assemblywoman Nicole Parra should be stripped of her credentials as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, as well as committee assignments and staff, according to the Kern County Democratic Party.

In letters mailed Tuesday, the party chastised the incumbent assemblywoman, in her last year before being termed out, who has been supporting, introducing, promoting — everything but officially endorsing — Republican Danny Gilmore of Hanford to take her place.

Yellow Dog: Below is the full text of the letter sent to Assemblymember Parra.

Dear Honorable Assemblymember Parra:

I am writing this letter per the request of the Kern County Democratic Party. Over the last few months, it has become apparent that you have given your support to the Republican candidate for the 30th Assembly District. In fact, you have been observed introducing him and his family to local groups while representing the California State Assembly as an elected Democrat. As Democrats, we remain loyal to the tenets and platform of our party and we find this behavior truly reprehensible!

Since you do not participate in nor send a representative to local, regional or California State Democratic events, meetings or conventions, we do not expect you to know that we have a Democratic candidate that has already been endorsed by Region 8 of the California Democratic Party and the party as a whole. For your information, Region 8 encompasses the entire geographical span of the 30th Assembly District. While we have no expectation that you would endorse our candidate, we do expect that you do her no harm!

We wonder if you might have forgotten that it was thousands upon thousands of Kern County Democrats that put you over the top to win three very tight elections. Is it possible that you also do not remember the hundreds of thousands of dollars given to you by Assembly Democrats and the California Democratic Party? Or is it that even after three terms in the Assembly, you still do not understand how important it is to retain every Democratic seat that we possibly can?

It is tough enough that Democratic candidates in the conservative southern San Joaquin Valley already face an uphill battle. We ask you to please not worsen that load. As such, we respectfully ask that you stop promoting an unequivocal Republican for the 30th Assembly District race. If you find that you cannot refrain from this saddening behavior, then we would like to assist you in removing yourself from the Democratic Party. Enclosed please find two Kern County Voter Registration forms. It is obvious that your loyalties no longer lie with the Democratic Party.

Sincerely,

Candi Easter Chairman-Kern County Democratic Party CDP - Region 8 Director

Cc Karen Bass, Fiona Ma, Democratic Caucus of the Assembly, Art Torres
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Posted on 6/20/08; 8:47:53 AM to the Local Dems Department Send email to Yellow Dog- Discuss