This could be considered as a companion diary to this earlier one by Left Coast Timm: Serious question: as a Newsom supporter, should I vote for John Cox? And it probably seems odd, considering my last diary.
Don’t worry: I have no intention of voting for a Republican! I think that’s a dangerous game. Don’t vote for a candidate you can’t live with. Unless it’s the general. Then vote for the Democrat. Plus, I don’t think they provide vomitoria in polling places, and I couldn’t vote for Cox without hurling all over the ballot.
I am perfectly fine with Newsom winning the election. I remember what people did, as opposed to what they say they’re going to do, and back when the CSU Board of Trustees kept voting for obscene pay raises for the campus presidents at the same meetings in which they raised student tuition, Newsom stood up and let his objections be known. He pointed out that it was, well, obscene. It’s not the only thing he’s done, by a long way, but I definitely paid attention to that at the time.
The thing is, he’s going to win, and he is not my first pick. As I said, I’m not voting for Cox. I also do not want to vote for Villaraigosa. If we’re stuck with him, we’re stuck with him, but I can’t help noticing that he’s been pulling in a lot of last minute donations from billionaire donors. This article listing donations tells a lot: With Election Day looming, donors pour millions into California Governor's race. Note where Newsom’s checks are coming from, including the California Teacher’s Association, and where Villaraigosa’s are coming from: Hastings, Broad, Bloomberg, Walton...almost all of them pro-private and charter schools. I am not cool with this at all.
And the thing is, Newsom is my second choice. John Chiang is my first choice. He is a practical, can-we-afford-it wonk who also has progressive ideas about what we do with our money. That matters. He told the Governator that no, he would not be part of slashing state employee paychecks down to minimum wage. That was a snarling, tough fight in which he point-blank refused to follow orders. This also got my attention.
My concern is that if I voted for Chiang, I could peel off enough Democratic votes to allow Cox to progress to the general. I know Newsom would rather run against Cox. Running against Villaraigosa would cause a bloody, nasty battle, but we can’t afford flirting with even the possibility of a Republican governor. It might SOUND impossible, but if that plum is dangled in front of national Republicans, God knows what they would do. What a feather in their caps, if they could make California into a “red state!”
Anyway, is it safe voting for Chiang? What do you think?
Monday, May 28, 2018 · 12:45:07 AM +00:00
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Egghead
Thanks so much for your input! It is a very weird race, for sure. Villaraigosa is running ads claiming Cox is secretly a Democrat. Despite this, Cox is ahead, probably because Republicans have decided to put all their eggs in that basket, in the hopefully futile attempt to Make California Red Again, not because Villaraigosa is slipping. Newsom is running pro-Cox ads, Chiang is running ads against the top two Democrats. I am probably going to vote for Newsom.
Wednesday, Jun 6, 2018 · 12:41:29 AM +00:00
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Egghead
Update #2: In the end, I wound up voting for Chiang. In an unusual situation for me, it was a nail-biter decision for me right up to the end. Newsom is endorsed by the California Teacher’s Association, but to my surprise, Chiang was endorsed by the local Claremont Dems and a few other groups, including the California Nurses’ Association. In all the piles of election mail I received from my union and the locals and the Teacher’s and the California Faculty Association, I did not see a single endorsement for Villaraigosa (except for the LA Times).
Speaking of the LA Times, the editorial board published a weird anti-endorsement: Why John Chiang Doesn’t Deserve Your Protest Vote. As a protest vote, he’s not very protest-y: a lifelong Democrat who has worked his way up and a careful person with a dollar. The comments are filled with “I’m voting for him because I think he is the best person for the job.”
If Villaraigosa cannot seal the deal here with his base in SoCal, that’s sort of his own fault, plus Republicans all falling in line and voting for Cox. And honestly, I am not sure they will. I have seen a lot of comments sections that are filled with pro-Allen sentiment. This may have changed after Trump’s endorsement.
In any case, my pro-Newsom vote would probably not have changed the outcome, and I do fear a nasty battle if it is a two-Democrat contest. I will be happy to turn out in the fall and vote for a Democrat. We shall have to get out and work our tails off!