CA-AG: Karl Rove Goes Statewide

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Friday October 22, 2010 · 12:34 PM PDT

2010/10/22 · 12:34

Yesterday, Ami Bera wrote about Karl Rove protecting Dan Lungren. Today he went statewide. A shadowy Virginia-based group funded by the oil industry, tobacco companies, and health insurance industry -- and run by Karl Rove -- is trying to sway the outcome of the race for California Attorney General. This is an unprecedented move in a down-ballot race, and the money is being used to create cynical commercials for political gain.

Rove’s group, the “The Republican State Leadership Committee,” has purchased $1.1 million of TV airtime to run vicious ads attacking our campaign. And who exactly is funding this group’s attacks? The very polluters, cigarette manufacturers, and insurance industry giants who I will stand up to as Attorney General.

(There is more in the extended diary.)

Kamala Harris

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Friday May 07, 2010 · 12:26 PM PDT

2010/05/07 · 12:26

Never let bad policy get in the way of good politics. That's the cynical motto of the growing class of political copycats bent on replicating Arizona's controversial new immigration law in other states, including California.

Arizona's law, SB 1070, requires local police to act as federal immigration agents. Now police officers in Arizona can detain someone if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that she's an illegal immigrant.

Despite a broad, national backlash, the urge to score political points on the fringe seems irresistible. Last week, a California Assembly candidate promised to introduce an Arizona-style immigration law if he's elected. And in ten more states--Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Ohio, Missouri, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, and Maryland--politicians looking for a boost have called for laws that would mirror Arizona's law.

California cannot afford an Arizona-style immigration law. It is bad policy and the worst kind of politics. (More in the extended entry.)

Kamala Harris

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Tuesday March 30, 2010 · 11:58 AM PDT

2010/03/30 · 11:58

It is not a headline we would expect to see, but that is exactly what is happening in our state as we speak.

In 2006, the California Legislature passed AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act. The Governor then signed this law to make our state the leader in fighting greenhouse gas pollution. I hope you will consider joining me in working to ensure that Big Oil does not get its way in California by eviscerating our landmark climate change legislation.

California's Attorney General is uniquely positioned to stand up for strong, effective enforcement of our state's environmental laws. That is why I am calling on each and every candidate for California Attorney General -- Democratic and Republican -- to denounce this effort by Big Oil to slash through our state's environmental protections for their own corporate gain.

There's more.

Kamala Harris

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Monday November 09, 2009 · 10:44 AM PST

2009/11/09 · 10:44

Einstein's definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. By that measure, our current approach to criminal justice may need a shrink--and a new way of doing business.

The old approach to fighting crime is well-known. Police and prosecutors are deluged with low-level drug cases, and the public spends billions on prisons to house these offenders. And, every year, prisons release hundreds of thousands of these offenders back into our communities. They're sent back with a bus ticket and a little cash in hand--and that's about it. They have no plan, no skills, nowhere to go, and no other changed circumstances. They pick up right where they left off; within three years of release, seven out of ten California prisoners will re-offend and return to prison.

After decades of this sad cycle, our prisons are swollen beyond capacity and our budgets maxed. Across the country, leaders are acknowledging that we've been missing a crucial opportunity all along. Perhaps the most crucial step in the criminal justice process is the most often ignored--what happens after the conviction and prison sentence, when the prisoner comes home.

Kamala Harris

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Thursday October 08, 2009 · 1:18 PM PDT

2009/10/08 · 13:18

Cross-posted from Huffington Post

Education, public safety, and the economy: three vastly complex issue areas that time and again are proven to be inextricably linked.

By doing what it takes to keep kids in school in every corner of our state, we can save literally billions of dollars in public resources and greatly improve public safety.

Most of us in law enforcement have known this for many years. As San Francisco's District Attorney, I see the direct impact of what happens when kids don't stay in school; young lives are lost to street violence or prison at an appalling rate, our state loses more resources and our communities are less safe.

Kamala Harris

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Saturday May 30, 2009 · 8:06 AM PDT

2009/05/30 · 08:06

As I watched the announcement of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment to the United States Supreme Court, I, like many Americans, was struck by the historic picture on my television screen. The nation’s first African American president nominating the first Latina as a potential Supreme Court Justice.

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CA-AG: Karl Rove Goes Statewide

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Texas Oil Companies Invade California

Finding the Path Back on Track

Saving Public Resources and Protecting Our Most Important Resource: Children

Why it is Critical that the African American Community Unite Behind Sonia Sotomayor