Poizner Rant: A Pox on Calbuzz ‘Change’ Analysis
Since our recent analysis concluding there’s no true “change” candidate in the 2010 field of wannabe governors, administrators of the Calbuzz Shuttle Diplomacy and Professional Umpiring School have enjoyed several full and frank exchanges of views with candidates in the race. On Nov. 7, Tom Campbell had his say; today we provide free rant space to GOP rival and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.
By Steve Poizner
Special to Calbuzz
As a dutiful reader of Calbuzz, I was perplexed by your recent assertion that there is no “change” candidate left in the race for governor after the exit of Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Throughout my career, I’ve been a leader in helping to bring change for the better, like working to transform the cell phone industry, helping pioneer the charter school movement, right sizing a statewide agency, and stopping a massive power grab by career politicians looking for longer control of Sacramento. Now I’m proposing bold, across-the-board tax cuts and a complete overhaul of our state’s welfare and Medi-Cal programs.
I’m not a celebrity or a career politician. And I’m no rookie. The current field for governor has all of those. I’m something different. I’m an engineer and an entrepreneur. I build things and I fix things. I’m a problem solver.
Calbuzz is right to challenge us candidates and they are right to cast doubt on our “change” rhetoric. Voters are cynical and they have heard this tune before, but let’s look at the facts.
Only one candidate is proposing to change our basic tax structure with bold, across the board tax cuts. That’s change and change for the better.
Only one candidate is proposing to change the spending culture of Sacramento with a top down review of every agency. I did it at the Department of Insurance and permanently reduced my operating expenses by nearly 15%. That’s change for the better.
Only one candidate will bring our welfare spending into line with the national average or better. We have 30% of welfare recipients and only 12% of population. That’s change for the better.
Only one candidate has stood in a public high school classroom and struggled to teach in a system that frustrates everyone, from students to parents to teachers. That’s change for the better.
Only one candidate understands what it’s like to start a business in one room wit
h one employee and grow it into a billion dollar company. I’ve seen how the government helps and how it hurts. I know what it takes to grow jobs in this state and I’ll be a governor on the side of my fellow job creators like no governor in our history. That’s change for the better.
Change, you bet. My brand of change is probably more conservative than some Calbuzz readers would like, but I’ve spoken out clearly on my positions and will continue to do so through the General Election.
Bwahaha!
Other than not having an Austrian accent, this is the same tired bill of goods that Schwarzenegger sold.
Real tax cuts, than a state performance review that will eliminate waste and fraud.
Going to cut the number of state teachers by 15%? Going to cut the number of prison guards by 15%? Going to take another huge ax to the state system of higher education? Going to cut local public safety, police and fire?
No. It’s the same lies, blatant, racist and ugly attacks on the poor, without acknowledging the role of federal funds in welfare and Med-Cal, and the rules that come with that money.
Sadly, I have to agree. I was expecting a much better campaign from Poizner. But he has defaulted to being Schwarzenegger on budget issues and Deukmajian on social issues. Far from having “spoken out clearly on my positions,” he switches from addressing general themes with generic Republican panderhetoric, and answering specific questions with tortured sentences of twisted logic.
Steve, you’re a tech guy, your campaign is staring at the blue screen of death, it’s time to hit ctrl-alt-del, update your OS, get some new apps, and start over.
I agree – and 2 pts. for coining “panderhetoric”!
California has had Republican Governors for 22 of the last 27 years. Each of them have said that they will boldly cut taxes and eliminate waste and fraud. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I don’t know Mr. Poizner personally, but as someone involved in politics for more than 40 years, my observation is that his public personna seems at odds with who he is as a person. He has put himself in the hands of consultants who tell him what to say and how to behave. In order to justify the huge fees he is paying for this aadvice, he follows their direction. But because he is not an actor, he can’t pull it off and thus doesn’t appear genuine.
Remember 2005?
Mr. Poizner clearly doesn’t. I will not speculate about why.
But that year, the governator actually did appoint a committee to root out all the waste and fraud in state government that all the repugs are always braying about. You may be forgiven if the results passed you by as they clearly did the commish. Because the commission found little. Very little. So embarrassingly little that the governor tried real hard to bury the report lest it deprive the GOP of one of their regular rants.
Clearly the hush job succeeded.
Putting the final nail in California’s coffin by gutting what remains of our public services ≠ “change for the better.”