Robert's Election Picks
By Robert Bernstein
Here are my election endorsements if anyone is interested!
The ballot is getting rather long. I am not sure what is to be done about this, but who really has time to go through each of these items and people in adequate detail?
Even the organizations I trust have found it impossible to cover every position and measure and often just focus on those they prioritize.
Feel free to offer your own recommendations and why you are making them!
42 Comments
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Oct 23, 2018 06:45 AMEvery time I vote I think I get tricked on some of the things I want...We pretty much agree.
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Oct 23, 2018 07:07 AMRobert, you took a cheap shot at our heroic Senator, Diane Feinstein. You said: "United States Senator: Kevin de León (No risk. If he loses we keep Feinstein.)" That appears to be a "talking points" comment. I go way back and I remember her bravery and solid demeanor when the tragedy of the murder of Harvey Milk in San Francisco. She was solid then, and she has remained solid, and has served us faithfully every single minute of her political career.
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Oct 23, 2018 07:20 AMDemocratic Principles are what Senator Feinstein is all about: Legal equality, political freedom and rule of law. She has been tested, over and over, and over, and has always stood her ground to protect our rights. She has experienced it all, seen it all, and it's tough to pull the wool over her eyes. She's smart.
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Oct 23, 2018 08:13 AMSmart enough to brush that Chinese spy under the carpet? Or smart enough to keep him on the payroll for decades? She's beholden to the democratic monies of the liberal elite and the war mongers of the CA military industrial complex. Yeah, no thanks.
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Oct 23, 2018 07:33 AMThis trucker is live-streaming next few days as he goes from Nebraska to Wyoming to Salt Lake City (first delivery there) then on through Donner Pass on I-80 by Reno to Stockton. I'm using this for stress reduction, along with deep breathing. Traveling while still in Santa Barbara, that's for me! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJMRft498uI
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Oct 23, 2018 07:35 AMJohn Cox for governor! Californian has turned in to heaping pile of sh!t under democratic control. Why would anyone want to continue the trend? It really is time for a change!
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Oct 24, 2018 09:54 AMHere, here!
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Oct 23, 2018 07:47 AMI'll pay more attention to Robert's carefully researched picks than any of those paid slate mailers that keep showing up in my mail. I hope people read the fine print in them - despite fancy names like "senior advocates league" or "Democratic leaders", these are just made up names and whatever candidates or propositions are listed on them are there ONLY because that person or organization supporting or opposing a proposition PAID to be on that slate. Candidates shop these mailers and try to attach their names to a list of other names they think are likeliest to win. Don't be fooled, look for the official mailers from political parties to see their endorsements and look at the websites of individual candidates to see who they are really endorsed by.
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Oct 23, 2018 07:55 AM"All those Judges? In general, about all we have to go on is who appointed them."..........Very well-thought out?
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Oct 23, 2018 08:00 AMThanks for sharing. Looks similar to mine. Darcel for SBCC trustee is a good choice. If she doesn't win, Marsha will not be bad, but there are decisions that Marsha has made that makes me want to see a change. The SBCC board of trustees should move on if they've been there for a length of time when there is a good candidate that steps up to the plate. Darcel is that candidate.
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Oct 23, 2018 08:56 AMMarsha had been excellent for years. Darcel is a buttinsky only looking for a political start. She has no experience outside of politics in fact. The major point of her campaign is to build housing for 7000 out of area students who will overload our local community college and destroy neighborhoods, particularly the Mesa. I am disappointed that Robert would so easily ignore his environmental concerns in suggesting that this Democratic Party con is appropriate.
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Oct 23, 2018 09:45 AMGet your facts straight. Croninger grew those extra 7000 out of town students to pay off her teacher union cronies. She also led the ill-fated Measure S campaign along with her scolding pal Lori Gaskin. This has not been good SBCC leadership. Try the new kid.
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Oct 23, 2018 08:17 AMThat trucker's site is BigRigTravels and he (Steve) allows NO political talk on the chat. Family friendly, no attacks, just friendly people. Good for me until Nov. 2.
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Oct 23, 2018 08:18 AMFeinstein is a national embarrassment. Her treatment of Brent Kavanaugh was shameful. Kevin De Leon has admitted publicly that half his family are illegal aliens who falsified documents to break federal immigration laws. The Democrat Party is a joke. They are ruining the State of California by shirking their responsibilities to Californians. Tax and spend. Open borders. They swear an oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, but it's just lip service.
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Oct 24, 2018 12:34 PMSadly, everything you say is true. The Democrats used to be rather logical and middle-ground on many important topics, but it seems all they push now is their own agenda which is lacking almost any type of rational thinking. I cannot believe this poor state has gone so radically far-left and there doesn't seem to be any way to stop the steamroller.
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Oct 23, 2018 08:26 AMIf you like Trump, vote for the carpetbagger from Illinois, John Cox.
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Oct 24, 2018 10:01 AMYes, and your boy Newsom and the rest of Democratic party will make California "truly great" again, right? The current state of mind of the Democrats is what has and will continue to ruin this state.
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Oct 24, 2018 02:25 PMCalifornia is already great just like the USA. Vote Dem to keep it that way.
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Oct 23, 2018 08:28 AMDarcel is not the best choice for SBCC Area 5. I believe she was hand-picked by the Democratic Party and views this position as a stepping stone to higher office. SBCC needs and deserves a trustee dedicated to the ideals of the community college and the commitment to work for them. Marsha Croninger is that candidate. She understands the complex issues facing SBCC and works tirelessly to find solutions that work for our Santa Barbara community.
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Oct 23, 2018 09:05 AMShe came by my house and when I asked why I should vote for her, the best she could say is that her opponent had already served...basically a "my turn" candidacy and we see how well that played out in 2016.
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Oct 23, 2018 10:01 AMCroninger had no political experience when she was (narrowly) voted in several years ago. In fact most of the SBCC board members have/had no political background and that can be a positive, not a negative. No one has challenged Croninger until now and I like what I see in Darcel. It doesn't bother me if she has aspirations to serve the community in bigger ways somewhere down the line. She shows a genuine interest in the issues facing SBCC and I trust her to do what is right for SBCC. and the SB community.
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Oct 23, 2018 04:42 PMWhen campaign manager for Das Williams is your best qualification, that's a no. I wonder if she OK'd this scummy attack?
http://archive.vcstar.com/news/politics/assembly-candidate-calls-foul-on-doctored-photo-in-mailer-ep-368727872-349357141.html/
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Oct 23, 2018 08:51 AMNo consensus exists on how to define democracy, but legal equality, political freedom and rule of law have been identified as important characteristics. This is Senator Feinstein's legacy. One more term!
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Oct 23, 2018 08:56 AMThanks Robert. You appear to be a sensible guy. Very helpful.
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Oct 23, 2018 09:04 AMWhat is sensible about a party line Dem ticket and a YES for every tax bond and fee on the ballot? Could have just printed the Indy's endorsements and saved time.
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Oct 24, 2018 01:58 PMSensible? To vote for more bonds, taxes, and by only strictly party-lines? That is hardly sensible.
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Oct 23, 2018 09:46 AMThanks Robert--we're aligned on most things, and I still need to do more research on the school board & judicial candidates. Your insights will help!
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Oct 23, 2018 09:52 AMWith respect, these recommendations read like the Democratic Party Central Committee mailers. Robert was a Green as I recall. The "top two" primary system has apparently got him in its clutches. As a progressive I still will vote No on 11. Yes on 3 even though it does benefit some commercial interests, Yes on 4 even though private non-for-profit children's hospitals may benefit, for Feinstein (which surprises me) and for Marsha Croninger SBCC Area 5. With respect to his judicial recommendations I am appalled. Clearly he has no other criteria than who was appointed by the Dems vs who was appointed by the GOP. None of the incumbent justices up for election should be defeated as none have behaved outside the norms of judicial duty even though I do not always agree with their reasoning.
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Oct 23, 2018 10:32 AMFeinstein vs de Leon my choice is Feinstein. Experience and institutional knowledge still counts and greater yet, is her senior position and committee appointments which are too important to ignore. Remember this year she unilaterally, in the spirt of transparency released the transcript of the Simpson GPS interview that the Republicans on the judiciary committee were trying to suppress,a unprecedented and ballsy move.
Part 2. Sure we need need new blood and progressive platform and would love to see the next generation represented in leadership positions, but our CA (as well as our local) Democratic Party is still following the 2016 playbook and giving us crappy candidates. Playing kingmaker and endorsing termed out de Leon, with so little grassroots support of his own,he didn’t even win his own district in the primary. Now republicans who will vote are likely to vote for him as the anti Feinstein choice. Party leadership is still about insiders and protecting their own skin than supporting the best candidates and the people’s choice. Sure he is on the right side on some important issues, but a poor choice to parley a party split. If it was someone like a Beto, Kamala or Dave Jones I would be on board, but don’t waste party strategy on a not ready for prime time candidates. Use those resources to support the promising, first time progressive candidates already trying to get into the party instead of setting up a divide as was done on social media, a total turn off. My vote is also a middle finger to our Democratic party leadership.
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Oct 23, 2018 10:36 AMMESARATS. Thank you, well stated, and informative.
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Oct 23, 2018 01:09 PMDo not support Darcel if her agenda is to build housing, or convert existing Adult Ed buildings, for out of area students. I vote for SBCC to scale down that outreach instead.
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Oct 23, 2018 03:58 PMIf you like Trump, you will love carpetbagger Cox and special needs Fareed.
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Oct 23, 2018 06:05 PMAnd if you love situations that go from bad to worse then you’ll vote for Gruesom Newsom.
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Oct 24, 2018 09:52 AMYes, just wait when Newson gets elected. We'll get more taxes, more stupid laws, more illegal immigration and the whole bag of tricks that goes along with the far left politicians. This state used to be the best in the U.S. but is now sadly one of the worst - and it's only going to continue to go downhill after November's elections.
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Oct 23, 2018 05:18 PMThanks, Robert -- You solved some conundrums for me! I especially appreciate your suggestions for the Judicial choices -- I was just going to leave them blank! Thank you for doing the research for us.
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Oct 24, 2018 01:56 PMIf you let other people make your decisions and that is how you decide to vote, then perhaps you shouldn't be allowed to vote.
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Oct 23, 2018 06:56 PMI voted for Diane too met her years ago she said I was a good looking man....
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Oct 24, 2018 12:45 AMUnbelievably moronic approach to judicial selections.
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Oct 24, 2018 09:48 AMAgreed. RB says to vote "no" to judges just because they were appointed by Republican politicians? That truly is moronic but is certainly in line with the rest of his far-left thinking.
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Oct 24, 2018 09:30 AMThere is an article in the paper today about retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was considered a _centrist_ on the conservative-leaning court. After retiring, Mrs. O"Connor dedicated herself to improving civics education … ! _Dear Robert, yes, the list of judges to be voted on this November is long -- but there may be some extraordinary (and inspired) _centrists_ among the judges that _you_ are thinking of Voting No on. ( ? )
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Oct 24, 2018 12:50 PMRobert, thank you for helping me on my decisions on whom to vote in this election. If I vote completely opposite your recommendations then I and the State of California will be in great shape. Keep up the great work in driving the local and state governments into the toilet.
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Oct 26, 2018 07:45 PMThe accumulation of events has made it mandatory for decent Americans to destroy in any way possible the Republican Party for decades to come.
Not by violence or supporting voter suppression but by political and social action. No matter how small or "trivial" an elected office may be, vote for anyone other than a known Republican. School board member, dog catcher, etc. When this party is emasculated at its roots it cannot thrive or grow for many years.
Socially isolate known Republicans or Trump supporters: don't speak to them, don't invite them anywhere, don't accept their invitations. It is more than clear that they will not change or adapt their beliefs and behavior no matter how outrageous, traitorous, crooked or despotic is the behavior of their chosen party representative.