Touche' Sir
DUMP DAVI$ & the Den of Socialists
GO SIMON
Posted on 07/16/2002 4:27:57 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan
Sacramento Press Club Speech
Thank you very much and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure to be here and I'd like to thank the Sacramento press club for giving me this opportunity.
It's great to see so many members of the capitol press corps here. I appreciate your coming. I know what an enormous sacrifice it must have been to tear yourselves away from covering the state budget!
You spend everyday covering California politics and public policy. You inform the public about the happenings in and around the great white building. And the facts you report - the brutal, honest truth - tell a sad and compelling story.
I won't be delivering my first state of the state address for six months still, but it's clear that California under Gray Davis has lost it's way, and it's luster.
It's July 16 and still no budget. The Davis legacy of failure marches on. The Davis solution to the budget mess is now more clear than ever - a political document designed to give the appearance of a solution until after election day.
There are no real plans to meet our growing water, housing or health care crises. There's been no leadership when it comes to building for the future in California. Our people are wasting $21 billion in lost productivity sitting in traffic, losing precious time with their families, and adding to air pollution -- and what does our governor do, what does he say? He stood front-and-center at a recent freeway dedication and proclaimed - proudly - that it would be the last new freeway California would ever build. Crime was going down when he took office. Now it's going up again. What are his plans to meet this growing threat? We've heard nothing from the governor. But we have seen proposals to cut local government, which spend two-thirds of their discretionary budgets on public safety.
The bush administration has set a July 31st deadline for California to submit its anti-terrorism plan so we can get a piece of the more than $3.5 billion dollars set aside by congress. Where is California's plan? Why is he waiting until the last minute to address perhaps the most compelling public safety issue of our time? I've talked to local government officials in some of California's largest cities, who say they have not been consulted on the plan, even though the federal government made it clear they wanted the focus to be on local first responders. Who has Davis consulted with, if not local emergency service leadership?
How about revitalizing our economy and making California more competitive so we stop losing jobs, businesses and entrepreneurs to places like Nevada and Arizona? We've got a million workers in this state who can't find jobs. What is the plan to put them back to work? Surely the governor doesn't think that higher workers compensation costs, billions in tax increases, and more lawsuit abuse will help our struggling economy?
And then there's the power crisis. The governor ignored the problem when it first appeared, then panicked when it became an emergency. He took his advice from the likes of ken lay, calling Enron -- quote - "the best of the lot." And he took $120,000 from Enron, which he has refused to return. Just about every politician in America has given their Enron money back. Even the democrat governor's association, which took $20,000 from Enron while Davis was chairman, gave the $20,000 back - after Davis left the chairman's post.
More recently he has tried to fool the people into thinking that the energy crisis is over. In a now infamous meeting with a newspaper editorial board, he pounded the table and demanded political credit for keeping our lights on - something that should be expected, not an item for praise! I guess while we're offering our thanks to the governor, let's not forget the crippling rate increases and billions of dollars in overpriced power contracts that the taxpayers and ratepayers will have to make good on. Contracts that are now forcing rates to be held artificially high even as wholesale power prices have plummeted.
Last week this supposedly "solved" power crisis came blasting back along with the triple digit summer heat. A stage-two power emergency had to be declared. Many customers, who last year felt compelled to agree to possible interruptions in exchange for a break on rates, suffered power outages. Even more disturbing for the future are reports that many of the new power plants we desperately need to boost supply -- plants that the governor had bragged about licensing -- have now been put on hold.
When it comes to schools, let me first give the governor some credit. The legislation he and a bipartisan majority of the state legislature passed in 1999, building on the momentum of significant reforms enacted by governor Pete Wilson, held some promise.
But the promise has gone unfilled. After the initial legislation, we've seen little action. His plan for accountability was always optional, and as you would expect, non-performing schools have been let off the hook. We have children crammed into dilapidated schools with old textbooks and outmoded equipment.
Our schools still rank near the bottom in the nation, in reading, near the bottom in math and dead last in science. And just recently, an objective report by the U.S. Department of Education identified over 1,000 failing schools in California - schools that for two years in a row failed to meet even the most basic academic standards. Among the 50 states, only Michigan had a worse record of failure.
Ladies and gentlemen, 22 years ago a former California governor named Ronald Reagan summed up his campaign for the presidency against jimmy carter by asking Americans, "are you better off than you were four years ago?"
As the citizens of California consider the record I have just reviewed, and decide whether Gray Davis should be rewarded with a second term as governor, we should ask ourselves the same question - "are we better off than we were four years ago?"
That's the central question of this campaign. And by almost every measure, the answer to it is, sadly, no. And whether they are republicans, democrats, members of another party or no party, all too many of our citizens would have to agree.
Our state has careened from crisis to crisis and scandal to scandal. It's sad because Gray Davis took office with the wind at his back - a tremendous mandate from the voters, large majorities of his own party in the legislature, a booming economy and a big budget surplus.
But he failed to lead and he squandered precious opportunities to build and invest in the future. Long-standing challenges - from fixing our schools to creating plentiful and affordable supplies of energy, water, housing and health care - have been neglected. Or at best, they have been addressed with little more than sound bite symbolism and press release solutions.
Perhaps most troubling of all is the poor ethical tone set by the Davis administration. It would be one thing to try greatly and fail. But instead of working day and night to solve the people's problems, the governor has worked day and night to fill his own campaign coffers. According to a sworn statement by his top political advisor, -for-play system that flourishes in the state capitol today. But he sure perfected it.
Think of past governors, and the people of California can sum up, in one sentence, the accomplishments they were known for. You might agree or disagree with their policies, but you know what they did.
Pat brown built California.
Ronald Reagan led through the tumultuous times of the late sixties and early seventies.
Jerry brown believed small was beautiful, and governed accordingly.
George Deukmejian set California back on the path to fiscal health and got tough on crime.
Pete Wilson led through disasters, riots and economic downturn, and earned grudging respect.
And Gray Davis. He raised money.
Four years ago, Gray Davis promised the people of California "experience that money can't buy." Do you remember that slogan? Do you think the Davis campaign will use it again? In light of all that's happened, it's kind of embarrassing isn't it? Not only has the vaunted Davis experience failed to put together a competent administration to solve California's problems, it has been for sale to the highest bidder. We have, ladies and gentlemen, our first coin-operated governor!
There are the infamous Davis technology scandals - especially the oracle software debacle. This highly unusual contract was rammed through the approval process, bypassing all the normal rules and procedures. Just two days after it was signed, a top Davis aide picked up a campaign check from a lobbyist who worked for the contract's approval. And when all this came to light, the administration worked with its cronies in the legislature to kill the investigation.
Picture this scene, if you will. California teachers are in the governor's office talking about the important issues of education and school reform, only to have gray Davis interrupt them to ask for a million dollar campaign contribution. The teachers were stunned into silence. But it's the governor who should have kept his mouth shut.
There are plenty more examples, but you know them all, and you've reported on them.
So I ask you to picture one more scene. You're at a meeting of the Davis high command. You're looking over the record of the last four years, and trying to decide how to convince Californians to give the governor a second term...and you have no idea.
You can't run on improving the schools. You can't run on your fiscal stewardship. You can't run on the economy, or your management of the energy crisis. You could run on your high ethical tone...well, maybe that's not such a good idea.
So after the governor is done yelling at you because you have no ideas how to run the campaign, you finally settle on this...if the people hate us so much, we'll just have to make them hate the other guy even more. And if the facts don't support what we need to do, we'll make it up.
And that, in a nutshell, is what California has today. A governor so utterly without a compelling reason to be re-elected that none of us would be surprised if he never runs another positive ad in his campaign.
I'm sure you'll all have some questions about what the governor has been saying, and we'll get to that. But first, unlike the governor, i do want to spend some time talking about the things I want to do as governor.
Ladies and gentlemen, I've been asked on the campaign trail what is the very first thing I'd do upon my inauguration. Very simply, I will take down the tollbooth that this administration has erected in the doorway of the governor's office.
I'm offering the people of California new leadership that's not tied to the failures of the past and not part of the mess we're in right now. I don't pretend to have all the answers. But I do have real-life experience balancing budgets and creating jobs in the private sector - and prosecuting criminals and corporate polluters as an assistant U.S. attorney under Rudy Giuliani.
And in the areas of charity and community service, I have led and contributed to creative, community-based solutions that have helped homeless young people, battered women and former drug addicts turn their lives around. We've provided scholarships and job training to thousands of people who knew they could succeed, if given a chance.
These experiences proved to me that we should never give up on anyone. There is always hope and there can be a new beginning. And I just can't wait for the opportunity to bring these same inclusive, common sense, problem-solving approaches to all the people of our state through the programs, policies and bully pulpit of the governor's office.
Time will not permit me to address all the proposals and ideas I have for California with the detail they deserve. But let me mention just a few:
The legislative analyst has reported that the ongoing, structural deficit I will inherit from Gray Davis will add up to $51 billion dollars over the next five years. Cleaning up this mess will be among the most urgent task I face.
So, upon taking office, I will order a comprehensive, independent audit of all state spending with a view towards the permanent elimination of wasteful spending and bureaucracy. I will fundamentally re-examine the whole budget process, including the volatility of our state revenue streams and the relationship between state and local government. I have already talked about the creation of a working capital reserve in the state budget to balance out the volatility from good years to bad years. But there's no doubt that we
One part of this audit I'll be most interested in is how the $53 billion dollars we spend annually on kindergarten through 12th grade education are really being spent. We will continue to boost school funding, but we will also make sure every dollar is spent on real reforms with real accountability, and no exceptions, exemptions or excuses for any school.
I want to lead a genuine school reform movement that produces not only smaller classes, but smaller schools in smaller districts - schools where teachers and principals know every child's name. Schools that become the center of our communities, providing after-school activities - both enrichment and remedial classes - and supervision so that parents don't have to fear for their children's safety because they have to work or because they are single parents.
When it comes to electricity, my administration will vigorously pursue, with all the tools and remedies at our disposal, those who tried to game our system and rip us off. But we will not use this effort as an excuse to neglect our long-term energy needs. We must increase supply, we must modernize our power grid, and we must invest in the clean energy technologies of the future.
We'll also have a long-overdue comprehensive water policy that captures and stores more supply, protects the areas where water originates, encourages greater conservation -- and ensures that clean, safe drinking water comes out of the tap every time any resident in our state turns it on.
I will work to revitalize our urban communities. You'll hear my detailed plans for doing this throughout the week. We need more parks in California and not just in the splendid isolation of our wilderness areas - but in our cities and suburban areas too. That's why I will seek a policy that dedicates at least 50% of all new park monies to urban parks. We'll encourage more capital to invest in our cities, and we'll work to make health care and housing more accessible and affordable for these communities as well.
We must re-fire the engines of economic growth in our state too - and not only for the sake of our workers and small businesses. Let's face it, we'll never have enough money coming into the government coffers until we put our people back to work and until the silicon valley, agriculture and other great industries of our state start making money again.
My administration will weed out excessive regulations that choke off enterprise. As soon as possible, we'll lower the top capital gains tax rate to spur job-creating investment. One more thing - we must end California's dubious distinction as the lawsuit capital of the world.
As governor, I will also work with the private sector and community organizations to create partnerships that improve transportation, build new housing and expand health care.
We will give California a real plan to phase out and end offshore oil drilling.
I look forward to working with president bush and fox to help create a pathway that undocumented immigrants in our state can follow to become legal residents and ultimately American citizens.
Finally, I will work to ensure that California always lives up to our best basic values as a people - values that our brave men and women in uniform are risking their lives to defend today all around the world: respect for the rights and aspirations of women, and an uncompromising tolerance for the great diversity of our people in religion, race and ethnic background.
Ladies and gentlemen, like many of you, I was not born in California. My wife Cindy and I chose to make it our home. Despite all the problems and challenges we face, this is the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world.
We can do so much better than we have done over the past three-and-a-half years. We can end the days of drift, deficits and decline and renew the California dream that has drawn so many millions of hopeful people to our shores. Yes we can do better and we must. And if the people of California honor me with their votes this November, I know we will.
Thank you very much.
I think that about says it all for this campaign. In my words: Davis is an unbalanced nutcase, and he turned a power shortage into a power crisis.
I think he would have been smart to - in the S&L case he has an excellent story to tell, and I'm betting there are good ways to finesse the tax shelters, too.
D
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