Shurtleff withdraws from Senate Race

All over the political news across Utah today was Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's withdrawal from the 2010 U.S. Senate race. Shurtleff cited the need for family time particularly during a time when his adopted daughter had acute mental health needs. Having familial mental health experiences, we strongly sympathize and wish the Shurtleff family God bless.

Fellow pundits and media outlets have already begun to speculate as the stock of other candidates in the race. Although they raise interesting points, themostsearched will refrain for the moment from public comment on the impact of the Shurtleff announcement on other candidates out of respect for the Shurtleff family.

Notwithstanding themostsearched’s endorsement of another candidate, Shurtleff has gained our respect both through this commitment to family and through his willingness to recognize that running a U.S. Senatorial race is not done by jumping in late in the game hoping to get one’s name into the ring. We suggest a way of supporting our great AG through this time of distress might be the reading of Shurtleff’s newly-released historical: "Am I Not a Man, the Dred Scott Story” though we confess we haven’t done so ourselves. We reiterate our stance that Bennett is wrong for Utah and stand by our previous endorsement in this race as a strong alternative to Bailout Bob.

Overtime:

• John Curtis' gracious acceptance video for Provo Mayor
  
  
• David Harmer loses by 10pts. There are two positives in this loss. First, the loss is that this is slightly less than the Cook PVI of D+11 with a Republican neophyte making a great showing against the top ranking Democratic executive in the state. More importantly, Democrats will likely lose a Lieutenant-Governorship with Schwarzenegger having an opportunity to appoint a fiscally-conservative Republican to fill Garamendi's vacated position. With Schwarzenegger being term-limited, this appointee stands to receive a tremendous boost in the upcoming gubernatorial elections. Finally, a Schwarzenegger appointee would add a rare Republican to a near Democratic monopoly in California on executive-branch offices.
  


• Poll: Do you support parental notification of abortion? http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-teen-abortion-law-02-nov02,0,6313456.story

California's Special Election & Economic Disaster

Politics in California has particular meaning to themostsearched as we lived there before our present abode. Indeed, we abashedly reveal our vote for Schwarzenegger back in the days of the 2003 Special Election (regrettably, we wish we had voted for Tom McClintock!!) to rid ourselves of Gray Davis.

California for the past few decades has been and is a blue state. The Democrats control everything, especially the legislature where they have 60/40 majorities. Occasionally a Republican will pop into a statewide elected office. Schwarzenegger is a liberal Republican.

Californians have been voting themselves into debt for years. It seems as though nearly every proposed bond or spending bill that was proposed to the voters was passed. Spend, spend, spend. Raise taxes and spend. Pay for healthcare and schooling of illegal aliens so more will cross the border! Of course, most of the Propositions were put on the ballot by the Democratically-controlled legislature. Of all the blame to be doled out, the Democrats in the legislature need to be held most accountable--who else is there to blame?? It becomes the goal of every astute voter in California to throw out as many Democrats as possible and replace them with McClintock-like Republicans who actually care about spending wisely.

The budget deficit is so bad now in California they are voting tomorrow whether to raise taxes to pay for all the spending mess they are in. The Propositions are a shame except for the "slap on the wrist" 1F which forbids raises on government officials during budget shortfalls. Yet Californians are beginning to wise up. A recent poll showed all the Propositions failing except 1F (graphic, Sacbee.com). Californians realize that giving more money to a Democratically controlled legislature will NOT solve the problem; cutting social programs will.

The Special Election Californians REALLY need is a 2003-style Special Election, but instead of the Governor, throw out the liberals in the legislature. Call it a "California Tea Party" if you will. And there is seemingly widespread support to do so. In a recent Field Poll study a mere 14% of California voters approved of their state legislature while a massive 74% disapprove--the lowest in Field Poll recorded history. That's even lower ratings than the 24% approval rating Gray Davis had before we voters threw him out in our 2003 Special Election.

What themostsearched vigorously opposes is a so-called "California Bailout." Such a bailout would be better-termed an "Illegal Alien Bailout" in honor of such "sanctuary cities" such as San Francisco (though SF is just the tip of the blame game as the whole state is guilty). themostsearched is strongly opposed to any bailout as we way, way, way overdid the bailout thing and are getting our whole country messed up. Mitt Romney was right: we should have never bailed out the automakers, but rather let them file Chapter 11 and emerge leaner and stronger. themostsearched rejects the notion we should have to pay for unwise social program spending of others--besides, frankly, we don't even have the money for a California Bailout should we even desire one.

California won't fail because at this 11th hour the voters are beginning to take back their state.