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Posts Tagged ‘John Campbell’

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OC Reps. Have Rank To Demand Benghazi Answers

Posted by Erich Breitenbucher on May 14, 2013

When I requested blog privileges, I really thought I was going to focus on education and waste in California state government.  But these Benghazi hearings have got me so upset I just felt like I needed to start with the hot topic of the day.  Especially because it’s not being treated like the hot topic of the day. Let’s face it.  It is really the most important issue we’ve had in decades.  And here is why, Hillary.  It matters because if people were incompetent and Navy SEALs ambassadors died – we need those mistakes corrected. If security was ignored to achieve political goals and lies were told to cover up the mistakes – those people need to be thrown out of government for good.

And here in Orange County we have several members of Congress who are in a unique position to get answers on many of these questions.

Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa

San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Coto de Caza and Ladera Ranch Congressman Darrell Issa is, of course, the central Republican figure in the investigation as the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Previously, Issa served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Foreign Affairs Committee.  Issa knows his stuff.

Loretta-Sanchez-w_VeteransRanking Member on the House Armed Services Committee Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, Democrat Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is always happy to tell you how she’s the highest ranking female of the Armed Services Committee. Loretta Sanchez is not only on the House Armed Services Committee, she is the Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee and she is on the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.  Loretta Sanchez is also on the Committee on Homeland Security and on the Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.  Rep. Sanchez brags that she founded and chairs the Congressional Caucus on Women in the Military and serves on the Congressional Military Families Caucus.  She couldn’t be in a better position to get real answers on who is responsible for the Benghazi cover-up.

Alan-Lowenthal-w_VeteransHouse Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade member, Democrat Congressman Alan Lowenthal

Congressman Alan Lowenthal is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he sits on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats.  He also is a member of the Veterans Jobs Caucus.  Every veteran that shows up for an Alan Lowenthal job fair should demand answers for their fellow Americans killed and put in harms way at the Benghazi consulate on September 11, 2012.

Senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher

Congressman Rohrabacher is a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats and as a member of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment.

Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Republican Congressman Ed Royce

Representative Ed Royce became the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 2013.  He is serving his 11th term in Congress, representing Southern California’s 39th district.  As a longtime active member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Royce is known for his knowledge of many different regions of the world and analytical foresight into key U.S. foreign policy issues. Immediately prior to becoming Chairman of the Committee, Royce served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and a member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

OC Congressman John Campbell is known more for his expertise on finance than National Security, but if any funding is blocked for departments that are stonewalling on Benghazi answers (hypothetically of course,) I’m sure Campbell wouldn’t hesitate to participate as a Republican member of the House Committee on the Budget.

And lastly for Orange County, is Loretta Sanchez’s sister, Linda.  No one trusts Democrat Congresswoman Linda Sanchez near anything important, but she could show an interest as a member of the Congressional Victim’s Rights Caucus.

And as we look to our neighbors in Riverside County, I’m sure we can count on diligent support of our military from Congressman Ken Calvert.  But how will freshman Democrat Congressmen Mark Takano and Raul Ruiz react?  Will they help deflect attention from the real questions or will they demand an open and honest government that lives up to its hype as the “most transparent?”  Let’s look at the Riverside County Congressional representatives’ committee memberships.

Riverside County Republican Congressman Ken Calvert

Rep. Calvert serves on the House Committee on Appropriations and is a member of the Subcommittees on Defense; Interior and the Environment; and Energy and Water.  Rep. Calvert also serves on the House Committee on the Budget.

Riverside County Democrat Congressman Mark Takano

Not even one year into his first year in Congress, Mark Takano serves on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and his website says that “Securing our nation from foreign threats, including terrorism, must be a priority of Congress. It is critical that our military personnel have the equipment, resources, and support they need to protect this country.”  Does 20 hours for jet fuel to send in a rescue team sound to you like we “have the equipment, resources, and support they need to protect this country” ?  Me neither.

and lastly…

Riverside County Freshman Democrat Raul Ruiz

Dr. Ruiz currently serves on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.  Maybe as a doctor himself, Ruiz can find an interest in answering if local Democrat Congressmen even care that our Ambassador died in a Benghazi hospital controlled by Al Queda? (And that they used him as bait to try and kill more Americans?)

Even though the Los Angeles/Orange County local television coverage of the Benghazi hearings has been as lacking and nonexistent as the national coverage of the Benghazi hearing, these lies are eventually going to exposed to the public – as long as we keep asking questions.  The questions are too big and the consequences have been too horrible to ignore forever.  We will really see which of the Democrats are liberals which of the Democrats are just partisan liars.  I hope to track on this blog the lies told by the Orange County Democrat Members of Congress to cover-up Benghazi.  I also hope to track on this blog which Democrats are willing to be honest about mistakes made and inconvenient truths that need to be told.

How long does it take to get jet fuel in southern Europe or North Africa? And what efforts were made to ask other counties for assistance? Did Hillary change the security level at the Benghazi consulate?  If the CIA talking points on the day of the attack, had only an attack and Al Queda mentioned, but no protest in Benghazi or video, why did both President Obama and Hillary tell Pat Smith (the mother of Sean Smith, killed in Benghazi) 3 days later that the reason for the attack was the video?Image

Pat Smith told FoxNews on May 13 that Obama, Hillary, Panetta and Susan Rice all hugged her and told her “Face to face, nose to nose” that the video was to blame for he son’s death.  We now know, that the President, Hillary, Panetta  and Rice all knew that this was not true – and they lied to the face of a mother who had lost her son.  Every political activist that wants to honor the memory of Sean Smith in the appropriate way that the President, Hillary, Panetta  and Rice will not, by finding out the truth, need to pull out your iPhone at the next community coffee or town hall and ask one of these tough questions.  Post the answers on YouTube.  Eventually Democrats will have to admit so many facts that are damaging to the above mentioned 4 officials that they will start to denounce the actions and call for their removal.  Or the local Democrats will lie and cover up and the mountain of evidence on YouTube and social media will force them to go down with the Obama/Hillary ship on this series of poor security decisions and lies.

But if Jay Carney thinks we will forget about this story as just old news, I can assure you that we will NEVER FORGET.  Let’s roll.  We have some tracking to do…

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Rep. Campbell Questions Treasury Secretary on New Entitlement Spending, IMF Funding

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on April 19, 2013

This came across the wire a couple of days ago from the office of Congressman John Campbell:

For Immediate Release: April 17, 2013

Rep. Campbell Questions Treasury Secretary on New Entitlement Spending, IMF Funding

Click to Watch Video

“In the president’s budget, it shows that this new entitlement, at the end of the 10 year budget window, has a deficit of $5 billion. And, over time, the entitlement will increase while the revenue source will decrease. Isn’t this exactly what got us into the deficit problem we’re in? Aren’t you just replicating it with a new program?”

Washington, DC - At a House Budget Committee hearing on the presidents FY 2014 Budget proposal, Rep. John Campbell (R-CA), a senior Member of the House Budget Committee, questions Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on how the president expects to use a new cigarette tax that he hopes will discourage smoking to perpetually pay for a new, permanent government program.  Moving to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Campbell asks Secretary Lew if President Obama thinks it is wise to send $63 billion in taxpayer dollars to the IMF when so many domestic programs are currently under pressure due to Sequestration.

Full Transcript of Line of Questioning Between Rep. Campbell and Secretary Lew:
Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 45th Congressional District | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Forgot Some Electeds: Party Affiliation Part 2

Posted by Chris Emami on March 23, 2013

A reader just sent me a new database that included some elected officials that I forgot about the first time around. These offices would be Congress, Senate, and Assembly which I cannot believe I forgot. Take a look at the short but informative database of these elected officials that represent at least a portion of Orange County.

IntraPartyElephantDonkey

Here you go:

Office Name Party Year

Congress
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 38th DISTRICT Linda Sanchez (D) 2014
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 39th DISTRICT Ed Royce (R) 2014
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 45th DISTRICT John Campbell (R) 2014
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 46th DISTRICT Loretta Sanchez (D) 2014
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 47th DISTRICT Alan Lowenthal (D) 2014
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 48th DISTRICT Dana Rohrabacher (R) 2014
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 49th DISTRICT Darrell Issa (R) 2014

Senate
STATE SENATE 29th DISTRICT Bob Huff (R) 2016
STATE SENATE 30th DISTRICT Ron Calderon (D) 2014
STATE SENATE 34th DISTRICT Lou Correa (D) 2014
STATE SENATE 36th DISTRICT Mark Wyland (R) 2014
STATE SENATE 37th DISTRICT Mimi Walters (R) 2016

Assembly
STATE ASSEMBLY 55th DISTRICT Curt Hagman (R) 2014
STATE ASSEMBLY 65th DISTRICT Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) 2014
STATE ASSEMBLY 68th DISTRICT Don Wagner (R) 2014
STATE ASSEMBLY 69th DISTRICT Tom Daly (D) 2014
STATE ASSEMBLY 72nd DISTRICT Travis Allen (R) 2014
STATE ASSEMBLY 73rd DISTRICT Diane Harkey (R) 2014
STATE ASSEMBLY 74th DISTRICT Allan Mansoor (R) 2014

Posted in 29th Senate District, 34th Senate District, 36th Senate District, 37th Senate District, 38th Congressional District, 39th Congressional District, 45th Congressional District, 46th Congressional District, 47th Congressional District, 48th Congressional District, 49th Congressional District, 55th Assembly District, 65th Assembly District, 68th Assembly District, 69th Assembly District, 72nd Assembly District, 73rd Assembly District, 74th Assembly District, State Assembly, State Senate | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Chairman Campbell Introduces Legislation to Eliminate Future Bank Bailouts

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on February 15, 2013

This came across the wire from the office of Congressman John Campbell earlier this week:

Chairman Campbell Introduces Legislation to Eliminate Future Bank Bailouts

The Systemic Risk Mitigation Act Guarantees Taxpayer Protection from Financial Institutions Deemed “Too Big to Fail”

Washington – Tomorrow, Representative John Campbell, Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade, will introduce the Systemic Risk Mitigation Act, a bill to eliminate this nation’s “Too Big to Fail” problem. Currently, certain financial institutions, by nature of their size, scope and interconnectivity, are deemed “Too Big to Fail” as their potential insolvency would result in systemic economic collapse. Therefore, these institutions carry the implicit guarantee of massive, taxpayer-funded bailouts in the event of catastrophic failure. As a comprehensive reform measure, the Systemic Risk Mitigation Act would clearly articulate the lines between private sector risk and the taxpayer by means of significantly ratcheting up capital requirements for large financial institutions.

Upon introducing the Systemic Risk Mitigation Act, Chairman Campbell explained,“The ‘Too Big to Fail’ problem has not been fixed and remains a serious threat to our future prosperity. We don’t want to be like Europe. The more concentrated our banking sector is, the less stable it is and the more subject to systemic risk it becomes. This legislation solves that problem by disconnecting the American taxpayer from the implicit guarantee currently perpetuating a system built on future bailouts.  It will build a wall of private capital between the banking sector and the American taxpayer. It will make our banking system more transparent, accountable, competitive, and stable.

The Systemic Risk Mitigation Act would set up a comprehensive regulatory structure requiring financial institutions to hold a second layer of capital for the purpose of minimizing the extent to which their failure would precipitate broader market and economic turmoil. Under this new structure, large financial institutions will be required to hold substantially more capital. In the event of a failure, investors will be explicitly denied any “bailout” and would only be repaid after all other systemically important and secured debts are satisfied.

Under this legislation, the Federal Reserve, in its role as a regulator of large financial institutions, would be required to monitor markets for signs of diminished confidence in an institution’s ability to satisfy claims by investors.  Should a financial institution become undercapitalized, the Federal Reserve would be empowered to intervene in order to notify the institution of the deficiency, conduct stress tests, and oversee the implementation of remediation plans. In the event that an institution is unable to raise sufficient capital, TheSystemic Risk Mitigation Act would place it into receivership.

Importantly, this legislation gives financial institutions, not policymakers, the final decision on how they will decide to structure themselves.The Systemic Risk Mitigation Act does not force a financial institution to break itself up, but does require that it operate in a manner that is safe, accountable, and independent of any reliance on the U.S. taxpayer.

“Congress must address the ‘Too Big to Fail’ problem,” stressed Chairman Campbell. “The goal of my legislation is not to harm U.S. banks, but to make them safer, more secure, and much more stable. In this way, consumer confidence will also be boosted. Banking is a business centered on confidence, and increased confidence is in the best interest of both the industry and the economy.”

The Systemic Risk Mitigation Act has been referred to the Committee on Financial Services.

Posted in 45th Congressional District | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Rep. Blumenauer and Rep. Campbell Introduce Taxpayer Protection Amendment to “Sandy” Relief Bill

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on January 18, 2013

This came across the wire earlier this week from the office of Congressman John Campbell:

Rep. Blumenauer and Rep. Campbell Introduce Taxpayer Protection Amendment to “Sandy” Relief Bill

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) and Congressman John Campbell (CA-45) offered an amendment to H.R. 152, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, which would protect federal taxpayers from being burdened with an unfair share of the cost of projects extending beyond those specifically assisting victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Most beach renourishment projects take place under a 65% federal, 35% nonfederal cost-share agreement, with continuing replenishment cost-shared at 50% federal. These projects are often done at the urging of local communities and most of the benefits flow locally, so it makes sense for those communities to pay a share of the cost. However, an amendment offered by Congressman Frelinghuysen (NJ-11) would waive the 35% nonfederal share for many of these projects and could be interpreted to go even further and raise the federal cost share for continuing replenishment projects from 50% to 100%.

The Blumenauer-Campbell amendment clarifies language in the Frelinghuysen amendment that could inadvertently waive the nonfederal cost-share for ongoing construction projects unrelated to Hurricane Sandy. Any waiver of local cost-share for these projects should be limited to the funds provided in H.R. 152.

“We need to rebuild,” said Congressman Blumenauer, “but we also need to make sure that taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely , and not on projects that could be ongoing for 10, 20, 50 years and have nothing to do with the damage inflicted by Sandy.”

“This amendment is a simple, yet very important clarification that shields the American taxpayer from picking up the tab for ongoing and even future construction projects along the Northeastern seaboard that have absolutely nothing to do with the damage caused by Sandy,” said Congressman Campbell. “It’s a common sense amendment that ensures federal funds are restricted solely and specifically to the recovery efforts for which they are intended.”

Most beach renourishment projects are literally “under construction” for decades. For example, according to the Congressional Research Service, beach renourishment projects, “generally remain as active Corps construction projects for up to 50 years, because their initial construction, which often consists of a constructed dune or beach, is followed by regular “renourishment” activities (i.e., replacement of sand).”

“Waving the local cost-share for completion of ongoing beach-nourishment projects is not only fiscally irresponsible, it also decreases local communities’ appropriate obligation to be involved in and support projects that benefit them,” continued Blumenauer. “Our amendment simply clarifies that the waiver only applies to the funds in the bill.”

This amendment is supported by National Wildlife Federation, Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Reinsurance Association of America, the Association of State Floodplain Managers, the Water Protection Network, and the R Street Institute.

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Posted in 45th Congressional District | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

1-14-2013 John Campbell Newsletter

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on January 14, 2013

This just came across the wire from the office of Congressman John Campbell:

Monday, January 14, 2013

Debt Limit: The president says that we should just extend the debt limit, or cede the authority to him to expand it as he wishes. I’m sure he probably doesn’t think we even need such a discipline at all. He says he will not negotiate on this issue. He says that Congress has already approved all the spending that led to these deficits. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 45th Congressional District | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

From Congressman John Campbell`s Laptop to Yours: Monday, January 7, 2013

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on January 7, 2013

This just came across the wire from the office of Congressman John Campbell:

Monday, January 7, 2013

Fiscal Cliff: You may be wondering why you did not hear from me during the last few weeks of the “fiscal cliff” machinations in Washington. For one thing, I figured that many of you were enjoying the holidays with your families and friends and did not want me to interrupt that with depressing news. Additionally, however, things were moving so fast that anything I wrote you would have been obsolete by the time you read it. I had about a dozen “laptops” in my head each day, but, by the time I sat down to write them, the circumstances had already changed. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 45th Congressional District | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

OC’s New Republican Congressmen Vote 3-1 Against Fiscal Cliff Deal; Old Ones Voted 3-2 in Favor

Posted by Chris Nguyen on January 3, 2013

In a far-too-brief summary of the fiscal cliff deal: income taxes increased on people making more than $400,000 (couples over $450,000), tax deductions phase out for individuals making more than $250,000 (couples over $300,000), payroll taxes increased on people making more than $50,000, the death tax was increased from 35% for estates over $5.12 million to 40% for estates over $5 million, the Earned Income Tax Credit was expanded, college tuition tax credits were extended for five years, and federal unemployment benefits were extended for a year.

The vote on the fiscal cliff provides an interesting illustration of the impact of redistricting on Orange County’s Congressional representation.

fiscalcliffolddist

How the Representatives of the Old Congressional Districts Voted on the Fiscal Cliff Deal

fiscalcliffvotes

How the Representatives of the New Congressional Districts Voted on the Fiscal Cliff Deal

The old OC delegation voted 5-2 in favor of the fiscal cliff deal while the new OC delegation voted 4-3 against the fiscal cliff deal, with the new 8th member not yet seated.

More interestingly, the old districts had Republicans 3-2 in favor of the deal with the Democrats at 1-0 while the new districts have Republicans 3-1 against the deal with the Democrats at 2-0.

Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), Linda Sanchez (D-Cerritos), and Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana) voted in favor of the fiscal cliff deal.

John Campbell (R-Irvine), Darrell Issa (R-Vista), and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) voted against the fiscal cliff deal.

(Newly Elected Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) will not take take office until later this morning.)

Congressmen Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar) and Ken Calvert (R-Corona) represented portions of Orange County until yesterday but now represent exclusively Inland Empire districts.  Miller and Calvert both voted for the fiscal cliff deal.

Posted in 38th Congressional District, 39th Congressional District, 45th Congressional District, 46th Congressional District, 47th Congressional District, 48th Congressional District, 49th Congressional District, National | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

CD-39: Royce, Chen, and Chen SuperPAC Spend $2.7 Million or How My Father Received Over 41 Feet of Mail

Posted by Chris Nguyen on November 2, 2012

Jay Chen & Ed Royce

Democrat Jay Chen is challenging Republican Representative Ed Royce

151,311 voters live in the City of Anaheim: 10,196 voters live in Ed Royce’s 39th Congressional District, 27,431 live in John Campbell’s 45th Congressional District, and 113,684 live in Loretta Sanchez’s 46th Congressional District.  You’ve seen Emami’s endless mail count on the Anaheim City Council race, but he has the good fortune to be one of the 27,431 Anaheim voters in CD-45.  This is a tale of the mailboxes for the 10,196 Anaheim voters in CD-39.

(For those of you wondering, Gail Eastman lives in Sanchez’s CD-46, Harry Sidhu lives in Royce’s CD-39, and Lorri Galloway, Kris Murray, and Tom Tait live in Campbell’s CD-45.  For those of you wondering for even more info, Steve Chavez Lodge lives in Campbell’s CD-45 while Lucille Kring, John Leos, and Jordan Brandman all live in Sanchez’s CD-46.)

Before I get into the mail, I should note there are precinct walkers and phone bankers from both camps scurrying and calling across CD-39.

An OC Political friend passed on a transcript he made of a phone call he received from the Jay Chen campaign in October.  The content of this script is clearly geared toward Republicans, and the OC Political friend who transcribed this call is a high-propensity Republican in a pure Republican household.

Here’s the transcript…

Hi.  Good afternoon.  My name is Andrew and I am a volunteer with the Jay Chen for Congress Campaign.

I’m calling you today to tell you a little bit about Jay and about his campaign for congress in your district.

Jay is a small businessman, a school board member and US Naval Reserves intelligence officer who is running to represent you in Congress.

Unlike his opponent, Ed Royce, Jay volunteered to serve our country and he will protect our veterans when they come home.

Jay was recruited right out of Harvard University to work for Bain and Company, a section of the successful Bain Capital, and he has valuable experience balancing the books and improving results without raising taxes.

Jay is clearly the right person to serve this district in Washington.  For more information about Jay or our campaign, please visit our website at chenforcongress.com.  And since you are registered to vote by mail your ballots will be arriving around October 8th.  Please remember to vote and sent them back in.

Thank you for very much your time and I hope you vote for Jay in the upcoming November election.

Here’s an excerpt from Chen’s 2011 school board re-election campaign biography:

In 2002 Jay joined Bain & Company, a global business consulting firm. While at Bain he worked closely with top executives of Fortune 500 companies to develop and implement crucial business strategies. He managed the roll-out and evaluation of new products for a global logistics company and analyzed the cost-savings for a mergers and acquisition in the technology space with a combined value of over $1 billion. Jay believes his financial and business experience will be of great value to the school board, which manages an operating budget of over $360 million dollars and nearly 3000 employees.

Anyone else find it fun that Democrat Jay Chen is touting his Bain experience while Republican Mitt Romney is getting trashed for his Bain experienced by national Democrats?

Now, on to the money: From July 1 to October 17, Royce spent $1,232,479 while Chen spent $406,351.  However, Super PAC America Shining (run by Chen’s brother) has spent $762,316, with $65,894 supporting Chen and $696,162 against Royce.

In other words, between America Shining and Jay Chen, the pro-Chen/anti-Royce spending since July 1 has reached $1,458,478 while Ed Royce has spent $1,232,479.

For both candidates, over 60% of their direct contributions came from individual citizens.  However, if you account for America Shining, the pro-Chen/anti-Royce money received has been 52% from PACs, and 33% from individual citizens, while pro-Royce/anti-Chen money that’s been received is 62% from individual citizens and 36% from PACs.

While Emami religiously scans each piece of mail that falls into his hand, I’m just going to take a picture of all the mail.  For my father, who is likely in the most coveted demographic group in all of CD-39 (high-propensity Asian independent), this is what $2.7 million of campaign spending looks like:

35 Pieces of CD-39 Mail

My poor father was inundated with CD-39 mail

He’s received 36 mailers, and there’s still three more mailing days before Election Day (today, tomorrow, and Monday).  I “only” received 15 mailers, and my Republican mother “only” received 8 mailers.  Inexplicably, my independent sister only got 1 mailer (it was pro-Royce).

I should note my 52-year-old father was not pleased to receive the America Shining piece entitled, “Senior News.”

Here are other ways to look at the 36 mailers sent to Dad:

  • Stacked on top of each other, they are 1/2 inch thick.
  • They weigh a combined 1 lb. 7 oz.
  • Laid end to end, they are 41 feet, 3 inches long.

They have achieved near-perfect parity in Dad’s collection:

  • 18 from Royce’s side, 18 from Chen’s side
  • 6 pro-Royce, 4 pro-Chen
  • 12 anti-Chen, 14 anti-Royce

From my father’s mail: For every pro-Royce, there were exactly two anti-Chen pieces.  For every pro-Chen piece, there were more than three anti-Royce pieces.  While both sides have sent virtually the same amount of mail and both have been pretty negative, Chen’s side has sent out more negative mail and less positive mail than Royce’s side.

Apparently, as registered Republicans, my mother and I were each ignored by Chen.  All 15 of my mailers and all 8 of hers were from Royce.  I received 6 pro-Royce and 9 anti-Chen.  Mom received 2 pro-Royce and 6 anti-Chen.

The anti-Chen pieces are making an impact on regular voters: one of my mother’s co-workers dislikes Chen because he seems so creepy because he’s always behind sunglasses in his pictures.  None of Chen’s photos have him behind sunglasses, except the one being used on Royce’s anti-Chen pieces.

In CD-39, postal workers and mailhouses are getting together to throw a big party about the post offices saved from closure and the mailhouses’ unexpected 2012 profits, but somewhere, there’s an environmentalist crying about the forests that Chen and Royce destroyed.

On a final note, my father’s siding with the family Republicans: Dad’s voting for Royce.

Posted in 39th Congressional District, Fundraising, Mail | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

2012 General Election Prediction: 45th Congressional District

Posted by Chris Emami on September 11, 2012

This race in the primary pitted Tea Party darling John Webb, sitting U.S. Congressman John Campbell, and Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang for the right to advance to November. The results were extremely one-sided with John Campbell

United States Representative; District 45

  • John Campbell, Republican ………. 54,346 votes 51.0%
  • Sukhee Kang, Democratic ………. 35,182 votes 33.0%
  • John Webb, Republican ………. 17,014 votes 16.0%

As you can see from the results posted to the “Smart Voter” website despite having a Republican opponent Congressman Campbell still managed to break 50% in the primary.

Here is the map of the 45th Congressional District:

As always thanks to Meridian-Pacific for the use of their map.

I will give Sukhee Kang credit for running 5% above Democratic registration. However, with 22% of voters registered as DTS Kang did not have a great showing in the whole scheme of things. Also remember that Democrats tried the Irvine Councilmember strategy back in 2010 running Beth Krom against John Campbell. Krom did not have a great showing either:

United States Representative; District 48

  • John Campbell, Republican ………. 145,481 votes 60.0%
  • Beth Krom, Democratic ………. 88,465 votes 36.4%
  • Mike Binkley, Libertarian ………. 8,773 votes 3.6%

Kang is from Irvine, the largest city in the 45th Congressional District but unfortunately for him John Campbell also is from Irvine.

With a 20% Asian population in CD 45 you could make the argument that Kang will be one of the more competitive candidates in years. I would argue that party affiliation is more important when running for partisan office.

The fundraising tells a similar story with John Campbell at over $1,000,000 cash on hand after the primary election and Sukhee Kang having under $250,000 cash on hand. This is over a 4:1 ratio for the sitting Congressman.

Looking at all the factors at play in this district I believe that the winner will be:

John Campbell

Posted in 45th Congressional District | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

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