The Los Angeles Times: on Principles & Values
Al Gore:
VP search quiet and respectful; VP will fight for people
With the GOP ticket taking shape, Gore said he has narrowed his own search for a running mate and would probably announce his choice several days before the Democratic National Convention. “I’ve handled my process differently than the Bush
campaign has handled theirs. I’ve kept it private, and I hope dignified, out of respect for the individuals, the men and women who are under consideration, and I am going to continue to approach it that way. I’ve been through it on the other end twice,
and I know a little bit of what it’s like to go through the process and to be turned down. And I know what it’s like to go through the process and being asked to join the ticket. I’m going to pick the person who I believe can become president on a
moment’s notice if necessary, who also has a good working relationship with me, or the prospect of one, and who shares my values, someone who’s willing to fight for people and not the powerful,“ Gore said.
Source: Michael Finnegan, LA Times
Jul 25, 2000
Al Gore:
Agrees to further debates if Bush agrees to 3 main debates
Gore’s condition for attending any [non-network or third-party] debates is that Bush first agree to attend the three commission debates. Gore said, “What’s needed is to respect the right of the American people to see these debates on all networks in
prime time, the way it’s been done since 1988. It’s not fair to the American people to try to sharply reduce the number of people who can see the debates and reduce the amount of time for the debates.”
Source: Michael Finnegan, Ronald Brownstein, LA Times
Sep 4, 2000
Andy Martin:
King of the Birthers: Obama is hiding something
Andy Martin, a political gadfly who ran for President Obama's former Senate seat in 2010, announced that he will run for the Republican nomination for president on a "birther" platform.The so-called "birther" movement already had a serious impact in
the political landscape in the 2010 elections, Martin said, because "when you doubt the legitimacy of the leader, it undermines the Democratic Party."
Martin, who calls himself the "king of the birthers," said he actually believes Obama was born in
Hawaii, as has been verified by the state with a Certificate of Live Birth. But he believes the White House is blocking the release of the president's full birth certificate because it could contain embarrassing information.
"My campaign
doesn't say he was born here or he was born there, it says produce the facts," he said. "Tell the truth to the American people. If you want our confidence, if you want our sons and daughters--to die for your policies, we have to trust you."
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2020 New Hampshire Senate race
Dec 29, 2010
Antonio Villaraigosa:
Reinsert "God" into DNC platform despite vote against it
Villaraigosa found himself in an awkward position as part of his high-profile role as chairman of the DNC when he was forced to call for three votes in an effort to invoke God in the party platform.There was some dispute whether the vote passed,
infuriating some delegates. "I, uh, I guess I'll do that one more time," Villaraigosa said after a second vote of delegates resulted in equally loud "ayes" and "nos." [An equal vote would mean the measure was rejected].
"You've got to rule, and then
you've got to let them do what they're gonna do," a woman standing to his left could be heard saying. After a third attempt, Villaraigosa declared that the amendments had passed. "In the opinion of the chair, two-thirds have voted in the
affirmative," he said, drawing large boos and shouts of objections.
Republicans had criticized Democrats for removing a reference to "God-given potential" from the 2012 platform. It was reinserted.
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2012 Democratic National Convention
Sep 6, 2012
Arnold Schwarzenegger:
Investigated his father’s past; uncovered that he was a Nazi
California became a beacon for the rest of the nation and the world.But today we are in a different place. There is an enormous disconnect between the people of California and the politicians of California.
We the people, are doing our job--working hard, paying our taxes and raising our families. They, the politicians are not doing their job. They fiddle, they fumble, and they fail.
It is time to return California to the people.
And it was an institution that Schwarzenegger had financially backed over the years.
After a two-month investigation the verdict was in: Gustav Schwarzenegger was indeed a member of the Nazi party; he voluntarily applied for membership in 1938.
But there was no evidence that he was a war criminal. Nor had the Wiesenthal Center found any evidence that the senior Schwarzenegger belonged to any of Germany’s notorious paramilitary units.
Source: Tracy Wilkinson & Matt Lait, Los Angeles Times
Aug 14, 2003
Caitlyn Jenner:
OpEd: Jenner a recluse on public policy
Sorry, can't help you much on the best-known GOP aspirant: Caitlyn Jenner. She's a recluse on public policy and has failed to tell us much about what she'd do as governor. "We're running out of water. I am a big advocate of fire protection,
OK?" she answered pesky reporters pressing for specifics at a news conference, her first of the campaign. Aides stopped the Q&A after 12 minutes.
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2021 CA recall race
Jul 19, 2021
Carly Fiorina:
I'll work across the aisle, including with Sen. Feinstein
Boxer & Fiorina both began airing new ads this week. Fiorina is continuing her efforts to reach out to independent voters by promising to take on dysfunction in Washington."California jobs gone and Barbara Boxer plays politics," the ad's narrator says
as unemployment figures flicker on the screen. The ad cites criticism of Boxer by the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board, which declined to endorse either candidate and said Californians deserve a senator "able to reach across party lines to achieve
progress" adding that Boxer "falls short on those counts."
"When bickering ends, solutions begin. No partisan games," a smiling Fiorina says to the camera. "I'll reach across the aisle, work with others, oppose my party if needed. Your agenda. Not
mine."
Fiorina has criticized spending increases under both Democrats & Republicans while praising bipartisan efforts to curb spending. She has also promised to work with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein to boost water deliveries to the Central Valley.
Source: Los Angeles Times coverage of 2010 CA Senate Debate
Oct 20, 2010
Conrad Burns:
Apologizes for calling Arabs “ragheads”
Even Burns admits he is a walking gaffe machine. “I can self-destruct in one sentence,” Burns told a campaign rally last month in Billings. “Sometimes in one word.” At a fundraiser attended by First Lady Laura Bush, Burns offered the comment that the
US faces terrorists who “drive taxicabs in the daytime and kill at night.” The remark was criticized as anti-Muslim. A spokesman later said the senator was simply pointing out terrorists could be anywhere. Burns has apologized in past years for calling
Source: Sam Howe Verhovek, L.A. Times Staff Writer
Sep 3, 2006
David Hadley:
Social moderate and fiscal conservative
Arguing that California is at a crucial crossroads, Republican David Hadley is announcing a bid to be the state's next governor. The former assemblyman, who voted against Donald Trump in the fall, is a social moderate and fiscal conservative whose
2018 candidacy could galvanize the GOP establishment in a state where it is at a significant disadvantage."I've decided that I can fill an important role in this election, I think we can win this race,
I think we can bring important changes and important reforms to California, and I think I'm the right guy to do it," Hadley told The Times. "We can't have this race be a debate between a Democrat and a socialist."
He didn't specify about whom his remarks were directed at, but the best-known Democratic hopefuls in the race are Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang.
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2018 California gubernatorial race
May 21, 2018
Dianne Feinstein:
Asked state Dems to not endorse, but they endorsed opponent
California Democratic Party leaders took a step to the left, endorsing liberal state lawmaker Kevin de Le¢n for Senate in a stinging rebuke of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. De Le¢n's victory reflected the increasing strength of the state party's
liberal activist core, which was energized by the election of Republican Donald Trump as president.The endorsement was an embarrassment for Feinstein, who is running for a fifth full term, and indicates that Democratic activists in California have
soured on her reputation for pragmatism & deference to bipartisanship.
De Le¢n received 65% of the vote of about 330 members of the state party's executive board-- more than the 60% needed to secure the endorsement. Feinstein 7%, and 28% voted for "no
endorsement."
The Feinstein campaign weeks ago launched an aggressive effort to persuade Democrats in Oakland to vote "no endorsement" in the Senate race, flooding delegates with calls and text messages and drafting the help of political surrogates.
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2018 California Senate race
Jul 14, 2018
Dick Cheney:
Would vote differently today on ERA, Head Start, not Mandela
Cheney also said he would no longer vote against funding the Head Start preschool program or tuberculosis vaccinations for children. He also said he no longer opposes funding the Department of Education.
On the Equal Rights Amendment, Cheney said he’d support it if the Pentagon was not required to draft women. One former stance Cheney said he would not change was his 1986 vote against a nonbinding House resolution on Nelson Mandela.
Source: Michael Finnegan, LA Times
Jul 31, 2000
Elizabeth Emken:
Wins primary slot against 14 Republicans and 5 Democrats
Elizabeth Emken squeaked past 22 other challengers to face Dianne Feinstein, the popular, well-financed lawmaker in November. None of the aspiring Feinstein challengers--14 Republicans, five Democrats and members of four minor parties--had much money
or name recognition except Orly Taitz, who earned a measure of fame from her attempts to show that Pres. Obama was not born in the US. [NOTE: California has a non-partisan primary, with two winners who proceed to the general election].
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2012 CA Senate debate
Jun 5, 2012
Elizabeth Emken:
Wins primary slot against 14 Republicans and 5 Democrats
Elizabeth Emken squeaked past 22 other challengers to face Dianne Feinstein, the popular, well-financed lawmaker in November. None of the aspiring Feinstein challengers--14 Republicans, five Democrats and members of four minor parties--had much money
or name recognition except Orly Taitz, who earned a measure of fame from her attempts to show that Pres. Obama was not born in the US. [NOTE: California has a non-partisan primary, with two winners who proceed to the general election].
Emken won backing from the state GOP and from several of the state's Republican elected officials and made campaign stops throughout the state. She had raised the most money of any of the challengers, a little more than
$300,000, federal records showed.
Feinstein, who is seeking her fourth full term in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 44% to 30%, with 21% of voters unaffiliated, had raised more than $9 million.
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2012 CA Senate debate
Jun 5, 2012
Eric Garcetti:
There ARE two Americas: Washington DC, and the rest of us
In his speech to SNHU, Garcetti spoke about navigating borders both physical and psychological. "To get here today, each one of you had to navigate borders--borders of geography, of opportunity, borders of identity and of your own doubt," said Garcetti.
He spoke of his own grandfather, who crossed the border from Mexico as a baby, and his great-grandparents, who fled anti-Semitism in Russia. "I'm an average American. As I joke, I'm the average Mexican American Jewish Italian mayor of the most diverse
city in the world," he said.The theme of borders extended to national politics. Garcetti urged the audience to talk to people with opposing political views. "The pundits call it right now in our country that there are two Americas--there's the
rural and urban divide, the immigrant and native-born, the coasts and the heartland, red and blue," Garcetti said. "I do believe there are two Americas, but it's none of those--it's Washington, D.C., and the rest of us."
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 13, 2018
Eric Garcetti:
Will always be an Angeleno; committed my life to service
Garcetti, in a statement announcing his nomination [as Ambassador to India], said he loves Los Angeles and "will always be an Angeleno.""I have committed my life to service--as an activist, as a teacher, as a naval officer,
as a public servant and, if confirmed, next as an ambassador," he said. "Part of that commitment means that when your nation calls, you answer that call."
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2021 Ambassadorial Confirmation Hearing
Jul 9, 2021
Ezola Foster:
Worker's Comp claim not based on real mental disorder
Although Foster claimed a mental disorder to receive workers' compensation benefits in 1996 in the Los Angeles school district, she strongly asserted that she has no mental problems and never did. "I am perfectly sane. [the diagnosis
was worked out] between my doctor and my attorney. It's whatever the doctor said that, after working with my attorney, was best to help me."
Source: Los Angeles Times
Aug 24, 2000
Gary Johnson:
Only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states
It rankles Gary Johnson he won't be onstage with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump for the final presidential debate. "Really, really it just sucks--no other way to put it," the Libertarian presidential nominee said. "I'm the only third-party candidate
on the ballot in all 50 states."Johnson has been absent from the stage in all three presidential debates because he's unable to meet the national polling threshold of 15% in five major national polls. Johnson said if he were allowed to participate,
he could, perhaps, force Clinton & Trump to "actually talk about issues, instead of seeing them talk about how they're going to kill one another," Johnson said.
Johnson, who has done well with millennial voters, has sought to shore up that
support by reaching out to young people who backed Bernie Sanders. This week Johnson released a campaign video highlighting issues on which he says he and Sanders share common ground--among them, opposition to the Iraq war and marijuana legalization.
Source: Los Angeles Times on Third 2016 Presidential Debate
Oct 19, 2016
George W. Bush:
Baseball is fun, politics is not
[I asked Bush,] Why'd he ever trade Sammy Sosa when he was managing partner of the Texas Rangers? Bush chuckled. He quickly named all the players involved, even though it was 11 years ago, [in a trade with] the Chicago White Sox."He'd just come
up [to the big leagues] and gotten a quick look," Bush recalled painfully. In 25 games, Sosa was batting a meager .238. Who could have predicted then that Sosa would become a superstar, slamming 66 homers for the Chicago Cubs in 1998 and dramatically
dueling Mark McGwire for the all-time season home run record?
The team managers recommended the deal and he approved it, Bush remembered. "We were coming down the stretch, chasing Oakland. We were either going to kick in and stay or
fade." The Rangers faded. Oakland won the pennant and the World Series. "It just didn't work out. Sosa just didn't kick in."
This is the fun stuff to talk about, I noted. "Politics is not, not fun," Bush instantly replied.
Source: George Skelton, Los Angeles Times
Jun 5, 2000
George W. Bush:
Bush has "hands-off" style, says the test is good decisions
Bush, 54, said in a recent interview that it is important for voters to judge "whether or not I could make the decisions given the degree of pressure that the president is going to have to face. Are you able to maintain a pace and make sound decisions?"
In many respects, his calendars show, Bush is the antithesis of the man he seeks to replace in the Oval Office: He relies heavily on his staff to master issues, keeps close to normal working hours and usually tenders decisions on the spot.
Source: Alan C. Miller, Judy Pasternak, LA Times
Aug 2, 2000
George W. Bush:
Bush hopes Lieberman will civilize Gore campaign
Bush expressed the hope that Lieberman will "run a positive campaign and that the vice president will use this opportunity to change his tone to that of Sen. Lieberman's level. This selection
now presents the vice president with an interesting test of whether he will continue attacking positions his running mate shares or whether he will lift up our nation by elevating the tone of his presidential campaign."
Source: Edwin Chen & Matea Gold, LA Times
Aug 9, 2000
George W. Bush:
Love and compassion are from God, not government
Earlier today, at a prayer breakfast, Bush said, "Our job as leaders-- Republicans, Democrats, nonaffiliateds-- is to rally that compassion of America, is to call upon the love that
exists not because of government, that exists because of a gracious and loving God."
Source: AP story in LA Times
Aug 4, 2000
George W. Bush:
No need to excuse Cheney from energy issues
George W. Bush said he saw nothing improper with the large retirement payment that Dick Cheney's oil company voted. "I was aware that he was going to get a retirement package, like the standard practice for CEOs when they leave major companies. I'm going
to take [Cheney's] advice on how to make our country less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil. What I want him to do is not be owning oil stocks so he benefits from decisions we make in the administration."
Source: Ronald Brownstein, LA Times
Aug 13, 2000
George W. Bush:
Gore's call for debates is about semantics, not sincerity
My opponent said he'd debate me any time, anyplace, anywhere; he went on some of the national TV shows and said, ‘If he'll just show up I'll debate him.' It must all depend on what the definition of any time is. It depends on what the definition of
anywhere is.. I guess it's the same old tired double talk out of Washington, D.C.--'No controlling legal authority.' ‘It depends on what the definition of ‘is' is.'
Source: Edwin Chen, LA Times
Sep 5, 2000
George W. Bush:
Not running for president on father's name
He believes in God, he's grateful for love, he thinks he's of the people and smarter than them all at once. He gushed about his wife, cheered up when talking about his daughters' birth. The son of America's 41st president did get a little more specific
when asked by a viewer what he thought was the public's greatest misconception about him: "Probably [that] I'm running on my daddy's name, that, you know, if my name were George Jones, I'd be a country and western singer."
Source: Maria L. La Ganga, LA Times
Sep 20, 2000
James Bradley:
Cardi B's "WAP" made me want to pour holy water in my ears
Bradley claimed to have heard the Cardi/Meg collab "accidentally," but it clearly unnerved him. "Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion are what happens when children are raised without God and without a strong father figure,"
[he] wrote on Twitter. "Their new 'song' The #WAP (which i heard accidentally) made me want to pour holy water in my ears and I feel sorry for future girls if this is their role model!"
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2022 California Senate race
Aug 7, 2020
Jerry Brown:
Protect the Earth, serve the people, & explore the universe
In 1991, when Brown announced he would run for president, [one pundit wrote]: "It's not so much that Brown has changed but that the times have changed around him. In some ways America has caught up with Jerry Brown."[He was called] "Gov. Moonbeam" for
attracting California's New Age crowd.
Brown was a New Wave politician before the phrase was coined. [In 1980], his campaign platform was: 'Protect the Earth, serve the people, explore the universe.' He was the candidate of new, unconventional ideas.
Source: Lori Kozlowski in Los Angeles Times, "Moonbeam"
Oct 25, 2010
John Roberts:
Adopted two children
Jane Roberts, the wife of John Roberts, was a volunteer member of Feminists for Life's board of directors from 1995 to 1999. She has provided legal assistance to the pro-life group and been recognized as a contributor who donated from $1,000 to $2,500.
She has written for a newsletter for a pro-life group called ‘s newsletter, including an article about adoption. Roberts and her husband have adopted two children.
Source: Richard A. Serrano, Los Angeles Times
Jul 21, 2005
Jon Tester:
Opposes flag-burning; but not worth amending Constitution
On gay marriage and burning the flag, Tester says he supports neither, but also opposes amending the "sacred document" of the federal Constitution to deal with either issue. He says his tax policies would lower the burden for middle-class taxpayers
Source: Sam Howe Verhovek, L.A. Times Staff Writer
Sep 3, 2006
Joseph Lieberman:
Nominated for V.P. because of faith, not despite faith
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Lieberman's rise, however, is that he was chosen not despite his faith, but because of it. It was Lieberman's no-apologies assertion of moral values that attracted Gore to him. Lieberman displayed those
values Tuesday in a speech that cited God almost a dozen times in language more devout than any similarly prominent Christian political figure-and certainly any Democrat--had used in recent memory.
Source: Geraldine Baum, LA Times
Aug 9, 2000
Joseph Lieberman:
Freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion
Lieberman made a passionate call for Americans to bring faith more prominently into public life, arguing that the nation needs to draw values and strength from religious beliefs "While so much of our economic life is thriving, too much of our moral life
is still stagnating. As a people, we need to reaffirm our faith and renew the dedication of our nation and ourselves to God and God's purposes." "Let us reach out to those who may neither believe nor observe, and reassure them that we share with them
the core values of America, that our faith is not inconsistent with their freedom, and that our mission is not one of intolerance, but of love. We know that the Constitution wisely separates church from state. But remember, the Constitution guarantees
freedom of religion. Not freedom from religion. So let us break through some of the inhibitions that have existed to talk together across the flimsy line of separation of faith: to talk together, to study together, and to pray together."
Source: Matea Gold, LA Times
Aug 28, 2000
Joseph Lieberman:
Hollywood deserves reprimands at times, but not censorship
After threatening Hollywood with sanctions, Lieberman softened his tone. "Al and I have tremendous regard for this industry. We're both fans of the products that come out of the entertainment industry -not all of them but a lot of them. From time to time
we will have been -and will be -critics or nudges. But I promise you this, that we will never, never put the government in the position of telling you by law, through law, what to make. We will nudge you but we will never become censors."
Source: Terence Hunt, LA Times
Sep 19, 2000
Kamala Harris:
First Indian-American to serve in the U.S. Senate
Kamala Harris' win will make her the first Indian American to serve in the U.S. Senate. She will also be just the second black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, and the first black senator from California.Harris' race and ethnicity were never a
focal point of the contest, which she was projected to win handily. Many people focused more on the possibility that California might have elected the first Latina to the Senate if Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) had won.
Harris' mother,
Dr. Shyamala Harris, emigrated from India. Her father, Donald Harris, emigrated from Jamaica. According to the U.S. Senate's website, just nine black Americans have ever served in the Senate. Democrat Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois became the first
black woman to serve in the body in 1993. A handful of Indian Americans have served in the U.S. House, including California's Dalip Singh Saund from 1957 to 1963 and current Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove), who was first elected in 2012.
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2016 California Senate race results
Nov 9, 2016
Parker Griffith:
Changed party from Democrat to Republican
Parker Griffith [has switched parties]. Griffith was just elected to the House last year from northern Alabama's Fifth District after the retirement of another Democrat, nine-term incumbent Bud Cramer. Griffith won by only some 9,000 votes. Griffith
said he had become increasingly uncomfortable with the liberal policies of his party and president, especially the overwhelming spending. Griffith said, " I can no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our
country, hurts our economy and drives us further and further into debt,"
In one sense Griffith's immediate defection is no big deal. It's only one seat more for the distinct minority. But on another level such a local decision could have wider
significance. Does it indicate more simmering political trouble to come among so-called Blue Dog Democrats, four score moderates and conservatives whose constituents are nowhere near as liberal as the crowd currently running most everything in Washington
Source: Andrew Malcolm on Los Angeles Times Blog, 2:10 PM
Dec 22, 2009
Sarah Palin:
Shatter that glass ceiling once and for all
Though McCain is winning 47% of the white female vote, there is room for him to exploit the disaffection of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton backers who have not warmed to Obama. And Palin could win McCain more support from working-class women.
But it is not clear that Palin would pull in voters who had been drawn to Clinton's advocacy for women's rights -- including abortion rights -- and her decades of experience.
Palin began her courtship of that constituency Friday, invoking the legacy of Geraldine Ferraro, who, as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 1984, became the first woman to run on a national major-party ticket.
Palin also pledged to finish Clinton's work and "shatter that glass ceiling once and for all."
Source: By Peter Wallsten in Los Angeles Times
Aug 30, 2008
Xavier Becerra:
Appointed as California's first Latino attorney general
Gov. Jerry Brown has tapped House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) to be the next attorney general of California. He will succeed Kamala Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November.Becerra has served 12 terms in
Congress and was making a bid to become the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee when Brown called him unexpectedly to offer the job. "It's a phenomenal opportunity," Becerra said. "It means I get to be home a lot more."
Becerra, who is the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, would be the state's first Latino attorney general. He worked in the Civil Division of the attorney general's office from 1987 to 1990 before entering Congress.
A vocal advocate for Hillary
Clinton's presidential bid, Becerra was briefly floated as an option for vice president or a cabinet position. With Clinton's loss Nov. 8 and no upward mobility available in House leadership, Becerra's future political career was unclear.
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2016 California Senate race results
Dec 1, 2016
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