‘New Way California’ is Wrong Way – by Katy Grimes
As the Los Angeles Times explains in Schwarzenegger and Kasich back Republicans looking for a ‘new way’ for California’s party, Mayes “started it after he stepped down as the leader of his Assembly caucus last summeramid criticism for helping Democrats renew California’s landmark climate program.”New Way is promoting compromise, and expects to “increase opportunities” through compromise — ironic because compromise in politics never means the Left gives something up in negotiations. It’s only Republicans who are expected to do the compromising. And that is because this is a group of “centrists.” Centrists “avoid major social change or extreme political ideas,” and largely stand for nothing other than being a part of something.
“Californians deserve elected leaders who understand civil discourse and servant leadership will make our government more responsive and improve the lives of all Californians,” New Way says.
In a ridiculous sacbee.com op ed, New Way California proponents Dan Schnur and Steve Westly advocate “centrist” Republican politics and refer to Donald Trump as a “partisan extreme.” Tell me how lifting up the national economy, lowering unemployment to the lowest level in 50 years (African-American and Hispanic unemployment rates have hit record lows), creating 3 million jobs, lowering taxes, overturning business-killing regulations, addressing illegal immigration and open borders, dealing directly with China and North Korea, and addressing the imbalance in tariffs and trade policies is “partisan.” What is happening in the U.S. is good for everyone. These are the policies that need to be emulated in California, and are still advocated by sincere Republicans.
The shamelessness exhibited in politics today is not new. But the current willingness by Republicans to sell out is audacious and unprincipled.
New Way says, “Republicans need to change a divisive approach that has alienated key voting blocs, such as Latinos — the state’s largest ethnic demographic. Without mentioning Trump by name, New Way founder and state Assemblyman Chad Mayes criticized his rhetoric.”
How could the “divisive approach” be the fault of California Republicans, when New Way also claims they are irrelevant: “Increasingly irrelevant conservative Republicans are marginalized by tethering themselves to a national party that is ideologically incompatible with the state’s demographic future.” It sounds to me that New Way leaders are pandering to “the state’s largest ethnic demographic,” but these open borders hacks are the very group of “leaders” who want to keep Latinos a permanent poverty class.
New Way leaders include Assemblyman Chad Mayes, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and former Assembly Minority Leader Kristen Olsen. Schwarzenegger and Olsen are on the New Way California Board of Directors.
Remember that Chad Mayes was the Republican Assembly Leader, and Kristen Olsen was the immediate past Republican Assembly Leader, and the Vice Chairwoman of the California Republican Party. Their affair was exposed after Olsen’s estranged husband Rod wrote and sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, demanding an investigation into the affair and alleging tax dollars were used in the affair and cover up of it. As I wrote one year ago, “This is where their personal lives intersected with politics and policy impacting millions of Californians.”
New Way’s Schwarzenegger and Mayes, and Schnur and Westly embrace California’s cap and trade scheme, and want New Way Republicans to jump on board the climate change train. The only problem with this is California’s cap-and-trade program has absolutely no effect on climate change. California accounts for only 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
If New Way didn’t sound problematic up to this point, embracing climate change and cap and trade shows what utter frauds they really are, and only interested in seeking power.
Last year I explained: If the level of air pollution in the United States is among the lowest on the planet, according to the World Health Organization, why does California Governor Jerry Brown believe “the threat of climate change could be more dangerous than that of fascism during World War Two?” Will someone please tell Chad Mayes and Arnold only the Solomon Islands, the island of Vanatu, New Zealand and Micronesia are more pollution free, according to the most recent WHO report on air pollution. In the report, charts and graphs show the U.S. is one of the countries with the cleanest air in the world.
I’m really starting to wonder if Tom Steyer is funding this group.
Centrist Republican policies (Democrat-lite) are the knee jerk reaction to being wrong and then rejected, like Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Schwarzenegger, Assemblyman Chad Mayes, and Assemblyman Rocky Chavez. They should have just followed former-Republican-now-Democrat Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher-Gonzalez, and switched parties.
Even the New York Times calls centrists “reliable and cooperative,” with the left. “Centrist House Republicans have always been like the dependable partner in a turbulent relationship — slightly dull, predictable, the one who remembers family birthdays and pays the bills.”
A better plan would be a refresher course on the Republican platform. Centrists are ineffective and unwilling to fight for anything but themselves. Moving left always fails and only enables the left.
Turncoat Republican Colludes With Democrats
New Way CA guru Chad Mayes claims it is Republicans who have failed to be able to reach out to average people in the state. Mayes is the turncoat Republican lawmaker who colluded with Democrats for the passage of a 10-year extension of the cap and trade program, and lost his leadership post for it.
Mayes’ failure to lead on the disastrous cap and trade manipulations and vote allowed the cap and trade program to be voted on prematurely by two years, saved, and extended by a decade. And Mayes’ convincing six Republicans to vote in favor of it provided cover for three Assembly Democrats in targeted seats who couldn’t or wouldn’t vote for the cap and trade extension. Mayes’ exploits served no purpose other than to provide assistance to Democrats, and Gov. Jerry Brown’s bizarre obsession with climate change.
Mayes continues to sell-out his constituents and his Party to this day, making deals with the Democrats, just so he can keep his phony-baloney job. (Mel Brooks references are always apt).
On his reelection campaign website in October 2015, Mayes said, “We need to reform California’s job killing regulations and reduce the tax burden to not only keep the jobs we have but to expand and strengthen our economy.”
California Republicans have long agreed that climate change is actually cyclical, and much bigger than any cap and trade program, and offset credits purchased by guilty liberals. So, why and when the change of heart?
The Mayes/Olsen affair likely affected the cap and trade policy Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Gov. Jerry Brown wanted passed – and Mayes got to keep his phony-baloney job.
“Californians are tired of partisanship and government dysfunction,” New Way California says. This is true. But pandering to the left, which has run the once-Golden State into the ground, is no way to effect change.
“The next recession is coming,” Schnur and Westly warn. “Ideological extremism won’t prepare us for these challenges, but pragmatic solutions and smart investing will.”
Working toward a stronger economy the way President Trump is successfully doing is “pragmatic” and “increases opportunities for all Californians,” and is not “ideological extremism.” This has always been a basic tenet of the Republican Party platform.
“We’re lifting up forgotten communities, creating exciting new opportunities, and helping every American find their path to the American Dream — the dream of a great job, a safe home, and a better life for their children,” President Donald Trump said in January. How is that “ideological extremism,” unless like the members of New Way California, you are an insufferable elitist who wants to keep the lower income workers and households right where they are?
New Way California is a tax-exempt political organization established pursuant to Internal Revenue Code section 527.
