Yeah, I'm Talking To You Orange County!
Posted by: Kevin D. Korenthal | 01/21/2008 9:00 AM
What's the point of having a voice on one of the most influential conservative political blogs in California if you don't take a shot across County lines from time to time?
On second thought, don't answer that.
Anyway, I just wanted to talk to my Republican friends in Orange County to warn them about an impending threat that strikes to the very core of OC Central Committee politics. I'm speaking of course about the resurgence of wanna-be Republican Ken Maddox.
Mr. Maddox, who purports to be a Republican is seeking the elected office of Sheriff of Orange County. I'll save the criticisms of Mr. Maddox for which I have no direct knowledge for those that I know will come forth and concentrate on one specific intransigence that I know Ken Maddox has committed.
Ken Maddox LOVES Big Labor. Mr. Maddox is closer to the union bosses then bed bugs are to their prey. And that pretty much sums up the type of relationship the 2 of them share.
Case in point: Ken Maddox (a Republican remember) turned his back on the core principle of Republicanism by backing a union-only Project Labor Agreement (.pdf) on the El Toro Airport expansion. By making this pronouncement, Mr. Maddox indicated that he prefers that construction jobs in Orange County go to multi-national, Big Labor Union construction companies as opposed to the smaller, minority and women owned construction contractors that make up something like 80% of the construction industry. Furthermore, Mr Maddox has signed onto the Socialist agenda by agreeing that all laborers that, for whatever reason, have decided not to join the union must pay dues to the union and must join the union benefits trust even if their employers is already providing them with medical and retirement benefits.
Ken Maddox has bragged in speeches (.pdf) that he is pro-union. Ken Maddox supports Van Tran in his bid for a "do-over" against the wonderfully conservative AND pro-Merit Shop County Supervisor Janet Nguyen. As my colleague Matt Cunningham points out, Ms. Nguyen is currently drawing fire from some Republicans on the OC Central Committee. Many, but not Matt Cunningham, believe this shrapnel is coming from Van Tran influences. In short, some Republicans in Orange County are very displeased that one Republican fairly beat another Republican in a free and open election for the County seat. Thusly they are looking to, by any means available, undo that terrible injustice. As a result, Some members of the Central Committee are having a difficult time deciding if they will endorse the REPUBLICAN INCUMBENT for the seat!
To some enterprising Van Tran fans, the funding and promotion of Ken Maddox might be yet another maneuver on the road to getting rid of Janet Nguyen.
In some perverse way, I am a bit jealous of all the brouhaha going on in the OC. We have nothing quite as fascinating going on here in LA. But even though all this makes for interesting political theater, it is wholly unhealthy for one of the most influential Republican Central Committees in the state to allow itself to be fractured by Republicans that reject the very core principles of what this party was not only founded on but was rejuvenated by under the leadership of Ronald Reagan.
I look forward to your comments and criticisms.
Allen Wilson is exactly the kind of person who would like another Bush term. I applaud the SGV...
Bravo! Well said. Tran, like Maddox, is also a pro-union hack. Don't be surprised if he pushes for a PLA on the 241 extension.
The last time that LA GOPers tried to get involved with Orange County, you almost cost us a great law school dean.
Just because Republicans have very little pull in LA politics does not mean that you are invited behind the Orange Curtain!
Many, but not Matt Cunningham, believe this shrapnel is coming from Van Tran influences.
Actually, what I said is Tim Whitacre -- the Central Committee member who pulled Janet's name from the early endorsement list -- is not a part of the Van Tran operation. I have no illusions that the Assemblyman has his hands in tonight's Central Committee brouhaha.
Feel free to fire rounds over the county line anytime, Kevin!
Whoa-Whoa, Mr. Anonymous! We've been involved together on many efforts, and are simply pointing out concerns that may trickle across the Dodger-Angel divide.
With Sheriff Corona joining the ranks of our Republican fallen, there is a BIG concern that your liberal counterparts are going to have strong ammunition to take over a key position in Orange County. Look what it took to save Rep. Cunningham's seat! If you don't think the machine supported by the Sanchez sisters is eyeing that seat, you're naive as can be!
Remember that by number Los Angeles County has MORE republians than Orange County. You just haven't been as infiltrated as we have yet, likely because those that cut your grass drive back across the divde to our county after they're done.
We're going to need each other in both 2008 & 2010 to keep OC red and start working on LAC by taking some key seats, like the 54th AD.
Thanks for the clarification Matt. It wasn't completely clear to me the first time I read your piece.
Anon, 12:51 is right, worry about L.A. County and we in O.C. will worry about O.C. When L.A. County GOP hacks worked with O.C., you brought national embarrassment on a law school that had not even opened its doors.
Like, oh my gosh, stick to the Valley!
So, am I to assume that those that are telling me to butt out disagree with my position and are too scared to debate me on the merits of my argument? Because this is exactly what I will assume until someone offers evidence to the contrary.
Kevin,
Matt is wrong. Tim Whitacre IS part of the "Trannies." No one else in the OC GOP will put up with his B.S.
Art Pedroza is both angry and wrong. His vision has been consistently obscured by his jealousy mind against the success of our fellow good republicans. Therefore, his words are worth less than a penny.
Kevin,
What are you smoking in order to come up with such a fairy tale on Ken Maddox? What do you really know about Janet Nguyen? Give all of us a break and stick with LA politics -- your neighborhood. You got your hands full up there with Antonio and Fabian.
Kevin:
The day when Art Pedroza agrees with you is the day you have lost all credibility in my eyes. Misery does love company.
Don't pick fights when you don't have all the facts. Otherwise, you will sound like a moron.
Good grief folks, is the SUBSTANCE of Kevin's post true or not? Is Maddox a union hack or not? Was he a darling of union bosses or not? Did he receive tens of thousands of dollars from the number 1 Democrat funding sourse (unions) or not? Does he support discrimination in the form of PLAs or not? Good grief, some of you guys get an "F" in debate and rhetoric class.
To those of you that keep telling me to mind my own business,
You all are the ones that are not credible in this debate. And why is that? That is because you refuse to refute anything I have said here. I have indeed laid down my opinion but the substance of what I wrote here ties Mr. Maddox to the Unions. Now if you happen to believe that it is a good thing for a Republican seeking elected office to take money from and do the bidding of Big Labor, then so be it. Just tell us so. But you are not doing your case any good by simply telling me to shut up.
So keep right on telling this forum that I should mind my own business without refuting my claims. It only serves to bolster the credibility of information I have presented here and it defines you as someone that is intimidated by free and open debate of the issues.
With the amount of traffic this post has generated, this should have been published as a feature, Kevin.
Hindsight is 20/20 Matt.
interesting post and responses. Seems to me that if a Democrat were caught not supporting any of big labors basic demands that he/she would not be re-elected and would be black balled. Yet apparently when a supposed Republican who has held office throws the basic principles of the party in not only the parties face but of those that back it with financial assistance, he should get a pass. Throw out all the bums that are appeasers! From both parties! They are useless tools that do not deserve anything of value from people who actually believe in anything (left or right). I'd rather see a political boxing match by those who believe in their causes, not by "fixed" politicians who only care about their own personal agenda...
It would appear that blogger "SB Insider" has decided to start his own blog post rebutting my comments here: http://www.redcounty.com/sanbernardino/2008/01/ken-maddox-friend-of-law-enfor/
Kevin:
What debate? You casted aspersions against people and call it a debate? Who would want to engage in such a low class discussion with you when all you do is to spew venom against people you don't like. Read your post again and tell us where's the beef? Good grief!
You've got to be kidding me. I proved that Maddox is a fraud as a Republican. I provided DOCUMENTATION for this.
Once again, a commenter has failed to discredit anything I make claim to in my blog post, which further bolsters my contention that everybody knows I'm right but some don't want to admit it.
Kevin,
So, are you also going to call Ronald Reagan a Republican fraudster too for raising taxes as the Governor of California? It's documented and it's actionable.
You may disagree with Ken Maddox on a few votes or some of the things he said, or may be don't even like the way he dresses, but to call him a "fraud" of a Republican is going beyond the sane. You lose credibility and respect with me and many others when you start calling people names and engage in gratuitous polemics.
Now, you can disagree with people and that is fine. You don't need to throw sand in people's eyes. We're not kids and we don't like to play in your sandbox on this blog.
Well ANONYMOUS, you are entitled to your opinion, as am I. I think Maddox would be an excellent candidate for Sheriff if he was running as a Democrat. If he runs as a Republican, the Republican Party can not and must not support him. He's a tool for the unions and that is the domain of the Democrats.
Found a great quote from John Edwards that I think is very apropos. I think he said this in regards to the nice things that Obama has recently said about Ronald Reagan.
"I would never use Ronald Reagan as an example of change," Edwards said. "You think about what Ronald Reagan did, to America, the American people, to the middle class, to working people. He was openly, openly intolerant of unions and the right to organize."
Does that give all of you clueless Republicans a clue as to why some of us are so hostile towards Big Labor-loving Republicans?
Quote via www.imao.us
Kevin,
The comments that you don't have a clue as to what is happening in OC are right on. You come off as a self important, wannabe raconteur at best and a complete liar at worst.
Since when have Maddox and "the wonderfully conservative AND pro-Merit Shop County Supervisor Janet Nguyen" ever been at odds? First of all Nguyen is NOT wonderfully conservative OR pro-Merit Shop. Your post doesn't offer any evidence of this and is taken from some unknown fairy land. If you had been at all knowledgeable about OC politics you would have known that Nguyen got her start in politics as staffer and worked her way up to District Director for guess who? Then Assemblyman Ken Maddox. She worked for him for years and was his liaison to the Viet community.
If you consider police and fire employee unions as unions then yeah she got elected to the Garden Grove City Council with union money a la Maddox and again as Supervisor. It's in her campaign disclosure report. CDR. See Historical, 2005-2006, Contributions Received, GG Firefighters PAC.
Matt, who have this guy a blogpen? His credentials seem way off.
Alas Art "Pez Dispenser" Pedroza is backing you with a sugary bravo. The blind leading the blind.
Hooked,
You should at least Google my name and investigate what I do for a living before you accuse me of not knowing who is on what side in the Merit Shop vs. Big Labor war.
The fact that I live and work in Los Angeles does not mean I am not intimately aware of what is going on in the next County over.
I fail to see how the fact that Janet used to work for Maddox has anything to do with the claims I have made and substantiated through documentation (something you offer none of).
As for the Public Unions of the Police and Firefighters, we're talking PRIVATE UNIONS here. Please try to stay with the rest of the class. Maddox shills for private construction union contractors and that is why he is pro-union. To support the Fire or Police Unions (and visa versa) though not a place I would go for money is nothing like taking money from The Building Trades which are on a warpath with the Merit Shop to institute union-only labor agreements where ever they can.
How interesting that those critical of me don't have the balls to give up their identities.
Kevin,
As you can see, I wrote my first post the early morning after Super Tuesday. Perhaps I should have been more precise.
My comments were directed at your expertise/credentials in branding Nguyen's political ideologies. The fact that she was his staffer and ran his district office is completely relevant to your argument. Who do you think wrote the letter on Assemblyman Ken Maddox letterhead supporting the unions? Maddox himself? No. It was his his staff. Perhaps it was Nguyen perhaps not, but she didn't oppose it or did she fail to disseminate it throughout the community in her role. Last time I checked that's what District Directors do.
As for the public and private union distinction, frankly the differences are subtle but the core rationale for their existence are the same. They both support coffer draining pensions and unreasonable adherence to scaled benefits. Forgive my lack of hyperlinking skills. But if you go to Cal Access you can access her campaign disclosure reports and see multiple contributions from public union orgs.