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More than 20 percent of California’s registered voters are designated Hispanic or Latino.  Based on recent voting history, the Barbara Boxer campaign expects to win two-thirds or more of these voters in November, and the Republican Party seems to be doing everything in its power to put this important voting block in the Democrats’ hands. Republicans have dug a deep hole with many Latinos by taking a hard line on immigration reform, supporting Arizona’s controversial (and now largely nullified)

Meg Whitman had been surging the past few weeks and Democratic politicos were getting nervous. Was Jerry Brown going to do anything or just get steamrolled by eMeg? What a difference a week makes. A poll released July 28 by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that Whitman has stalled and is still a few points behind Brown.  Environmental issues, the poll shows, are becoming a primary concern. The BP Gulf oil well blowout has unquestionably been a factor. California voters now oppos

Time Magazine’s Tim Padgett writes that Arizona’s immigration law, parts of which were struck down by a federal judge, is unjustifiable on statistical grounds. In Immigration Debate: Border Cities See Less Violent Crime, he labels the law “draconian” because border violence, from San Diego to Brownsville, is actually down.  Citing FBI figures in numerous Arizona border cities, Padgett writes: “Consider Arizona itself — whose illegal-immigrant population is believed to be second only to Califor

With a federal judge striking key provisions of Arizona’s immigration law, the Obama administration proclaimed victory along with labor union allies.  Labor unions have been some of the staunchest opponents of the Arizona law and strongest advocates of a fast track legalization process. Among these unions would be the UFCW and SEIU.  And their strong opposition to the Arizona law would seem to make sense from a political perspective.  Slower influxes of immigrants to the states would stunt memb

While Arizona’s immigration law is set to take effect this Thursday, there is much to consider both now and after the law is implemented.  It seems as if the law is already fulfilling its intentions. The LA Times is reporting that many illegals are fleeing the state ahead of July 29, the date the law takes effect.  Their article, however, demonstrates their bias in such a way that frames the Arizona government as villains of Arizona’s small businesses whose customers are illegal immigrants.  In

California is poised to become the nation’s first state to ban single-use plastic and paper bags at supermarkets and convenience stores. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, breaking with his usual practice of not taking a position on legislation until it reaches his desk, praised passage of the measure by the Assembly in June, signaling his likely signature should it pass in the Senate. “This bill will be a great victory for our environment,” the GOP governor said in a statement.   Pending in the Sena

Luis Gutierrez, the Illinois congressman leading the push for comprehensive immigration reform, still believes that a bill of some sort will pass before the November midterms.  “Immigration reform is still possible this year...The American people demand law and order and secure borders and comprehensive immigration reform is the only way to get there,” he said in a written statement. He added that President Obama will make it incumbent upon Congress to pass a bill soon.  He also touted that pas

Voters are convinced that the Obama Administration’s pursuit of a lawsuit against Arizona’s immigration law is the wrong approach in dealing with the matter.  A Rasmussen poll released last week shows that 56 percent of the nation’s likely voters oppose the lawsuit. In fact, 61 percent of the nation’s likely voters would support an Arizona-like immigration law in their own state.  Those who label the law as racist, on the other hand, believe that a majority of the nation is on the fringe side o

The LA Times reports that anti-SB 1070 activists are attempting capitalize on Latino voter anger over Arizona’s immigration law, by working to transform Hispanic sentiment into ballot box dividends for Democrats in the coming election.  “Activists hope that SB 1070, which Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law in April and is scheduled to take effect July 29, will generate enough angry new Latino voters...to reshape this state's hard-line approach to immigration,” the Times writes. Will it

On July 1, the federal government and dozens of states set up temporary “high-risk” health insurance pools for people denied health insurance due to so-called pre-existing conditions. These pools were one of the major provisions included in federal health care reform signed into law early this year. However, this is only a temporary fix intended to provide health insurance to individuals without coverage until the law goes fully into effect in 2014, when insurance companies will no longer be ab