Midterm Morning After: Left Coast Perspective

In this brief, single-topic podcast, PBC recaps the midterm election from his Left and Left Coast perspective: Californians rejected corporate tool candidates and initiatives! Brown beat eMeg despite her record spending of $160 million; Boxer beat failed CEO Fiorina despite the big spending by Karl Rove’s GPS and other outside GOP groups; Texas Oil’s Prop 23 was soundly rejected by voters; and Dave Jones won as Insurance Commissioner despite insurance industry support for his opponent. BigBiz did win Prop 24 (which would have rolled back tax breaks for corporations) and Prop 26, which now requires 2/3 votes to raise fees at the local and state level. Prop 19 to legalize cannabis lost, but the anti-gerrymandering forces passed Prop 20 and defeated Prop 27 by big margins. PBC goes on to comment on the Dems loss of control of the House and Pelosi’s speakership, and to point out the failures of leadership by the President that marked the first two years of Obama’s term, and his weak statements at the post-election news conference that invite more GOP obstruction. PBC says “lower your expectations, again.” For more detailed comments on the midterm elections, Podcasts 193 and 194 will feature analysis from Tim Carpenter of Progressive Democrats of America, journalist Robert Parry, Political Science Prof. David Coates, and language and framing expert Jeffrey Feldman.

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