California is often cited by conservatives as a liberal bastion headed toward destruction under the weight of its own big-government policies championed by the Democrats who occupy every statewide office and hold a near-supermajority in both houses of the Legislature.
There is some truth to that.
For example, few people have had more influence on politics in California over the last four decades than Governor Jerry Brown. His legacy? Proposing record-high state spending, some of the highest taxes in the nation and–worst of all–the destruction of the middle class.
Back in 1980, during Gov. Brown’s first term in office, California ranked 11th in terms of workforce education; the state ranked 24th in the nation in jobs.
Today, California ranks 47th in the nation in jobs and 48th in the nation in workforce education.
Some 17 percent of people are out of work or are stuck in a part-time job. Yet Sacramento continually passes laws and regulations that make it harder and harder for small businesses to grow and hire workers.
Worse still, the head of the world’s eighth largest economy and the de facto leader of California’s Democratic Party isn’t doing anything to change the culture of corruption that has permeated Sacramento.
Just this year, three Democratic state senators have been charged or convicted of crimes ranging from voter fraud to arms trafficking.
The good news is that there is a path back to prosperity. There is a better way–one that Breitbart readers have been preaching for years. A path paved by the principles of limited government and hard work in which Republicans and fiscal conservatives have long believed.
There’s a hunger for that path, and Kevin Faulconer’s win in the San Diego mayoral race in February underscores that fact. His victory was encouraging not only because so many of us–myself included–had the privilege of getting the vote out for Kevin, but because it confirms that Republicans can win in California by promoting positive economic ideas that unite people and encourage them to move forward together.
In the same way, we can take back Sacramento. After all, we know how to unleash the private sector and create good jobs. We know how to lure jobs to our state–Gov. Rick Perry is doing it in Texas. We know we have to untangle the giant ball of yarn created by Sacramento’s “gotcha” regulatory complex–Gov. Mitch Daniels helped do it in Indiana.
We can do it in California, too, and Breitbart California’s launch can only help amplify the message and help us hold Jerry Brown and his fellow Democrats accountable for their record of failed leadership.
Together, we can take the fight to Sacramento–and we can win.
Neel Kashkari is a Republican candidate for Governor of California.