“The problem is we’ve got too many people running the state of California that have never worked in the private sector,” said Kimberlin Brown Pelzer during a Wednesday interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight with co-hosts Rebecca Mansour and Joel Pollak.
Pelzer is a Republican candidate for California’s 36th Congressional District, seeking to displace Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA).
A school-to-government pipeline is filling the political class with persons lacking practical economic and business experience, said Pelzer. This phenomenon, she added, has increased Californians’ expectations of and dependencies on state-run redistributive programs.
“I think the problem is we’ve got too many people running the state of California that have never worked in the private sector,” said Brown. “I saw it myself when I was in Washington, DC. You’ve got these wonderful kids that graduate from college, and they go straight into an internship in politics in somebody’s office, and they were such a great intern that – ‘Wow, I want you on my staff. You were such a great staff member that you should run my campaign, and you were so good at that, I’m going to make you my chief of staff, and wow, you should run for office. You’re just amazing!’ Life doesn’t work that way. People used to come to America to live the American Dream of hard work and fruit for your labors, and we’ve turned California into a place where people come with their hand out, and you and I pay for it, and that’s got to change.”
Lack of business experience among politicians is contributing to economic ruin, said Pelzer. “We have people running this state, certain people running this country that don’t even understand what a budget is, how to adhere to it, and make one work. You can’t spend what you don’t have.”
The spread of leftism across university and college campuses stimulated Pelzer’s political activism when considering post-secondary schools for her son. “When I started looking for colleges for my son, I realized how our youth are being taught at a very young age values that I didn’t grow up with in the state of California and most people didn’t across the United States. I just couldn’t be quiet any longer.”
Pelzer’s earliest political activism came at a campaign rally for then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016, where she spoke among a group of California businesswomen. “I went to a group of a hundred California businesswomen before a Trump rally. He was running late, and they asked us if we wanted to get up and talk about things that were affecting us. And something came over me, and I jumped out of my seat after a few women spoke.”
Pelzer aligned herself with Trump’s political vision, echoing the America First slogan. Electing her would assist Trump’s agenda, she added. “I believe in this president. I spoke for this president. I believe he needs people in office that are going to help the issues that we put him there to get accomplished. I’ve been told I have a voice that people will listen to, but I’ve got to tell you, it’s not just my voice. I speak for so many small business people here in California and across the United States.”
As an operator of an avocado farm, Pelzer criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement’s (NAFTA) effects on domestic agricultural businesses. Produce from Mexico – particularly avocados and grapes in the context of California – is destroying American farmers’ financial viability, she said.
“I live with the horrors of it every day,” said Pelzer, referring to her experiences as an employer of more than one hundred people in dealing with federal regulations, such as the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and trade agreements, such as NAFTA.
Political “celebrity” is not appealing, said Pelzer, noting her career as a soap opera star on The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
“I believe everyone goes to Washington with the best of intentions, but they get there and they become their own brand of celebrity,” said Pelzer. “I’ve already lived that lifestyle. I’m not impressed by dinner parties at somebody’s home of influence. I’m not impressed by sending my family to Hawaii for trips or on game drives in Africa. We need people in office that are going to go there and work for the people, and I truly believe this is the time for me to step forward as President Trump did and make a difference.”
“I’m tired of people taking my voice away,” said Pelzer. “I’m tired of people telling me how I should behave and what I should think and what is acceptable – when I know the things they are telling me are wrong and inappropriate.”
Breitbart News Tonight airs Monday through Friday on SiriusXM’s Patriot channel 125 from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Eastern (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Pacific).
LISTEN:
Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter @rkraychik.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.