So if you are a conservative in the California legislature, and you decide you want to seek higher (or lower) office – you can expect a few questions to come your way. As important as the no taxes 
pledge has rightfully become in GOP primaries because government at every level has expanded well beyond a sustainable level, the next big question will be – “How did you vote on the confirmation of Abel Maldonado as Lt. Governor?”
If you are a conservative in the state legislature, public policy positions taken by an official that you would place one-heartbeat (a very strong heartbeat, Governor) away from the state’s top job matter – in fact they matter a lot.
Who occupies this position also matters a lot for the messaging of our party. We already have the Governor who dismisses routinely GOP legislators in the Capitol – and with Maldonado we will have another “media darling” who will use his bully pulpit to attack conservatives.
I literally don’t have the space to list out all of the votes cast by Abel Maldonado that make any limited government rhetoric he espouses completely dishonest – but let’s take some high notes (and we’ll add some language to this list to make it clear)…
I voted to confirm Abel Maldonado as Lt. Governor because…
…because I think people that voluntary take a no new taxes pledge and then violate it should be rewarded…
…he blackmailed the legislature into voting for a terrible “top two” election measure that would decimate the Republican Party if it passes…
…he thinks that criminal aliens should be able to get in-state tuition at U.C. and C.S.U. universities…
…he thinks that the draconian AB 32 is actually a good idea…
…he, having voted against it previously, voted in favor of creating a day of appreciation for former SF Supervisor Harvey Milk…
(with little effort this list could go on for pages… We’ll finish with one more item below…)
And the main reason that I, as a conservative, voted to confirm Abel Maldonado is because I really wanted a Lt. Governor who believes that I, and other conservatives, are the problem here in the Capitol.
While this list above was presenting in a satirical fashion, this is actually a very serious vote. Abel Maldonado does not deserve the votes of conservatives, and should not be confirmed to this office. His vision for the future of California is one of bigger government, more government-created jobs, more government-mandated regulations on business, and less freedom and liberty for the people of this state. And these are all conclusions we can draw from examining his actual voting record.
In closing, I understand that some conservatives feel that Maldonado has been so bad as a State Senator, and that the office of Lt. Governor is so insignificant, that we should relegate Maldonado to this obscure office so that he is no longer wreaking havoc in the Senate. With all due respect, I think this logic is flawed. And it also misses the point that as Lt. Governor, Maldonado gains an advantage in a Republican primary for the job, and having Abel Maldonado on the GOP ticket — campaigning simultaneously for his election, and at the same time against his party – would be a tragedy.
So if you are a conservative legislator reading this – read up on Maldonado so that you are educated in making your decision – and then let your heart guide you. Should this man be one seat away from the Governor’s chair? I think you already know the answer. Ask yourself how long it will take before he is attacking YOU for being a "doctrinaire ideologue…"
If other people want to vote for him, that’s their prerogative. But a principled conservative in the legislature should not have to defend Abel Maldonado’s record. And yet, everyone who votes to confirm him will have to do just that…
And as for Maldonado, he must be the most important person in the room, because while he insists that you are the problem, he not-so-modestly puts himself forward as the solution.
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