As part of our regular survey of CA voters we often ask questions that others do not. This time we asked about how voters feel about robo calls. No surprise, they hate them.

Please do not mistake my research for my own opinion though. I support the use of robo calls (although never in the practice of conducting legitamate research) for campaigns. They are cheap and especially in response to a late hit, they can be very effective.

However most voters say they don’t even listen to the calls.

Our poll, which can be found here shows that 82% of likely voters say they find the calls annoying and a full 66% say they never listen to them.

Not listening can be a missleading answer. If a call opens with "Hi, this is Meg Whitman…" and then the voter hangs up or deletes the message,at least the impression of Meg calling has been made whether they hear the rest of her message or not.

This leads to an important tactical edict for robo calls: Put the candidates names at the begining of the call. Even if you’ve got Bill Clinton calling for… Read More

It is an outrage and of supreme concern to me and to many other people that the legislature stands poised to vote on a budget today — and still the budget and its trailer bills have not been made public.

I know the broad strokes, as it were, as those have been released. But so much of this massive document is in its details. Doesn’t the public deserve to see and understand the details in a budget before it is adopted? Shouldn’t legislators have the benefit of feedback? The benefit of perspective from those a little further away from the negotiating table?

As an anecdotal example of the devil being in the details, I am fairy sure that this budget includes the "expansion of a fee" that amounts to smacking over two-thirds of seniors in nursing homes that are NOT on government assistance to the tune of $4600 or so every year. This is a harder hit on these seniors than the massive tax increases in last year’s budget. This little "nugget" is in hiding, has not been vetted and legislators should ask… Read More

Those fundraising letters you sent out…what kind of return did you get? Four percent? Maybe 10 or even 20 percent if you sent them to friends?

So, what are you going to do about the huge majarity that haven’t replied? Whine about how not even your friends are kicking in during this difficult economy? Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Have you called them to follow up on the letter? Too difficult, you say? It’s one thing to simply send a letter, since you don’t have to deal with the reaction and possible rejection (I can hear you thinking this), but it’s quite different to actually be on the phone with someone and ask them for money.

True dat. Yes, it is. That’s exactly why you need to do it.Even well intentioned folks put a solicitation to the side until later and often forget about it…unless they get a call to remind them, a direct plea as to why you need the funds and how you’re going to serve their best interests in elective office.

To most politicians, it’s the most hated — and avoided — part of campaigning.

Winners commit to doing it. The political ash-heap is laden with… Read More

When Proposition 1A was "birthed" last year as a part of the terrible 2009 budget deal that gave us the largest tax increase in the history of any state, it was highly respected and noted economist Benjamin Zycher who poured over the details of the so-called "spending cap" in 1A, and came the unfortunate conclusion that the so-called "spending cap" contained in it was very poorly written, and helped us conclude that even without massive tax increases tied to it, it should be defeated. Happily, 1A’s tax increases and faux spending cap were given the heave-ho by the voters.

With the "secret squirrel" budget deal being voted on today, we hear that there is another ballot measure in the works that purports to put forward a spending cap for voter consideration. The question is this: Have changes been made to the language from last year’s 1A proposal that would cause respected economists like Zycher to give it a seal of approval?

The problem with "back room" budget deals is that there isn’t… Read More

Two pieces today in the mail.

#1 Meg Whitman "A New California". As a writer of mail myself I can be a bit picky. I like this piece. It’s clean and to the point. Job well done.

#2 COPS Voter Guide. I particularly enjoyed the statement by the President of the organization (who I know, and usually like) "PORAC endorsements are non-partisan and CANNOT BE BOUGHT nor influenced by political or special interest pressures" (my bold). Then in the official disclosure "Appearance is paid for and authorized by each candidate and ballot measure designated by an *". Several in fact have the * in question. But not Jerry Brown. He’s a free bee. Sigh. Isn’t Jerry Brown the guy who appointed Rose Bird?… Read More

A little after midnight last Wednesday, Congress, both the House and Senate, adjourned until after Election Day. Apparently, we will come back for a "lame duck" session starting November 15th. This adjournment occurred earlier than had originally been planned, as a majority of Democrats were desperate to get home and campaign.

Normally, and particularly with this Congress, any time the House and Senate are out of session, the nation is much better off than when we are in session spending money, raising taxes, restricting freedom, and killing jobs. However, Congress left town last week leaving one major piece of work undone. On January 1, 2011, the largest tax increase in American history will occur unless Congress acts. All Republicans and dozens of Democrats in both houses have publicly stated that they support extending the current tax rates for ALL taxpayers, at least for a couple of years. Based on these announcements, it is pretty clear that a bill to extend all of those rates would pass both houses should a vote be taken today. But, in a demonstration of the importance of who it is that holds the gavel of Speaker and Majority Leader, Pelosi… Read More

Less Than One Month To Go!

We are now less than one month from Election Day and our campaign is traveling from Eureka to San Diego to speak to you, the voters, about your concerns with how state government is being run in Sacramento. I wanted to share some exciting news from the campaign trail with you and let you know how you can get involved in taking back Sacramento on November 2nd.

Today, the National Federation of Independent Business awarded me a 100% approval rating for my work… Read More

Marketing 101: Product Differentiation. It’s a basic principle of marketing. You can’t expect to sell a product, and especially compete sucessfully with an established one, if you’re selling the same thing. You need to tell people why yours is different.

Politics 101: How can you expect to win against established forces if you aren’t giving the public any reasons to do so? That campaign theme of, "This is a great community and/or public agency, and it does a great job," is perfect for an incumbent’s effort. For a challenger, it’s a non-starter. The public’s simple assumption will be that if things are so great, the powers-that-be must be doing something right.

Such a failed theme (usually seen in local "non-partisan" campaigns, where challengers are hesitant about saying anything negative about their community)is typically followed by, "…yet, I am the better candidate." Uhh-huh. All you’ve done is educate folks to why you’re qualified, instead of why the person being challenged is not — or no longer — suited… Read More