There is an Indian-American running for governor here in California. His name is Neel Kashkari. He has no chance of winning because the latest poll shows that he is only favored by 2% of the voters vs Jerry Brown who has 47%. He even trails another Republican, Tim Donnelly, whohas 10%. Even though he has no chance of winning and based on what I read, I don't agree with him on several topics, I will keep an eye on him. This is due to the fact he is an unusual candidate and I want to see if his unorthodox candidacy can at least beat his Republican opponent in the primary and give Brown a run in the general election.
First of all, Kashkari has never run for office, so he is not a career politician. Despite not known by the electorate, he is endorsed by the likes of former governor Pete Wilson, Congressman Darrell Issa and Mitt Romney. Trained as a mechanical engineer, he eventually got his MBA and a job at Goldman Sachs. It was at Sachs that he worked under former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson. Paulson tabbed Kashkari to be in charge of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2008. A life long Republican, he voted for Obama in 2008 and stayed at the helm of TARP after Obama took office. He left to work for Pimco in 2009. He voted for Romney in 2012.
I find Kashkari's story interesting because he uses his work at TARP on his resume as a badge of honor. His Republican opponent, of course, says that no Republican should vote for someone in charge of TARP and voted for Obama. Most Republicans have accused Obama as a socialist for TARP, not mentioning that it was Paulson's idea under Bush that TARP got started and it was run by a Republican even when Obama took over. Many Republicans say TARP was a waste of tax payer's money. But now a Republican running for office with backing of moderate Republicans, is saying that TARP saved the financial market. There is argument on both sides but if Kashkari beats Donnelly, will other Republicans support Kaahkari?
The other thing about Kashkari is that, unlike most politicians, he does not speak in vague terms. He has already written what he would do if he was governor. Now I don't agree on some of the things he say such as no raising of the minimum wage and no corporate income tax for 10 years for any company that move to Californiia. But he isputting it out there for discussion as oppose to someone who says: "I am going to create jobs". Kashkari also does not mince words. He told a mix crowd at Berkeley that reversing the ban on affirmative action as advocated by Democrats is just a way of saying there are too many Asians at Berkeley. He is not afraid of being politically incorrect.
So he has a lot of people on both Republican and Democratic sides mad at him. By the way, his remark about not raising the minimum wage came right after Romney said that it is reasonable to raise the minimum wage. So Kashkari is not afraid to antagonize one of his own big name supporters. So to sum up, he has no chance of winning. But I am hoping he will have a decent showing even though I am not sure if I would vote for him. But having both sides attack him while bring concrete ideas for discussion, makes Kashkari a candidate that I am interested in following.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
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Interesting candidate. I wonder who got him to run and who is backing him financially.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe that Brown is so popular after all these years. I don't know how he does it.
I usually like candidates who don't follow party lines but in order to win, you've got to play the game. Obviously, he isn't doing it and has no chance of getting the nomination.
Now, he can't really deny the TARP stuff, so he's already behind the 8 Ball, so I can't imagine he thinks he could get the nomination. Unless the Republicans in California are more liberal than other states.
I saw an interview with Tim Geithner, who resigned as Treasury Secretary. He seemed really honest about his days as the TS. He took a lot of the blame regarding TARP, but we all knew that something had to be done for the banks.
The reality was that the banks had the economy by the balls and there was nothing anyone could do about it. There's no way a politician would let the banks fold. There was too much at stake.
So, while Geithner blames himself for pushing TARP, he wasn't alone. And nobody really thought the banks would screw consumers. Luckily, the banks paid everything back with interest. So I don't necessarily call TARP a failure.
It did what it was supposed to do. It's just unfortunate that the banks showed no compassion in return and it was business as usual.
Did you end up watching 24 last week? What did you think?
-LBOAYM
In California the primaries are open. That means it is the top 2 regardless of party that go to the runoff in November general election. So he does not have to get a majority of the GOP voters. He just have to get enough non Republicans to cross over to beat Donnelly. Of course he would have no chance against Brown but at least TARP does not hurt him in the primary as many independents believe that there was no better choice for the government at that time. I may just vote for him to make it more interesting in the fall.
ReplyDeleteGeithner was a protege of Paulson. So if one criticizes Geithner and Obama, one must criticize Paulson and Bush as well. The same people who criticize TARP are also against bank and Wall Street regulations. This I don't understand. Paulson and Kashdari were both at Goldman Sachs which have sent so many people to the Treasury dept. that it is nicknamed Government Sachs. So before anyone thinks the Democrats are socialists, look at all the capitalists running this and other administrations.
I have been watching 24 and it seems very good. But there is only 12 episodes so there won't be 24 hours of action? That will deviate from previous seasons, right? Are you shock that Davis is out of DWTS? I can't believe that Candace is in the finals. This must be the Bible effect alas Bristol Palin.
They do a similar thing in Michigan where you can vote in the primary, but you have to be a registered person of the party. There's been talk here in the past that people were voting to mess up the primaries which seems screwed up.
ReplyDeleteBut that's within the rules, so if you really wanted to skew the numbers, then it's OK, I guess. I mean, I am sure there are others who are doing it too!
For some reason, my DVR did not record the first 15 minutes of 24 last night, so I don't know what happened. I have enjoyed it. I read a bad review on the first two shows, but I think if you're a big fan of 24, it doesn't really matter.
I am already interested to see what twists and turns will occur!
As far as DWTS (a show I DO NOT WATCH), I "heard" that White, not Davis, did not make the cut, which is unfortunate. I think he was really good. I think there was a huge push for Davis after the low scores they received the week before.
She is still the one to beat. I am just not a fan of hers or Maks. I was really rooting for White, so I guess I'll have to root for the girl with fake legs. Did you think that Davis' quick step was a 10? I thought it was close, but I didn't think her kicks were as crisp as others before.
Candace did a good job last week and she's coming out of her shell a little more. It also helps that she has a really good partner. This again shows how much easier it is for a woman to succeed on the show.
I am impressed with James Maslow. He's like the San Antonio Spurs of DWTS. He's not super flashy but does enough to win. I guess being good looking probably helps with the voting too.
So, to answer your question on Candace, I think she deserves to make it to the final. She does seem to have a big following and she does put the Bible stuff out there. But is she as good a dancer as White? No.
So I think what happened is that people didn't vote for White because they thought he would advance.
Pretty good for someone who doesn't watch the show, huh?
Did you finish True Detective?
-LBOAYM
Well, in California now you don't have to declare a party. My absentee ballot has names of all candidates. It used to be you have to ask to change from one party to another for a primary ballot if you want to cross over but not anymore. So I can vote for a democrat for governor and a Republican for sec. of state in the primary. An interesting scenario occurred last election when a democratic district had so many democrats splitting up the votes that the 2 Republicans ended up as the top 2 for the general election!
ReplyDeleteI made a mistake to write Davis instead of White. I think now Amy may win due to sympathy factor and Derrick is a better coach than Maks.
The 2nd episode of True Detective kept stopping so I have not been able to finish it. The disc had slight problem on episode one but I was able to finish it. I am thinking of skipping to the third episode and if I don't understand what's happening I can look it up on internet of the story line in episode 2. I just finished first season of House of Cards and will try to get back to True Detective this weekend. What do you think of Stan Van Gundy for the Pistons? I think Jeff would have been more interesting.
What did you think of House of Cards? I thought it was pretty good, but I have no desire to watch the second season. There are no redeeming qualities for each character which bugs me.
ReplyDeleteNot a big fan of Stan Van Gundy. There's a reason why he's left every place he's been. But it's a bold move by the Pistons and time will tell. He's a decent coach and is proven.
I just am not a huge fan of retreads.
-LBOAYM
I enjoyed House of cards but it is unrealistic when a politician kills another. Even if he is that evil, given his power, he would not have done it himself.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone can turn the Pistons into a contender soon unless they got lucky in the draft. Stan is a good coach but he is not even the best in his family!