This week the Santa Clarita Valley Republican Assembly posted a resolution they had just passed on their Facebook page. Short version: "thanks, but no thanks." Santa Clarita Republicans-- not to mention normal people in Santa Clarita, absolutely detest Tony Strickland, the carpetbagger who switched districts from CA-26 to CA-25 this month. (People in CA-26 who contributed money because they preferred him to Julia Brownley, are just out of luck. He's not giving anyone their money back.) Anyway, here's the resolution:
WHEREAS; California's 25th congressional seat is a safe Republican seat and deserves to be represented by a conservative Republican;WHEREAS; moderate former state Senator Tony Strickland has announced his intention to run in the 25th congressional even though he does not live in the district;WHEREAS; Tony Strickland failed to vote "No" on AB 2189 which would have granted driver's licenses to illegal aliens;WHEREAS; Tony Strickland attacked hunter's rights by voting "Yes" on SB 1221 which banned hunters from using dogs to hunt bear or bobcats;WHEREAS; Tony Strickland voted "Yes" in AB 2470 mandating health plan requirements that increase government control and has driven up the cost of health care;WHEREAS; Tony Strickland was the only Republican elected official listed on the California Air Resources Board web site as a supporter of AB 32, the so-called Global Warming Solution Bill;THEREFORE; be it resolved that the SCVRA opposes Tony Strickland running for the 25th congressional district and encourages state Senator Steve Knight to run if Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon decides to retire in 2014.
They're right about one thing: Strickland would be a ghastly choice to send to Congress. Their crackpot candidate from Palmdale, Steve Knight (son of Pete), is even worse. Polling shows the district would love to get rid of McKeon, but they want to replace him with Democrat Lee Rogers, not with someone even more extreme than McKeon.Knight's voting record would be ultra-conservative if he represented a backward district in Alabama or Mississippi. In suburban L.A., it's just bizarre and a throwback to another century. Widely considered a shill for the NRA and an automaton for the most extreme right-wing proposals that ever come up in Sacramento, Knight was one of only 11 senators who voted against increasing the minimum wage and, despite representing a district with a huge Hispanic population, he was one of only 8 senators who voted against drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants. When the Governor decided to expand Medicaid in line with the Affordable Care Act, only 7 die-hard right-wingers opposed it, Knight being one of them. He was also one of only 8 senators to fully back unregulated fracking in earthquake zones in California. He is vehemently anti-Choice and anti-gay and voted against every piece of legislation promoting equality that has ever come before him. For example, last May he was one of only 9 senators to vote against a bipartisan bill that prohibits tax-exempt status for organizations that discriminate against the LGBT community and he also one one of only seven sociopaths who opposed an anti-bullying bill that passed the Senate with huge bipartisan support. One legislator told me that Knight isn't a bad guy on a personal level but that he's "an inflexible ideologue… probably the single least effective member of the state legislature… Sure, Strickland is no prize but Knight makes even him look almost good!"McKeon & Knight-- 2 anti-Latino, anti-LGBT, anti-Choice, anti-family dickheadsUPDATE: As The Two Right-Wing Careerists Savage Each Other, Antonovich Begs McKeon To Stay OnFrom behind the Antelope Valley Press paywall:
Knight's list of supporters include Antelope Valley leaders like Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, Board of Equalization member George Runner and his wife, former state lawmaker Sharon Runner, as well as city council members from Lancaster and Palmdale.But more importantly in his quest to take votes from Strickland, a former state lawmaker from Moorpark, Knight secured endorsements from Simi Valley City Council members Mike Judge and Glenn Becerra, as well as Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy.…Knight and his backers are already taking shots at Strickland's candidacy, noting he lives just outside the 25th District and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2012 in the neighboring 26th District."Steve has been the guy who is in our community, representing our community," said Drew Mercy, a local GOP activist and leader.Strickland and Knight each have represented parts of the 25th District in the state Legislature, though, and much of the battle is likely to take place in Santa Clarita and central portions of the district.While he doesn't live inside the 25th District's boundaries-- by law he doesn't have to in order to represent it-- Strickland said he grew up in Simi Valley and has significant ties to the southern portion of the district."I'm not as well known in the Antelope Valley, and I have to get to know the citizens there," he said. "But I've represented Santa Clarita for four years, and Knight has represented it for 12 months. I'm as much a part of the district as Steve Knight."With McKeon's intentions for next year unknown, it's also unclear which candidate the longtime congressman will support should he choose to retire. Officials close to the congressman say he has made no decision and consider the announcements premature.Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, one of the region's seniormost and most influential officeholders, has gone so far as to appeal to McKeon to campaign for another term and damp down a GOP bloodletting.Speculation has been that McKeon will back Strickland, though some suggest he could sit out the race until the general election, assuming one of the two is eliminated in the primary.While Strickland didn't say he expects McKeon's endorsement, he said he and the congressman "have been very close."Knight's backers believe Strickland has been jockeying for McKeon's support for years, pointing to the 2012 state Assembly race in Santa Clarita. Strickland, who was campaigning for Congress in the nearby 26th District at the time, initially endorsed eventual winner Scott Wilk in the Assembly race. But when Patricia McKeon, Buck's wife, launched her campaign, Strickland rescinded his support for Wilk, then endorsed McKeon.