Al Muratsuchi: Tea Party "Extremist"

Before his election to the California State Assembly, Al Muratsuchi served as a prosecutor for the California Department of Justice, and then as a Torrance School Board member.

Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi

Every lawyer in the state of California takes the following oath upon admission to the state bar:

I solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of an attorney and a counsel at law to the best of my knowledge and ability.

Every school board member takes a similar oath once installed in their elected office:

"I, ______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter...."

In both of these oaths, whether for attorney or school board member, the supremacy and integrity of the United States Constitution is unquestioned and upheld.

Muratsuchi took these two oaths. Regardless of whether he lived up to the promises he made in those oaths, he served in two public capacities with the express intention of upholding and defending the United States Constitution.

Where does the Tea Party Movement stand on the United States Constitution?

From the Tea Party Movement Platform:

5. Abide by the Constitution of the United States - The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land and must be adhered to without exception at all levels of government. This includes the Bill of Rights and other Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and their provisions designed to protect states’ rights and individual liberties.

The Tea Party Movement respects the Constitution, and recognizes the instrument as the final legal authority, one which must be adhered to. In contrast to a federal government which has overreached into education (Bush), health care (Obama), military interventions (Bush and Obama), as well as aggravated deficit spending and soaring national debt (Bush and Obama), the Tea Party Movement mobilized across the country demanding that politicians in Washington abide by the clearly enumerated powers delegated to the federal government in the United States Constitution, and nothing more.

Tea Party "Extremist"

So, on this essential and crucial element, Muratsuchi and the Tea Party are actually in full agreement.

Therefore, Muratsuchi himself is a Tea Party "Extremist", even though he has cast his opponent under a negative pall with Tea Party taunts in mailer after mailer.

How can he attack a movement, and a support of that movement, when by his words and his office he supports the same causes?


Hirabayashi - Tea Party Extremist?

On another note, a well-known Japanese-American dissenter, Gordon Hirabayashi, refused to obey the federal government's curfew during World War II. Acting on his strong beliefs, including his fervent stance in the Constitution, he found that friends and family did not support his decision to resist unjust, prejudiced curfews.

Notwithstanding the setbacks he faced, he claimed a higher authority:

The United States Constitution is supposed to protect us.

He was eventually jailed for violating curfew, and spent time in federal camps. In the decades which followed, Hirabayashi challenged the convictions, which were later vacated, although the federal government never overturned the laws which criminalized individuals for their presence in public places in connection with their ethnic status.

Hirabayashi resisted those laws by appealing to the United States Constitution. He recognized that document as the supreme law of the land.

Would Muratsuchi have branded Hirabayashi a Tea Party "Extremist" as well?

Peaceful dissenter Gordon Hirabayahi
Would Assemblyman Muratsuchi consider him an extremist, too?

Muratsuchi for Better Skools

Oh my goodness.

This advertisement gaffe escapes rational discussion.

Democrats have a disdain for neighborhood harmony, anyway, as well as local control.

But for them to expose their disrespect for neighborhoods with spelling errors . . . this is just sad.

Maybe Assemblyman Muratsuchi does not hate the Tea Party Extremists.

Maybe he opposes the Tee Party or the T-Party extremists.

There are those who cannot play baseball properly, so they are dependent on having a batting tee in front of them in order to play ball.

Then there are those people who shouldn't be batting at all.

Money Heats Up in the 66th

Al says to the CA Dems: "Show me the money!"

 

Despite budget shortfalls, layoffs, and declining readership, the Los Angeles Times continues to carry water for the demeaning Democratic Party brand in the state of California.

In their latest piece on the vulnerable freshman Democrats in Sacramento, the paper published an impressive photo of Assemblyman Muratsuchi seated in the cockpit of an airplane.

Free advertising, free campaign literature for the Democratic candidate, courtesy of the Los Angles Times.

Vulnerable Assembly Democrats are locked in tight fundraising races with their GOP challengers, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday. 
 
Assemblyman Steve Fox, a Democrat from Palmdale, raised nearly $540,000 from July 1 to Sept. 30, and spent just under $530,000. Fox, a freshman legislator who won his 2012 race by just 145 votes, had nearly $160,000 at the end of the reporting period.

Steve Fox should not have won that seat in 2012. The district is majority Republican to begin with, and bad politicking lost this otherwise easy pick-up.

Republican challenger Tom Lackey, a Palmdale city councilmember, brought in almost $660,000 in that time. He spent $737,000 and had just under $170,000 cash on hand on Sept. 30.

Heads will roll in the California Republican Party leadership if they do not regain this seat.

In a contested Orange County race, incumbent Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva of Fullerton spent heavily in the last quarter, more than $950,000. She raised more than $560,000 in the same time period and entered the final campaign stretch with just under $130,000 in the bank.

Her opponent, Young Kim, a former aide to Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), brought in around $460,000. She spent $470,000 and had $545,000 on hand at the end of September.

 

Chris Norby lost this seat in 2012, in part because he did not campaign as though there would be a major challenge to the seat. The California GOP should not have lost this seat, either.

 

The first priority is get rid of Fox, and the Republicans should have no problem doing that. Young Kim should be able to score an upset against Quirk-Silva.

 

Then there's the third Assembly Seat Target: the 66th Assembly seat in the South Bay:

 

Republicans are also aiming to unseat Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance). The freshman Democrat raised almost $440,000 last quarter and spent more than $700,000. He had more than $510,000 in his coffers as of Sept. 30.

David Hadley. a Manhattan Beach businessman, is the GOP contender. He brought in just over $300,000 and spent around $200,000. He ended the reporting period with more than $470,000 cash on hand.

Hadley beat his opponent in the primary by five hundred votes, in a race where there were no other Republican or Democratic candidates. Independent fiscal conservative Seth Stodder was interested in the state assembly seat, too, but switched to the state senate race once Lieu switch his campaign to replace the retiring Congressman Henry Waxman.

Hadley has a clear pathway to the general election so far. He also caught statewide attention for unifying dispersed groups and interests. Operatives within the district reckoned that the California Democratic Party would spend two million dollars on this seat.

And it looks as if their investment may not pay off this year.

Muratsuchi Calls Tea Party "Extremist" - Is This True?

Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) is facing a heated reelection challenge this cycle.

In one of his latest mailers, he tarnished his opponent as a Tea Party extremist.

Is the Tea Party movement extreme?

From the last days of the Bush Administration to today, this movement has protested the rapid expansion of the federal government into the economy (bailouts for banks and corporations), our health care system (ObamaCare), and our financial systems (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Dodd-Frank bill).

These incursions have created a sluggish recovery which has benefited the wealthy and well-connected, a health care system frustrated with bureaucracy, doctor shortages and cost increases, and a financial sector which profits Wall Street at the expense of Main Street.

For extremism, look no further than a Democratic legislature which has brought transgenderism to our public schools, granted drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, forced the minimum wage, and imposed regulatory burdens on small businesses.

In other words, Assemblyman Muratsuchi’s agenda in Sacramento.

So, why label a movement extreme? The Tea Party Movement has pushed back against the role of the state in our lives. The politicians in Washington have frustrated the aggressive advancement of the government into our lives, as well.

Frustration means gridlock, and produces a "do-nothing" Congress.

The economy is not strong, and people are still looking for work, or they have given up. They expected Congress to do something, even extending unemployment benefits and food stamps, but the federal government has stood in the way of these measures, too.

Voters are angry because the government is getting anything done to alleviate their immediate sufferings, or their economic setbacks.

People get angry at anyone who seems to prevent solutions to their problems. Yet more government has created the problems people are struggling with in their lives.

The last time one party had complete control over Congress and the White House, they tried to force Cap-and-Trade on the country, followed by the Affordable Care Act, which has forced employees into part-time status, while pressuring businesses to raise their operation costs or close down. How does a sluggish economy recover when insurance mandates make it more difficult to turn a profit and earn a living?

Democratic candidates do not debate issues. They attack their opponents with personal slights. Tea Party Extremism is an easy line which emboldens a liberal base to turn out and vote against a challenger.

Muratsuchi needs all the help he can stir up this year. President Obama has depressed his ardent supporters, and his policies are grossly unpopular. His low approval ratings in  his sixth year rival the poor polling numbers of President George W. Bush and Bill Clinton during their sixth year in office.

No, the Tea Party Movement is not extremist, yet the tag-line "extreme" is the last-ditch effort to get disaffected Democrats to vote.

Will it work in 2014? Probably not, with a GOP surge rising across the country, and some strong Republican statewide contenders (whom the major California newspapers have endorsed), Muratsuchi is facing a wave of Republican enthusiasm and a receding tide of Democratic disappointment.

Murastuchi Buying Votes in Hermosa Beach

State lawmaker introduces bill to help Hermosa Beach fight oil drilling proposal

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), speaking at a press conference convened on Friday, April 25, 2014, to announce his bill that will address the oil drilling settlement in Hermosa Beach. (Submitted photo)

By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze

Posted: 04/25/14, 3:03 PM PDT|Updated: 3 mins ago

0 Comments

Two state lawmakers opposed to a proposed oil and gas drilling project in Hermosa Beach announced legislation Friday that would make it easier for the city’s voters to turn it down later this year.
Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, and Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Redondo Beach, told anti-oil supporters gathered on Pier Plaza that they would work to gather support for AB 2711, a bill that would provide the city with a no-interest, $17.5 million loan.
The money would be used for a one-time settlement fee with E&B Natural Resources Management Corp. of Bakersfield if the company does not win voter approval of its plan to install 34 wells near the coast and drill underground to tap the Torrance Oil Field.

Under terms of a settlement with another oil company, the city would required to pay $17.5 million to E&B if the project is rejected. The vote is tentatively scheduled to take place in November.
“AB 2711 would loan state funds to the city from state tideland oil revenues to cover this financial penalty,” Muratsuchi said. “I love Hermosa Beach. I love the hippy beach vibe of this little community. This city is a strong leader in the fight to protect our environment.”
The Muratsuchi-authored bill is in response to a 2012 legal settlement between the city and MacPhearson Oil over rights to drill, which the city approved in the 1980s but then rescinded with a resident-approved initiative in 1995. The settlement lets the city off the hook, with the condition that voters be allowed to decide whether E&B can drill.

Muratsuchi, who is campaigning for re-election, said the state would loan the funds from its general fund, where oil and gas revenues are deposited by the State Lands Commission. The city would be required to pay at least $500,000 a year until the sum is repaid, and those payments would be placed in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund for its Climate Ready Program.
Along with Muratsuchi and Lieu, congressional candidate Wendy Greuel also announced her opposition this week to E&B’s proposed drilling project.

“I’ve always opposed oil drilling along our coast,” Lieu said Friday. “I can’t really think of anything more stupid than drilling along our coastline. This is an ingenious bill that I believe will help resolve our situation.”
E&B Natural Resources spokesman Eric Rose said company officials are a bit bewildered by AB 2711.
“During the past two years, city officials and community activists have consistently and forcefully stated that the city has the financial capacity to repay the $17.5 million loan E&B provided,” Rose said. “This loan allowed the city to avoid bankruptcy and to end 14 years of litigation with MacPherson Oil Co. The loan repayment will not be necessary if Hermosa Beach voters agree to once again allow safe oil recovery at the city’s maintenance yard.”

Some residents have actively campaigned against the proposal for about two years through a grass-roots organization called Stop Hermosa Beach Oil, which has placed signs around town reading “Keep Hermosa Hermosa” and worked to get political support opposing the project.
Representatives from Heal the Bay, Sierra Club, Los Angeles Waterkeeper, and other local environmental groups attended Friday’s press conference to show their support for AB 2711.
Stacey Armato, an environmental activist and founder of Stop Hermosa Beach Oil, praised the bill, which has been introduced in the Assembly and will be heard in committee on Monday.

“This offer of a $17.5 million interest-free loan makes it easier for voters to make decisions to protect the health and safety of our community,” Armato said.
Hermosa Beach officials have been setting aside funds to cover a settlement, if necessary. Of the $17.5 million, about $6 million already has been saved. Officials have said the balance would be paid off with annual payments of $850,000 to $1 million.
But if AB 2711 passes and the city accepts a no-interest loan, those payments likely would be reduced significantly.

Highlights From March 15, 2014 Muratsuchi Coffee

Coffee With Muratsuchi

Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi had a coffee meet-n-greet at Catalina Coffee and Café in Redondo Beach on Saturday, March 15.

I arrived at 2pm, where I met Vic Locicero, who right away was talking with Muratsuchi about the transgendered bathroom law.

While Vic shared his concerns, I also added why he supported a bill which a number of residents in the South Bay do not support.

Muratsuchi claimed that the procedures were already in place in other school districts, and the law just codified it for all the schools in California.

Often, we ended up arguing about issues

"Then I guess we will have to respectfully disagree," Muratsuchi would recite from time to time.

I then asked him about the law which permits illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses. He had told me prior that signed off on the legislation based on the suggestion of law enforcement, that allowing anyone to get a drivers' license, regardless of their citizenship status, would make our streets safer.

I countered: "Do you ask any of the police chiefs in the South Bay?"

He hesitated, then offered that he might have done so. Might have? One would think that the representative for the South Bay would consider the opinion of law enforcement leaders in his own district.

Frankly, Muratsuchi spends more time justifying these votes, when the fact remains that his votes on these issues is merely a rubber stamp for an aggressive, progressive agenda, one more regressive than anything else.

After that, I mentioned the statistics about the most Hispanic state in the Union, New Mexico, where the Hispanic Governor, Susana Martinez, wants to repeal similar legislation in her state because the law has not created safer roads, and has even invited fraud.

He was not aware of those statistics, apparently, either. Over a decade ago, the voters in the state of California forced a repeal of a similar statute. How far the state leadership has fallen.

Muratsuchi justified many of these decisions by pointing out that he took the experts' opinion on these issues.

The experts are often wrong, or often limited in their understanding of key issues. Muratsuchi was elected to represent the best interests of the voters in his district and uphold the state and federal constitution. He already failed to do this when he voted to allow illegal immigrants to get drivers' licenses. Unconstitutional violation of the supremacy clause, which places federal statutes above state laws.

I then pressed Muratsuchi about raising the state minimum wage. I recalled that he had agreed to the raise, provided that the language tagging the increase to the rate of inflation was removed. I asked him once again why he did it.

"It was time for a wage increase."

I told him that many economists resist minimum wage increases, which increase unemployment along with forcing up prices on goods. He told me about reports which he had read, "many, many reports".

His assistance, Melissa Uribe, was at hand, and she agreed to contact me with the information which Muratsuchi appealed to in order to justify voting for legislation which would force up the minimum wage in the state of California.

As of Tuesday, March 18, I contacted Ms. Uribe once again, and she told me that she was meeting with the individuals who offered the information.

Then, another South Bay resident, Mike Shields of Redondo Beach then showed up. He started discussing the negative impacts of the minimum wage increase. He argued at length, and cogently, too, that the minimum wage increase leads to more layoffs.

This kind of discussion is what I  was looking for. I wanted to hold the Assemblyman accountable for voting for these bills which have no value, merit, and have caused more harm than good.

I tried to find some things that he did which I agree with -- his proposed legislation which would require transparency for school superintendent salaries, for example:

"Finally, we agree on something!"

I then asked him why he did join with State Senator Fran Pavley (D-Ventura) to block or end the bullet train boondoggle. I also shared that State Senator Ted Lieu voted with the Republicans against referral to expel convicted felon Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood)

At any rate, I was hoping that more people would attend the Muratsuchi coffee in order to hold him accountable for the offensive legislation which he had supported.

On another note, I started talking with a Hermosa Beach resident. On his green shirt was written "Keep Hermosa Hermosa". I started asking him his stance on the E and B oil drilling. His reason for opposition: he was a staunch believer in climate change, and he also feared the potential dangers of an oil spill. He then admitted that of the E and B company demonstrated good faith and planning to deal with oil spills, he would be willing to reconsider whether E and B can drill for oil.

Frankly, my discussion with "Hermosa" was very productive, I just wish that more people could have been there to make their case about the bills which Muratsuchi had voted for, and the bills which need to be considered: school choice: better, simpler tax structure.

I am still waiting to hear from Ms. Uribe regarding the information which justified a state-forced minimum wage increase.

Coffee With Muratsuchi, Anyone?

Want a Cup of Coffee with Me?
It's Free (For me. . .You Paid for it!)

Assemblyman Muratsuchi will host a free coffee talk at Catalina Coffee and Café

on March 15, from 1pm to 3pm.

Here's a print out of the event on Muratsuchi's website:

Join Assemblymember Muratsuchi for a free cup of coffee at Catalina Coffee & Cafe. This is a great opportunity to visit and discuss state and legislative issues that affect the community.

No RSVP needed for this event.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

  1 – 3 p.m.

Catalina Coffee & Café

  126 N. Catalina Avenue
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

I plan on being there, and I hope that every able-bodied and enraged voter in the South Bay will be there, too, to confront Muratsuchi on key issues affecting the South Bay.

Here are a list of issues which concerned residents in the city should discuss:

1. Forcing up minimum wage, which raises prices, unemployment, while reducing available jobs.

2. Drivers licenses for illegals -- how this may make our streets less safe..

3. AB 1266, the transgender bathroom bill for public schools.

4. His massive union money support.

5. Why he is pursuing green technology, yet said nothing about a car plant moving to Michigan.

6. Why he supported the Local Control Funding Formula , which actually takes money away from South Bay Schools (including PV)

7. Why he claimed to be a moderate, when he has supported a liberal-Democratic-unionist agenda 95% of the time

8. Why he supported a bill which would allow other medical staff besides a doctor to conduct an abortion.

The list goes on and on. Please pick any one issue which affects you the most, and pleas come to the free coffee and share this concern with the Assemblyman.

This man has got to go.

Need I remind you: the coffee is free (perhaps taxpayer funded, though . .)