Miscellaneous

When the most bad ass of the Mountain Men, Jedediah Smith, crossed the Sierra Nevada in 1828 it was only a matter of time before some intrepid settlers would follow.  California called.  The Bartleson-Bidwell Party of 1841 were the first.  By 1848 there were enough Americans to allow President Polk to seize California through war with Mexico.  The Mexicans living here were called Californios, and they were of two minds about all this.  Some wanted to kick all the Americans out and remain part of Mexico.  Others, like Vallejo, saw the handwriting on the wall, and were ready to split from Mexico and become Americans.  When the Americans, under General Kearny, promised to honor the title held by Mexican landowners, the deal was sealed.  Kearny only had to fight one battle with the Californios, the battle of San Pascual.  Californios became Mexican-Americans.

Today some of the descendants of the Californios, now called Chicanos, are aggressively asserting their Mexican heritage.  But they don’t want to be part of Mexico.  Like Vallejo 167 years ago, they know they’re better off being Americans.

The environmental leftists who run this state rely on Chicanos for votes.  Very little is given in return.  The historic drought we’re in the midst of should change all that.  It’s killing the heavily Chicano Central Valley, and the left won’t lift a finger to help.  50% of our water is used to preserve the ecosystem, principally fish.  That has to change, and the nutcase left will fight it to the death.  The Chicanos are about to find out who their real friends are.

I was born and raised here, and understand Chicanos.  When I was 14 a bunch of us decided to make some money doing field work.  We hitchhiked out to the Valley and got hired to chop weeds  — stoop labor.  None of us lasted more than a few hours.  When I drive down Highway 99 and see them working the fields I know how tough that work is.  All blanco Californians that I know are sympathetic to them.  They’re good people.  Go see “McFarland, U.S.A.”

And they’re tough, they like to fight.  In law school my buddy Tom Pitaro, from Brockton, Mass., home of Rocky Marciano, used to go to the Saturday night fights at the L.A. Sports Arena.  The crowd, and the fighters, were all Chicano.  We loved it.  We even got to see the big showdown fight between Schoolboy Bobby Chacon and Little Red Lopez.  He was called Schoolboy because he’d taken a couple classes at a junior college.  Little Red was the younger brother of the great Indian Red Lopez.  These guys were warriors.

Give a Chicano $30 an hour and you’ve got a Republican.  That’s what we want.  Once we convince the Chicanos of California that we’re for real, and we start to deliver, we’ll have them.  Environmental whack jobs and Chicanos have nothing in common.  They don’t belong in the same political coalition.

Representatives Devin Nunes and David Valadao understand that.  They’re Republicans and conservatives, but they get overwhelmingly reelected by their Chicano constituents.  They are the future of the Republican Party in California

Lew Uhler today told me about a guy who also figured out how to appeal to Chicanos, former Congressman George Radanovich.  Like Kasich, he’s of Croatian descent, but he’s lived and labored with Chicanos his whole life.  They like him.  He had to leave office because of his wife’s cancer, but his district was very similar to those of Nunes and Valadao.  He had big wins, easy wins.  Lew thinks George wants to run for Governor.  If this drought lasts, he’d have a great shot.  There is opportunity in crisis, or so we’re told.

Lew talked to his partner in crime, Peter Ferrara of the Heartland Institute, about the Reagan Initiative.  Peter’s staying in D. C. with Stephen Moore of Heritage.  Two very bright guys.  I’ll be interested in their take.

I’m a big Oakland A’s fan, and go to a lot of games.  The crowds are heavily Chicano.  When you’re a baseball guy, your fellow fans are your brothers.  You high five strangers and whoop it up with everybody, black, white, brown and yellow.

It’s an American game.

They’re Republican, and that will have to change.  California’s a very blue state at the moment.  I believe that will start to change next year.  But for the time being you can’t win statewide as a Republican.  It’s like being a Democrat in Wyoming.  It’s a non-starter, unless you’re running against someone who is politically crippled.  In order to win, you will have to run as an Independent.   It’s easy.  You send a postcard to Sacramento.  I did it over a year ago.  It’s painless.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez is not running.  She’d have been perfect.  Oh well.  I was hoping there was a blue dog Democrat left in the Central Valley, but they’re all gone.  Districts 21 and 22 are the heart of the valley, and both have Republicans, David Valadao and Devin Nunes.  Neither are Mexican-American.  They’re both Portuguese-American dairy farmers, both families originally from the Azores.  But they can pass.

Devin’s been in twelve years, and has built up some seniority, so he might hesitate to take a chance.  David’s in his second term, and is only 39, I believe.  Young and hungry.  And an accomplished politician.  He knows how to win Mexican-American votes.  Devin’s got 42% Hispanic.  David’s got 72%, the highest in California.  Who says Mexican-Americans won’t vote for Republicans?   These guys are the future of conservatism in California.  They get it.  And they’re conservative as hell.

The Senate race, right now, looks to be a contest between a black Northern California ultraliberal woman, Attorney General Kamala Harris, and a Jewish Southern California liberal lawyer, Rep. Adam Schiff.  A minor Republican Assemblyman, Rocky Sanchez or something like that, is not taken seriously by anyone.  No Republican of any stature is going to get in.  We’re blue on blue.  A black lawyer from San Francisco against a Jewish lawyer from L.A.

What’s a chicano going to do?  That’s what Mexican-Americans used to call themselves.  You don’t hear it that often any more.  I’ve got an idea.  Vote for an Independent from the Central Valley who speaks your language, represents you in Congress, and knows you, and your politics, better than anyone else.  Nunes or Valadao.

40% of California voters are Republicans.  Nunes or Valadao will get almost all those votes.  They get through the jungle primary on those votes alone.  Then they’re one on one with either the black Northern California lawyer or the Jewish Southern California lawyer.  These guys are farmers.  When you buy a quart of milk, they may have produced it for you.  They’re of recent immigrant heritage.  Their families succeeded with work, hard, tedious, four o’clock in the morning work.  These are very likable guys, with wonderful families.

Either one of them would win.  And all of a sudden, California’s a little purplish.

A lot of people don’t understand Chicanos.  I’ve known some pretty well.  One of my best buddies at Cal was Frank Aranzubia, from the barrio in Chula Vista, right on the border.  Frank had a really great sense of humor.  It cracks me up remembering him.  He said he was hitchhiking one time and got a ride from a guy named Big Al, who had a very weird way of speaking, which Zubie picked up on.  He called it Big Al talk, and we all talked it, our little core group.  We called ourselves the real guys.  Zubie, Warren Westrup, Doug Southworth, Rich Inadomi, the Japanese Mind Attack, and me.  To be a real guy, you had to talk Big Al talk.  I taught some of it to my sons, and we do a little Big Al talk sometimes.  It mainly involves chicken shit, said in every tone possible.  Exclamatory.  Surprised. Angry. Happy.  Skeptical.  Anything.  Say chicken shit in the exactly right way, and you can make it mean almost anything.

Chicken shit!

Or the trip that wasn’t made.  The trip to Iowa that Kasich hasn’t made.  He’s been to New Hampshire and South Carolina numerous times, but not to Iowa, as far as I can tell.  This is a very good sign, for him.  To me it shows he’s not going to truckle to the ethanol lobby, like Walker did.

When I got back up to speed on this whole BBA business I looked at the presidential field and figured it was going to be Walker, Kasich, or Paul.  Walker has eliminated himself.  He hasn’t said a word about Article V.  He knows all about us.  He watches what’s happening in the Wisconsin legislature like a hawk.  Last year Chris Kapenga pushed our bill through the House, only to have it blocked by Senator Glenn Grothman.  So he knows all about our campaign, and hasn’t lifted a finger to help.

I read Walker’s book, “Unintimidated.”  He’s trying to say, with that title, that he’s got balls.  But a guy with balls doesn’t suck up to the ethanol lobby.  Walker did that, and, combined with his neglect of the BBA, it disqualifies him in my mind.  He’s another Tim Pawlenty.  He’d make a good HHS Secretary, or something.  I like the guy.  He has a lot to offer.  But he’s outsmarted himself.  He thinks he can bribe Iowans into voting for him, and that no one will notice.  Wrong.  People have noticed.  It was not smart.  He should have let Santorum and Huckabee fight for all these bible thumping, tax subsidized corn farmers.

So I’m down to Kasich and Paul.  Both of these guys have shown me some balls.  Paul continues to impress.  He’s basically telling the neoconservatives to take a hike.  Good for him.  A neoconservative is a liberal who wants America involved in the Middle East for the benefit of Israel.  But our involvement, in any part of the world, should be based on national self-interest.  Period.  And we are no longer interested in the Middle East.  Israel is our ally, and we will fully honor our commitments to her.  No more, and no less.

Eventually Kasich and Paul are going to hear about the Reagan Initiative.  I hope they both like it.  If only one does, he’s my guy.  I think it makes sense, politically.  The federal lands transfer appeals to half the country.  Regulatory reform appeals to everybody.  You lose the environmentalists, but they don’t count much in the nominating process.  Dave Biddulph has arranged for me to meet a guy in Savannah who could not be more perfect for my purposes.  If I can sell him on the Reagan Initiative, you can be damn sure Kasich and Paul are going to hear about it.  I think by August a whole lot of people are going to hear about it.  And Kasich and Paul will be asked their position on it.  If one, or both, embrace it, we are on our way.

When I was a kid there was a black gospel song that was played a lot on the radio, “I’m on my way.”  I love that song.  I can hear it now.

“I’m on my way, glory Hallelujah I’m on my way.”

Even the Reagan Initiative is not enough.  There should be a second Amendment Convention.  A lot of people on the Task Force like the CoS approach  — an open grant to propose limitations on the power of the federal government, including term limits.  I used to agree.  But now I think term limits must be off the table.  It’s a separate subject.  There are a significant number of state legislators, in key states, who oppose term limits.  Some of these people are as conservative as I am.  They have their opinion, and I respect it, even while I disagree.  Term limits have proven to be essentially worthless in some states, such as California.  Politically, the whole idea of term limits should be a completely separate subject.  So CoS, which has only three states, is not the answer.

The Reagan Initiative is a very significant step in the direction of reining in the federal government.  But a BBA can only be expanded so far.  We have to be very careful about not exceeding the scope of the call.  Tax reform is off the table.  But tax reform, even more than regulatory reform, is what we need.  The tax code is a national disgrace.  A rational and fair system of taxation would be revolutionary, and not just economically.  Freeing the American people from the clutches of the IRS would be a giant blow for liberty.

So, should we repeal the 16th Amendment, and thus abolish the IRS?  No.  It wouldn’t be prudent.  Article V only works when there is a broad and bipartisan national consensus.  Significant majorities of both Republicans and Democrats have to agree.  I’m convinced the idea of tax reform has such support.  But no specific proposal, such as a flat tax, or a consumption tax, has that level of public approval.

I’m suggesting something like reformation of the Internal Revenue Code.  The language is critically important, and I haven’t thought this all the way through.  We want to give the second Amendment Convention broad latitude, but we don’t want to scare the horses.  How far can we go?

Right now, it’s impossible to say.  Once the first Amendment Convention has finished its work and adjourned we should have a pretty good idea.  The public perception of this Convention is almost as important as its work product.  If the American people see a collection of state legislators working diligently, efficiently, openly and fairly, they will be willing to give the second Convention a broad grant of authority.  If the Convention is seen as just another bunch of fighting politicians, such a grant is off the table.  Comportment is the key.  The delegates must comport themselves in a way to build the trust of the people.  They will be engaged in very serious business.  They have to act the part.

After the adjournment of the Convention its leaders should meet privately to discuss round two.  If they can’t come to an immediate consensus they should form some sort of informal, ad hoc working group.  These people need to stay in communication, in an effort to reach some kind of consensus.  I don’t think there should be a formal organization.  But lines of communication will have been established at and prior to the Convention, and they should be kept open.

I had four years of college and three of law school.  Most of it was a waste of time, including all three years of law school.  I learned a hell of a lot more about law in my summer of study for the bar exam than I did in law school.  Law schools are unnecessary.  Anyone ought to be able to take the bar exam and become a lawyer.

But college wasn’t a complete waste.  I was able to get a coveted spot in an upper division poly sci class taught by Jacobus Ten Broek, a law professor at Boalt.  I think he may have been the smartest man I’ve ever known.  He was blind, from a childhood accident, and never saw any of his students.  He conducted class using the Socratic method, asking questions, never answering them.  There were about 60 of us, and he had a deck of 60 cards, in braille, one for each of us.  He’d just ask us questions, and criticize our responses, but never offer an opinion of his own.  In the hands of a Socrates, or a Jacobus Ten Broek, it works.  I didn’t participate any more than anyone else, but he could tell I was different, a conservative.  So he challenged me, just the way he challenged everyone.  I loved that class, and I admired the hell out of Ten Broek, even though he was a liberal.  I wanted to prove myself to him.  One day, kind of out of the blue, he asked me if I hated criminals.  I said, yes, I guess I do.  There were audible gasps of disbelief.  I had been revealed as a wretch.  He asked me why, and I said because they attack the order upon which my safety depends.  I waited, and waited, for the follow up question, but he was silent.  I said, “Well?”  I wanted his approval.  But he didn’t say anything, and I walked out of class.  I only got a “B” in that class, which was a little disappointing.  Grades were based on essays, and mine didn’t measure up.  They just weren’t that good.  There were a lot of things I hadn’t figured out.  But I don’t regret going to Cal, mainly because of that class.

After I graduated I got in some trouble, and reached out to Professor Ten Broek for help.  I wasn’t sure if he’d remember me.  He did, and gave me the help I needed  He was a great and a good man.

What the hell are they smoking, then?  Hash oil?

Biddulph wants to make a last ditch effort in Oklahoma, with the Reagan Intiative.  I told sponsor Gary Banz about it weeks ago, and he, like everyone else, could see the merits.  But I don’t think he’s really pushed it, and it looks as though we need a game changer.   So Dave’s going to see if he can get some help from the oil patch, with the Reagan Initiative as bait.  This is how we’ll get Oklahoma next year, if need be.  We’ll have all summer and fall to explain it, and why it is so attractive, both politically and substantively.  We may be a little late with it this year, but it’s definitely worth a try.

You could say the Reagan Initiative is a bold departure from conventional thinking.  I know how some people will react to it.  You can’t do that!  That’s radical!  That’s not mainstream thinking!

Here’s the way I see it.  I learned this from personal experience.  When my law partner, Sam Pestinger joined up with me, part of the deal was I had to be his boating partner.  We bought a 25 foot Bayliner, with twin inboards, and we cruised all over Prince William Sound and Resurrection Bay.  We had no idea what we were doing.  Sam was from Kansas, and I’d never been in much more than a rowboat.  We were a couple of lawyers pretending we were sea dogs.  It was ridiculous.

Our biggest challenge was getting the boat back in our slip without making fools of ourselves.  The Whittier small boat harbor is a busy place on weekends, and people were always watching us when we came in.  Sometimes the wind was blowing, and this is where we had problems.  We would very cautiously inch into our slip, so slowly that the crosswind would blow us sideways into other boats.  What you’re supposed to do is power into your slip, and reverse engines before you slam into the dock.  But we were too timid to do it properly, and constantly screwed up.  People would gather around to watch us.  Lawyers.

We’ve been inching our way with the BBA, and it’s not working.  We need to have a little courage and power up with the Reagan Initiative.  Faint heart never won fair lady.  Go bold or go home.

When we started making some money Sam wanted a bigger boat, so we got a 35 foot Uniflite.  We hired a guy to watch it in the winter, but he screwed up and it sank, right in the harbor, in a big storm.  Somebody took a picture of it and it ran in Alaska magazine, with the caption, “Boat sinks in Whittier due to poor winterization.  Owned  by two lawyers named Pettyjohn and .Pestinger.”

It was just as well.  The only way we could justify having a boat was as a business expense, and the IRS issued a rule saying you couldn’t do that anymore.  We were fully insured, so I took my share and my buddy Wayne Cates and I bought a bar.   We named it Swiftwater Bill’s Dance Hall and Saloon, and turned it into a rock and roll bar, with a big dance floor.   We’d bring rock groups up from L.A. and we were doing so well we bought another one, and named it after Swiftwater Bill’s girl friend, Gussie L’Amour.

I’d found a way to get out of the law business, which I hated.  I hated everything about practicing law, especially having to deal with lawyers all the time.  I don’t much care for lawyers, as a rule.  There are exceptions, but not many.  The only part I liked, and the only part I was any good at, was jury work.  I loved final argument to a jury.  I tried a federal drug case that was open and shut.  They had my guy cold, but he insisted on going to trial.  I came up with some mind attack of a defense, and I raised so much hell the jurors thought I must be on to something.  I kept them out for four or five hours.  We were sitting in chambers with Judge James Fitzgerald, a legendary figure in Alaska legal history, and I remember him complimenting me on keeping them out as long as I did.  I had nothing to stand on.  He was impressed, which meant a lot to me.

When I  ran for the State Senate I had to get out of the bar business.  It had a pretty seedy reputation in Anchorage.  But I had a memento of it on my wife’s Jeep Wagoneer, which she used to haul the kids around.  It was a bumper sticker that read “I won the banana eating contest at Swiftwater Bill’s.”  She was a good sport.