LiberalOC drinking partner and Orange Juice blogger Art Pedroza is being appointed to a County Commission position by Supervisor Janet Nguyen. HT to Matt Cunningham at OC Blog for the tip.
To say Art is a lightning rod to the OC blogsphere is an understatement.
I met Art at the Drinking Liberally event. We have a lot in common. We’ve both been married for more than 20 years. We dote on our kids. And we were once Republicans. In Art’s case, its the party that left him with a hard turn to the right. Like someone who enters a slaughterhouse and exits a vegan.
Art also knows his decisions will get scrutiny form the left and the right. Matt’s post and some of the comments seem critical of the appointment. I think Janet appointed someone who cares and wants to make things better in his community. So with that, I wish Art good luck and much success.
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Art-
I agree with Dan. You are a class act my friend.
(I hope that doesn’t hurt your Conservative street cred!)
Congratulations Art.
You have now joined Matt Cunningham as a “County Commissioner.”
Make us proud. 🙂
The commission does NOTHING.
In Art’s case, its the party that left him with a hard turn to the right. Like someone who enters a slaughterhouse and exits a vegan.
That’s a new one.
Dan, from the Art posts and comments over the last year or so, this isn’t a case of the “party leaving him.” Art has left the party because he’s moving Left — not because the GOP made some sudden “hard right turn” and left him.
Let me add, Art can join whatever party he likes, and a person’s political philosophy can change — usually gradually and in a limited way, and less frequently in a dramatic and sudden fashion.
But from reading Art’s posts and comments, one can’t credibly claim the GOP left him.
Matt —
The GOP can only talk the talk on limited government, limited spending, and minimumal government intrusion. Add the whole defense of the acts of the Bush-Cheney administration, and its no wonder those who identify themselves as “Republicans” shrinks dramatically. Your party continues to demonstrate that hard right conservatives are the only acceptable type of Republican which is why moderateslie Lincoln Chaffee get booted and why Norm Coleman is facing a possible primary challenge. Its the abuse of power from Iran Contra that drive me over to the left and th eabuse of power in a post 9/11 world where any criticism of the president is unpatriotic keeps me there.
I have no love for Janet Ngyuen whatsoever, but the OC GOP establishment is clearly out to destroy her and weaken her because she wasn’t the candidate of choice.
Wihtout Art, the OC Blogshere is a boring place where Republicans pat each other on the back. At least you get some love form those of us on the left…..
The GOP can only talk the talk on limited government, limited spending, and minimumal government intrusion.
I agree that our congressional party, in practice, sold out GOP principles and acted like the Democrats we replaced. But that doesn’t exactly square with the “hard-right turn” contention.
Lincoln Chafee got the boot because of conservatives? The party establishment pulled out the stops to save his bacon. Maybe Rhode Island voters decided to exchange a wishy-washy crypto-Democrat for the real article.
The OC GOP establishment is not out to destroy Janet. Mike Schroeder is a mover and shaker, but he isn’t the GOP establishment — unless you buy into to Art Pedroza’s cosmology of OC Republican politics.
Final note: the OC blogosphere wasn’t boring before Art re-started O-Juice — it just wasn’t as nasty.
Matt –
On Lincoln Chaffee, the Party put the effort in after he beat a more conservative primary challenger.
Wishy-washy Democrats? Really now?
I never mentioed Mike Schroeder by name; I said GOP establishment, of which Mike is a part of along with Van Tran. You came up with Mike all by yourself. Thanks for that bit of projection.
And if they aren’t trying to destroy Janet (go ahead – she’s a conservative and I don’t care if she goes down in flames), the party isn’t exaclty singing Kumbaya with her either.
Nasty blog postings before Art restarted OJuice; try being a liberal in OC. Nastiness against those left leaning thinkers predates Art.
On Lincoln Chaffee, the Party put the effort in after he beat a more conservative primary challenger.
No, the party establishment pulled out the stops to save Chafee DURING the primary. Without that aid, Chafee would likely have lost.
I said GOP establishment, of which Mike is a part of along with Van Tran. You came up with Mike all by yourself. Thanks for that bit of projection.
No projection, Dan. You erroneously claimed the OC GOP establishment is coming after Janet. I corrected you. Since it is Mike who is the Janet’s primary antagonist, I assumed you were conflating Mike into the OC GOP establishment.
And if they aren’t trying to destroy Janet…
But you just said they are “clearly out to destroy her.” Which is it?
Nasty blog postings before Art restarted OJuice; try being a liberal in OC. Nastiness against those left leaning thinkers predates Art.
We weren’t talking about the general, nationwide conflict between Right and Left or the national blogosphere, but the OC blogosphere. I was kind of present at the creation, so I think I can speak to this.
On Chaffee, no, the neocons wanted him out. I lived in New England for 10 years Matt. The neocons wanted Chaffee replaced by someone more supportive of Bush.
Are you going to say with a straight face that Mike Scroeder is not a part of the GOP establishment? I want some of that Kool Aid.
I said they are clearly out to destroy her, and if they are not (emphasis on the “if” because you said this isn’t true) rthen they aren’t singing Kumbaya. The sentence diagrams correctly.
The OC Blogsphere takes plenty of postshots at the left and has from the begining. I read your “Dark Day when Boxer was elected” piece in Flash Report awhile ago, near the dawn of the OC blogsphere…you made it sound like the gates of hell were opening. Add to Jon’s constant rifts against the left, and how the right wing here derides Democrats in general, if you are now seeing nastiness its because its now started to be aiimed directly at the right.
On Chaffee, no, the neocons wanted him out. I lived in New England for 10 years Matt. The neocons wanted Chaffee replaced by someone more supportive of Bush.
No, Dan, real Republicasn wanted Chafee replaced by a real Republican. I think I understand the dynamics of my party better than you. In this case, it was the party establishment, which in this case would be the NRSC, which pulled out the stops to help Chafee in the primary.
Are you going to say with a straight face that Mike Scroeder is not a part of the GOP establishment? I want some of that Kool Aid.
I said no such thing. Are you channeling Art Pedroza today? Mike is a PART of the establishment, not the ENTIRE establishment.
I’d rebut the rest of your comment, but I have to go.
I never said he was the ENTIRE establishment either.
Have a great night.
“I’d rebut the rest of your comment, but I have to go”
Dark Lord Scroeder is on the phone!
Matt & Dan, you need to have a talk show. It’d be very interesting.
And yes… that is a compliment to both of you harshing out good points from both sides.
Talkshow?
I’m thinking podcast. If Matt & Dan were interested, I’d be happy to be the technical side of that.
Dan,
Thank you for the spirited defense!
Last year I worked very hard to advance the GOP cause only to find that most of the GOP powerbrokers are only in it for themselves…to make money and to accrue power.
I must admit that hanging out with my left-leaning friends at the Memphis did broaden my horizons, and so did working with people like Claudio on my blog.
I found myself looking around at the people in the OC GOP…and gagging.
It is not just that they are right wing nuts, even though many of them are, it is that they are simply not good human beings. They are full of hate for Mexicans, liberals, and really anyone not like them.
I am now free to do what I do and not worry about party labels. And I am still working very hard to better my community…only this time things are getting done.
I have nothing against Jubal/Matt. But he is part of an elitist group of GOP consultants who profit from politics. I never have viewed politics that way. Money is the last thing I am worried about.
My goal remains to affect social change that will serve my community. Do I sometimes cross the line while pursuing that goal? Sure. But I try to have fun in the process.
The stuffed shirts in the GOP don’t know how to have fun. They are too busy taking themselves too seriously.
I don’t pretend that my blog is news. Sure, we break news sometimes. But more than anything else we try to have a good time while making our points. It is edutainment. And apparently folks like it as our numbers and our apparent influence ranking have proven.
Thank you to all of my friends on the left who have helped me to pull the wool away from my eyes…