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AWOL Abel Maldonado a no show again

September 10, 2012

Abel Maldonado

By KAREN VELIE

Congressional candidate Abel Maldonado’s biggest obstacle may not be his Democratic challenger, but instead members of the GOP who have dubbed him AWOL Abel. There have been at least 10 occasions when Maldonado has backed out on his promises to appear at debates and speaking engagements.

“One of the main responsibilities of a congressman is to be an advocate for his constituents, much like a lawyer,” said Christopher Arend, an attorney and member of the San Luis Obispo County Republican Party in a May email. “And just as with a lawyer, it is a cardinal sin not to be available for your ‘clients.’ Abel has repeatedly gone AWOL on the constituents in this district, and that alone renders him unacceptable.”

Most recently, Maldonado backed out on his agreement to speak at a North County Tea Party event planned for tonight at the Atascadero Lake Pavilion. He told members of the group, who planned to ask him to explain his votes on several key issues, he had a family emergency and would not be attending.

Lydia Thompson, a member of the North County Tea Party, sent out an email to its members announcing Maldonado’s cancellation and suggesting alternatives to voting for the Republican candidate.

“He missed eight appearances claiming all were family emergencies,” Thompson said. “Ask yourself, maybe he should step down to take care of his family.

“We do have a choice. We can vote for someone else. How about a write in? How about not voting for either? I believe the latter is the most effective,” Thompson added.

Back in May, his constituents first labeled him AWOL Abel after he backed out on an agreement to debate his primary opponent Chris Mitchum at a San Luis Obispo Republican Women’s Club meeting. He cancelled less than an hour beforehand because an officer of the club had supposedly been making disparaging calls about him. Members of the club contend Maldonado’s allegations were untrue.

The former Lt. Gov., Maldonado, is challenging Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, for her congressional seat.

Despite his high-profile, Maldonado has been at odds with some members of the GOP who question his voting record. As a result, he was unable to garner the state Republican Party endorsement prior to the June primary.

Thompson wonders if Maldonado’s frequent cancellations are an attempt to avoid answering the “tough questions.”

“It would be better to be questioned by conservatives than those who are anti-Maldonado,” Thompson said. “It he doesn’t want to talk to me, I don’t want to vote for him.”

Following his recent cancellation, Thompson said Maldonado told her he would find time to meet with her over dinner to discuss his stance on issues.

“The ball is in his court,” Thompson said.

 


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What I love about any candidate is whether or not they have an independent streak … do they stand by what they believe no matter how their position may be derided at the time? If a candidate will not stand for something they believe in… then they stand for nothing. I don’t want a candidate who just needs a job.


We have too many candidates today who are either the mouth pieces of powerful entities… or so detached from the rest of us that they have no empathy for what it takes to feed one’s family or survive. So, I am not impressed when a politico writes about how grand our current member of congress’s home is or how vast her kitchen is… it doesn’t help the rest of us.


I know Abel. Throughout Abel’s career he has fought the valiant fight, often against both Republicans and Democrats for the common good… for those who remember… he fought Walmart. He worked for common ground when common ground couldn’t be found… but he always did the right thing. Abel has built a grass roots campaign… something Ronald Reagan did when faced with too many ‘gate keepers’… this impresses me, because if elected he will work on behalf of all of us.


Right now, we need someone who can help turn this country and our district around… I have confidence that Abel will do this!


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Oh gosh Roger, talk about twisting words: “So, I am not impressed when a politico writes about how grand our current member of congress’s home is or how vast her kitchen is…” um, dood, that is NOT what was written earlier in this thread: ” …. Lois Capps could be counted on to open up her beautiful (but not ostentatious) home in Santa Barbara for fundraisers. Her kitchen wasn’t huge, but it was very well planned out and worked well for fundraisers.”

Does anyone else see what Roger is trying to do with his obvious “misquote”? He is attempting to demonize both a supporter of Lois Capps as well as Ms. Capps herself, usually the sign of someone with a weak position. Roger, talk up Abel all you want, he is the person on your party’s ticket, so cheerlead for him all you can; by attacking (wrongly) the comment about the size of Lois Capp’s home, you are attempting a “hey, look over there, that person can’t relate to those of you who are struggling, she has a large home…”. I would call your attempt shameful, but based on the history of your comments over the years in support of Republicans, it appears that you feel no shame, ever, when trying to prop up your cause.

Abel is an opportunistic politician, period. He will say anything, do anything to either get elected or swing a political favor in his direction. If he were to get elected as our Congressman, his main purpose would be to become an access point for the rich and powerful to have another voice and spokesperson on Capital Hill. Anyone who supports Abel Maldonado should do us all a favor and try to show what bills he sponsored that helped a majority of California residents; I mean really, what has he ever done as a politician that was for the common good, the average citizen?


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Abel is for sale and he has been bought by the current GOP power structure. Why is he having fund raisers in LA with the NeoCon Jewish group AIPAC that wants to start a war with Iran?


Why did he have that crook Issa come to town to spread his propaganda? Boneher was in SB touting him also.


Abel is already owned by the top Republican cabal.


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Yeah, he is a RINO that acts like a democrat. Why he hasn’t switched parties, now that he’s fooled them into getting his foot in the door, is beyond me.


The guy is a weasel, and has me voting for Libertarian this time around.


Blakeslee is about the same, too. The central coast is full of bad republicans and shady liberals. This should be no surprise to anyone.


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In my opinion, it is not so much his political ideology that is the real red flag with Maldonado…it’s the fact that he does not show up for scheduled appearances.


I can understand why–with the information about not paying his taxes being made public–he might be embarrassed at public appearances. However, if he is going to run for office, he should be ready to face the public regarding his problems.


Simply not showing up at scheduled public appearances is breaking his agreement to perform a task. He has done this repeatedly, which makes it likely that simply breaking his word is how he handles dealing with uncomfortable duties of office.


That type of behavior is something we should not endorse by voting for him. If this is how he behaves now, we should all be concerned how he would handle uncomfortable duties of office were he to be elected.


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“bad Republicans” …Now you’re being redundant !


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As redundant as I was with “shady liberals,” no doubt!


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“Right now, we need someone who can help turn this country and our district around”


Yeah, but since he can’t be bothered to show up to explain his position on varity of topics, I’m thinking he’ll be having trouble showing up for work should he somehow get elected. He earned the nickname AWOL for a reason………


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QUOTING ROGER: “The point of this article is that Maldonado is not a man of his word. He has promised multiple times to appear before the public, and has simply not shown up.


Since Maldonado is not a man of his word, you cannot have confidence that he will do anything he has promised.


I’m a liberal, yet I readily complain about the fact that Obama has turned out to not be a man of his word. He flipped on many of his most important 2008 promises, and has actually done more to facilitate the GOP’s agenda than he has the Democratic Party’s agenda.


So I can tell you that a man who does not keep his promises can not be counted on to do anything….except break his campaign promises once elected.


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Oh, Mary, you are so concerned that Obama has let us down? Really? That nonsense worked in 2010 but we are now on to this nonsense as a false set of claims that don’t have any basis in facts.

Rather, it is amazing that President Obama has been able to achieve as much as he has with a GOP who has just dug in their heals to say no at any cost. Even when the GOP knows that something would be good for Americans they just use a knee jerk reaction of opposition.


The American public is now on to the GOP as a party that is controlled by a few Billionaires who could care less about We The People.


I think President Obama is surging in the polls because we recognize that he has keep his word to us and works for us every day. The Billionaires are spreading lies 24/7 but hopefully Americans are on to that game.


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Within months of Obama’s inauguration he had already lost the support of significant numbers of groups of voters he must have behind him to be reelected president: white women and the LGBT voting blocs.


This shunning by two of his strongest voting groups electing him in 2008 was related to broken promises.


Of more concern is that Obama has steadily expanded the powers of the presidency–even more than the prior Bush/Cheney administration expanded the presidential powers.


Obama has us involved in several Middle Eastern nations, and the blood-cost to us is significant. As if the numbers of American soldiers slaughtered on the presidentially-endorsed military-industrial altar of avarice and greed isn’t bad enough, we also are horrifically faced with the fact that more American soldiers have committed suicide in Obama’s Afghanistan involvement* than are being killed by enemy action.


And if he is reelected, we can look forward to four more years of Obama’s slaughter of our soldiers to keep his military contractor handlers happy.


Obama–within days of being inaugurated–bent over for the defense industry, and he has been doing the bend-and-spread-’em 2-step ever since.


Despite Obama’s promise to stop the “revolving door of lobbyists” cycling into his presidential administration, one of his first nominations was for Robert Gates, a long-established presidential-level military lobbyist as Secretary of Defense. But it gets worse.


Within days of his inauguration, Obama chose recently-resigned Raytheon Vice-President (also a presidential-level lobbyist) William Lynn to be in charge of the Defense Department’s day-to-day operations. Most importantly, he would have control over the administration and certify fulfillment of military contracts.


You know…Raytheon, the largest producer of guided missles and DRONES? Like the ones that are now killing citizens of foreign countries, and spying on Americans at home?


Last year the Pentagon paid the Raytheon Corp., its fifth largest contractor, a cool $10 billion for its missiles, missile shields and a constellation of electronics. This year President Barack Obama is putting Raytheon’s recently departed top lobbyist in charge of the Pentagon’s day-to-day management.

(“TIME: Obama’s Lobbyist Ban Meets a Loophole”)

http://tinyurl.com/98t2b7n


And that isn’t the only powerful Raytheon alumni that Obama has named to important positions in the Pentagon:


The Obama Administration apparently has decided to name Dr. Heidi Shyu as the next assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology.

That isn’t so surprising, since she was already the principal deputy to departing Army acquisition chief Malcolm O’Neill. But what is noteworthy is Shyu’s long association with the Raytheon Co., where she served in a raft of senior corporate positions. Among other things, she has been a vice president in Raytheon’s space and airborne systems business, a vice president in the company’s unmanned and reconnaissance-systems unit [i.e., DRONES], and director of the company’s sensor work on the joint strike fighter. Her link to the big Massachusetts-based defense contractor makes her part of a growing fraternity of Raytheon alumni who have found their way to the top of the Obama Administration’s defense management team. The best-known Raytheon alum is Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn, who prior to his current job at the Pentagon was a senior vice president for government operations and strategy in the company’s Washington office, working on programs like the Patriot air defense system. Another well-known Raytheon alum is the Defense Department’s newly minted director of pricing, Shay Assad, who held a variety of senior positions at Raytheon over a 22-year career there. And then there is Frank Kendall, the principal deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics — in other words, the No. 2 acquisition official in the entire defense establishment. Kendall’s Wikipedia entry describes him as a lawyer with an interest in human-rights cases, but in a previous life he was vice president of engineering at Raytheon. This is a surprising number of senior Pentagon officials to draw from a single company, especially in an administration that supposedly prefers to hold the business world at arm’s length.

“Raytheon Becomes Pentagon’s Preferred Source of Top Officials”

http://tinyurl.com/8wr66qg


We handed Obama a golden voters’ mandate in 2008, and he promptly used it to make the GOP more powerful. Obama has weakened the Democratic Party from where it was when we elected him, and no revisionist Democratic Party election propaganda can change that reality.


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Ha! Obama has lost white women and LGBT? Really, just really.


And the rest are really old out of date GOP talking points.


PS The current Sec of Defense is local boy Leon Panetta and Gates was kept on for continuity in 08. The rest isn’t even worth addressing.


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Who cares whether he shows up for appearances. Who wants to hear what he has to say anyway. This guy started out as a cute novelty in Santa Maria. At some point he started to color his sideburns gray to lend an aura of maturity. Later he was a starstruck gopher for the Schwartz. Enough already. He needs to hang up the empty suit and head on back to the farm.


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Maldonado’s behavior–not paying taxes, using his funds to live a lavish lifestyle, and just not showing up to campaign events–could be a sign of substance abuse that is of sufficient seriousness that it interferes with his judgment.


I hope, if this is the case, that it comes out before the election. Politicians make enough screwed-up decisions for us when they are sober. We don’t really need an addict representing us.


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oh please…


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Conservatives need to man up and do some serious accounting for the future here:

– Capps has only two more years

– She will be a permanent minority lame-duck during that time

– On core issues (Oil, Illegal-Immigration, Abortion, Green-Agenda) Abel and Lois vote the same way

– IF Abel is to be a pivotal vote, we all know he’s unreliable at best – do you trust his “swing vote” with K-Street just a few blocks from his DC office?


I will not risk putting him in office – the power of incumbency is hard to fight – especially in the Republican Party where contrarians to the party leaders and ex-officios (the incumbent Republican politicos) are scorned at best, threatened into silence at worst.


Plus, discontent with the RINO incumbent in 2014 will likely put a radical Leftist back into office.


He’s a bad egg guys, we need to start thinking long term – our future is a chess game, not checkers. Take this move now, we lose the game. Abel must be knocked off the field now, and then we must fight for a true Conservative in 2014. The Dems will be coming up with a fresh player then too – which means this “vulnerable Capps seat” will be even more vulnerable then.


I can’t believe I’m saying this as a Conservative, but I’m voting for Capps in 2012 just to make sure AWOL Abel doesn’t get in.


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I know you kind of guys… not inclusive… you sit at the back of the room and wonder about the rest of us… you know… “where were YOU when Nixon needed you.”


More than anyone… your mentality is why we are in such a mess today.


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Nixon…that’s a laugh ! The only president to resign in disgrace, and he should’ve been in prison.

On top of that , he was at least better than every Republican president or vice president since.

Reagan was a senile stooge that quadrupled the debt and doubled taxes. Bush I and II come from an international crime family that funded the Nazis. Dick Cheney ?

War criminals, tortureres…the worst of the worst. War starters, and all on credit cards.


Liars , thieves, and con-men.


Republicans are the problem. Republicans are the enemy.


Moldy-nachos picked the correct party for him.


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I agree with the statement about Nixon being better than any subsequent president, especially in foreign policy. Yes, he was paranoid, yes, he was willing to commit murder to protect himself from scandal, but he was brilliant at foreign policy at a time when we really needed it.


I think very few people realized how paranoid he was.


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Abel is a lefty – simple as that. So if you’re going to vote for someone (hold your nose) vote for someone who is straight forward and honest. Lois will at least look you in the eye and tell you straight out that she’s going to pick your pocket and represent the elitist liberal minority on her trips to D.C. Don’t reward bad political behavior (selling out your party) by voting for the same old scum.


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Terrible ax it is – this election is about ‘holding your nose” and putting an “X” for one or the other. Both have

shown that they are mostly out for themselves (Maldonado would just love to our ‘Guvenor’ someday -God help us all).


Then again, maybe he was meeting with his tax lawyers – to figure out to strike a deal on his tax payment!


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QUOTING PASO CITIZEN: “…this election is about ‘holding your nose” and putting an “X” for one or the other.”


Not everyone allows the GOP and Democratic Party to define for them who they are allowed to vote for.


The worst thing a voter can do, IMO, is to vote for a candidate just because one of the two major political parties shoved them on the ballot. That is, in effect, giving away the power of your vote to the elites who want to control the choices we have in the voting booth.


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“Abel is a lefty – simple as that.” Could you provide any evidence for such an assertion? You know, provide the “why” you feel that way. I am a very committed “lefty” and from my viewpoint, Abel is nowhere near any positions I have, or even positions of Lois Capps, who I am also to the left of. I find it curious when people make proclamations like yours about the position of a given candidate whose voting record doesn’t quite line up with your assertion, at least in my viewpoint. Thanks in advance for responding with any information you would like to provide to back up your assertion. Anything less simply means you just wanted to vent your frustration that Abel isn’t as committed to the viewpoint that you are, which is understandable, but isn’t really much more than a talking point.


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He was the 1 swing vote needed to significantly increase my state income tax for two years. Cost me over a grand. He traded his vote for Arnie’s appointment to L.G and an open primary. That’s left enough for me (traitorous too) – simple as that.


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Russ: Thank you for your reply. I understand that you think that anyone who votes to raise any tax, on anyone at anytime is somehow a “leftist”, but what you have really described in Abel’s behavior is exactly what I have accused him of before, being a political opportunist, hardly behavior that is the exclusive model of the left; actually, if you look at the last twenty or thirty years, it is mostly conservatives that have wrung most of the favoritism out of our political process, at least lately. Yes, yes, yes, Democrats have been guilty of this in the past as well, I understand the history.


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Highest sales tax in the nation, second highest income tax. State is broke – pension liability is through the roof and you Democrats think you can fix it with more taxes? That’s as left as it gets! Go party with your public sector union pimps and leave the producers of this state alone.


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“Union pimps”? How dare you.


You want to go back to the time when there were no unions? Here’s a walk down memory lane for you:


“The Triangle Fire”

http://tinyurl.com/5surdjq


The owners of the factory, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, had invested a lot of funds and resources to stop the workers from unionizing. The conditions at their factory were heinous, and even to bring the factory up to the recommendations of the Fire Marshall–made a few years previously–would cost money.


However, had they even met the Fire Marshall’s specifications for improvements, there would not have been the mass murder that occurred when that fire swept through the building, killing workers behind locked doors and trapped in hallways because there were inadequate exits for the building.


The fire burned so fast and was so hot that it actually melted women together.


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The core philosophy of labor unions has always been democratic, drives the autocratic ‘producers’ nuts.


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QUOTING RUSS: “Abel is a lefty – simple as that.”


LOL. Try again. Just because Maldonado–a Republican–making an a$$ of himself doesn’t mean you can foist him off on the Democrats.


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Life is but a dream when the bigots and anti-civilizationalists turn on each other or begin committing seppuku.


It’s quite the laugh riot when those that hate democracy commence shouting against voting .-


Oh well, proceed. I’ll pop some more popcorn !


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Ah spewing your platitudes again I see.


I don’t see anyone saying not to vote per say. You can not vote for one canditate on ticket and still vote. I had a canditate I didn’t like running in the late 90’s for Gov. of California. I didn’t like the other option either. So I passed on that but voted for all other offices and measures.


Does that mean I didn’t vote because I didn’t vote on less than 10% of ticket?


Does that mean I didn’t do my civic duty?


People are talking about one office. Sometimes there isn’t any lesser of the evils than to let someone else decide.


I’m with a lot on this that I see as a lose, lose situation. You can leave Capps and we know what we have already, so no guessing. We can put in Maldy and he most likely won’t change anything from the way it is now. He in my opinion is only striving for higher office and will be more focused on that, than the people.


So with an office of only two years you wait it out till the next one.


As usual your brush is painting big and wide.


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Oh , horseapples ! Same old whining by Teabag / loser / complainers: They don’t get their way…their WHOLE way, so they storm off the field in a snit.


Same thing applies to ‘candidate’ selection ( what is a canditate ? ). If they don’t toe the complete, bat-squeeze crazy agenda of the ultra extreme conservative fanatics, they’re thrown under the bus or worse.

That’s OK , though…we’ll take Charlie Crist; who will eventually become a sensible and moderate Democrat.


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The only power we have over our elected officials is retroactively–we can vote them out of office if they don’t keep their promises.


The fact that doormat voters, who have had their elected politician wipe their feet on the voters, by repeatedly breaking promises, have no one to blame but themselves.


No one is perfect, and I don’t think any voter expects them to be.


But, by god, they need to keep the promises they make to the voters.


And if they DO break their campaign promises, and we don’t vote them out of office in the next election, then we have no right to expect anything better from our politicians in the future.


My mother didn’t raise any doormats. Did yours?


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“We do have a choice. We can vote for someone else. How about a write in? How about not voting for either? I believe the latter is the most effective,” Thompson added.


This is a tea party representative who is telling people not to vote? So, all you republicans don’t vote for Maldonado, just let the opposition win. What a joke! I don’t like Abel Maldonado. He is a RINO, and he will not get my vote. I realize voting for a write-in is a long shot, but I would rather vote my conscience than play the political game in which everyone loses!


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The only way for Conservatives to affect any change within the CA Republican party (I switched to Independent already) is by voting their conscience.


I was a Mitchum supporter because he was plain-spoken, sincere, and stood his ground. As a Conservative, I cannot vote for Abel because he has consistently shown that he is wishy-washy, insincere, and desperate for power. It’s time for him to go back to the private sector and actually have to work for a living.


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I absolutely agree. If you want to clearly communicate to your political party that they are on the wrong track in choosing those who they put on the ballot, a write-in vote is the best way.


If you vote the opposite party, you give your party an opportunity to call all such switch-voters “disloyal,” “not really Republicans/Democrats,” etc.


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Sadly, under the new election rules that Abel championed into law write in names are no longer allowed under CA law.


The voters really got duped on this one. Some districts only have 2 candidates from one party. Can you believe that? Maybe Conservatives need a party, but with the top 2 rules that only move 2 candidates from the primary to the general election even that won’t work to give us a better democracy.


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That’s why the “two-party system” is a crock.


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Why don’t you try a Libertarian for once? You could hardly do any worse than Capps and Maldonado!


Yuk!


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TONIGHT, Abel backed out on yet ANOTHER speaking engagement. I just came back from the North County Tea Party meeting that was being held at the Lake Side Pavilion. I decided to attend because Maldonado was slated to be speaking and answering questions. As it turned out, his secretary called them on Friday night and said that he wouldn’t be able to attend but offered to send his campaign manager or his daughter! They said NO, we don’t want to talk to your campaign manager or your daughter, we want to talk to YOU… He pretty much said, soooooooo sorry but no can do as previously promised.


Needless to say, everyone was rather displeased (to say the least) and the money spent to lease the large pavilion room is non refundable. People were talking about a write in candidate that we will be hearing about in the near future.


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Yipes. What kind of a coward sends his poor grown daughter out in his place? Like her or not, at least Lois Capps speaks frequently at public events and her supporters rally around her. We conservatives are $crewed this election.


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Perhaps Maldonado is disrespecting the GOP voters because he knows that most of them will vote for the GOP candidate (Maldonado) no matter what he does to the GOP voters.


“Dear Abby” had a great quote: “There are no unwilling doormats.” Maldonado will cease wiping his feet on the GOP voters when the GOP voters quit voting for him when he tries to do so.


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Abel Maldonado has traditionally been a no-show representative; less available to constituents at home than Capps, Blakeslee, Katcho, or O’Connell. When we do see Abel, he is on a tractor in a parade by himself. Hard to talk to him about the needs of the District that way.


Representing citizens starts out by showing up and listening. Abel’s primary-election opponent had done so in Santa Barbara County. Capps has been so diligent showing up that most people have personally talked to her a couple of times a year face to face about needs of this area.


Even if Maldonado’s principals are in line with our beliefs, it would be hard to justify voting for him. And most of us don’t feel Maldonado has principals.


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Yeah–and he doesn’t have PRINCIPLES either! LOL


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I would like to add that, when I was a board member of the Democratic Central Committee, Lois Capps could be counted on to open up her beautiful (but not ostentatious) home in Santa Barbara for fundraisers. Her kitchen wasn’t huge, but it was very well planned out and worked well for fundraisers.


I don’t know too many politicians who are willing to do that.


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