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Flap’s Links and Comments for June 12th on 14:41

These are my links for June 12th from 14:41 to 14:48:

  • Romney camp responds to Pawlenty’s "ObamneyCare" dig – Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty issued his sharpest attack against presumed Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney on the eve of the GOP debate in New Hampshire on Monday, tying the former Massachusetts governor to President Obama's health care overhaul.
    In the process, he coined a term likely to dominate his stump speches and the debate: "ObamneyCare."
    "President Obama said that he designed Obamacare after Romneycare and basically made it ObamneyCare," Pawlenty said on "Fox News Sunday." "What I don’t understand is that they both continue to defend it."

    It didn't take long for Romney's campaign to respond to what will certainly become a common critique among Republican contenders.

    "Republicans should keep the focus on President Obama's failure to create jobs and control spending," Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams said in an e-mail to The Washington Examiner. "People are looking for leadership on the economy and the budget. Mitt Romney wants to be that leader."
    The aggressive message is an about-face for Pawlenty, who essentially vowed not to throw elbows, but has failed to gain significant traction in the polls. It could also set the stage for a feisty GOP debate, the first in which Romney has participated, Monday in Manchester.

  • California smash-up: Redistricting winners and losers – The GOP Losers:

    Rep. Jeff Denham

    Denham is positioned to run in a Stanislaus County district that’s far less GOP friendly than the seat he currently holds. Denham can also take one for the team and run against either Democratic Rep. Dennis Cardoza or Democratic Rep. Jim Costa. But that would pit him against a sitting incumbent in a Democratic-leaning district – which doesn’t sound too appealing.

    Rep. Jerry Lewis

    Lewis, a 17-term veteran, has been at the top of retirement watch lists – doing little fundraising and not committing to run for reelection. But the new lines could add some fuel to his tank, with the commission drawing up a new Republican-friendly Inland Empire seat that would seem to fit Lewis perfectly.

    Rep. Elton Gallegly

    There’s no denying that Gallegly is in a tough spot. Under the draft map, Gallegly is drawn into a Los Angeles-area with powerful House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon. Some Republican officials are privately suggesting that Gallegly could alternatively run in a Democratic-oriented Central Valley district, but neither option seems great for the 67-year-old congressman.

    Rep. David Dreier

    Things look bleak for Dreier, the 16-term House Rules Committee chair who’s been placed in a Democratic-leaning, Latino-majority seat that makes him ripe for a challenge. Dreier could alternatively run for a nearby Ontario-based district, but that would put him in firmly Democratic territory. One option some Republicans suggest: Dreier could work out a deal with Lewis and run for the Inland Empire seat. But Dreier has raised little money, and the new lines are bound to increase speculation that he’s looking to throw in the towel.

    Rep. Gary Miller

    Miller faces few good options. He’s been drawn into the same heavily Asian American and Democratic-oriented seat as Democratic Rep. Judy Chu – a no-go for him. Miller could try to run against fellow GOP Rep. John Campbell for an Orange County-based district, but that seems like a stretch because Campbell would have plenty of his own money to spend.

    Rep. Dan Lungren 

    Lungren, who’s already on Democratic target lists, just became that much more vulnerable. The nine-term congressman has been drawn into a slightly GOP-leaning, Sacramento-area seat that offers him less protection against Democratic physician Ami Bera, who’s running against Lungren again after waging a strong challenge last year. This race goes to the top of the watch list.

  • California’s dropout numbers signal big crisis – The bedrock goal of any public elementary and high school system should be awarding high school diplomas to as many youngsters as possible.

    Therefore, one might expect that with the tens of billions of dollars California spends each year to educate 6 million kids, and with the vital role schools play in the state's social, political and economic health, we'd know how we're doing.

    However, we don't know. We use several methodologies to estimate graduation rates and their counterpart, dropout rates. But hard data are lacking, a statewide computerized student tracking system that's supposed to provide concrete numbers is incomplete, and Gov. Jerry Brown wants to eliminate its appropriation.

    So we are left with inexact methodologies that give us approximate numbers. As fuzzy as they may be, they still indicate that California has a big-time dropout problem.

    =======

    Why?

    Illegal immigration and the children do not speak English. There is no reason for them to learn and assimilate in school.

    It will cost $ billions to educate the children of immigrant workers, while productive citizens and companies leave California due to high taxaton and regulatory costs.