I’ve embedded the “Different Kind” video below for the benefit of our readers who speak Spanish.

~~John Cronin~~

California Governor: Brown (D) 45%, Whitman (R) 44%

Meg Whitman’s mega-win in Tuesday’s Republican Primary has thrown her into a virtual tie once again with Democrat Jerry Brown in the race to be the next governor of California.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in California, taken last night, shows Brown with 45% of the vote, while Whitman earns 44% support. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided.

Brown led Whitman 45% to 41% late last month but the two have been tied three times in surveys stretching back to September. Brown’s support in the match-ups with Whitman has remained in the narrow range of 41% to 45%. Whitman, in those same surveys, has earned 35% to 43% of the vote.

Despite a heated primary battle with State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, 83% of Republicans now back Whitman’s candidacy. Brown, who was unchallenged for his party’s nomination, draws 74% of Democratic votes. Voters not affiliated with either party break even.

During intense primary battles, supporters of one candidate often say they won’t vote for the party nominee in November. That was the case in 2008 as a large number of Hillary Clinton’s supporters said they were not likely to support Barack Obama in the general election campaign. However, by Election Day, most Clinton supporters came home and voted for their party’s nominee.

Read more @…… rasmussenreports.com/public_content

CUPERTINO — Today, former Vice President of the United States Richard Cheney wrote an op-ed that was published in the Orange County Register discussing why he believes Meg Whitman is the right choice for California’s next governor given her “conservative values, leadership skills and vision to reform state government and usher in an era of strong economic growth and prosperity.” The former Vice President also examines why Steve Poizner is unfit to receive the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Read the op-ed below:

Orange County Register: Whitman Stronger Republican Candidate

By:  Dick Cheney

I am proud to endorse Meg Whitman to be the next governor of California. Meg has the conservative values, leadership skills and vision to reform state government and usher in an era of strong economic growth and prosperity.

There is a lot at stake in this election. What happens in California has a direct bearing on the health of the U.S. economy. America cannot afford to have its largest state teetering on the edge of financial collapse. California needs a proven executive who has the mettle to stand up to the entrenched special interests in Sacramento and cut spending.

Meg is a leader who will not shy away from confronting the public employee unions. She has put pension reform at the center of her agenda. She is a firm believer in the power of tax cuts to strengthen small businesses and create jobs. She knows that welfare must be a temporary hand-up and not a way of life. She is committed to local control of education, and she has a strong and practical approach to securing the border and addressing the problems associated with illegal immigration.

Meg’s conservatism is rooted in the optimism that people can achieve great things if government doesn’t stand in their way. As I have come to know her better, I have been reminded of another great leader from California. As a young congressman from Wyoming in the 1980s, I was an unabashed foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. I saw an inspirational leader lift the nation out of the malaise left behind by Jimmy Carter’s liberalism. I believe Meg Whitman can do for California what Ronald Reagan did for America.

While I am always mindful of President Reagan’s 11th Commandment, there are issues of judgment that voters should consider before they cast their ballots in the Republican primary. I admire the success that Steve Poizner has had in the private sector and believe his commitment to public service is sincere. But I have concerns about whether he truly adheres to the conservative principles of our party.

In 2000, when I first ran on the national ticket with President George W. Bush, Mr. Poizner endorsed Vice President Al Gore. With the election hanging in the balance, he donated $10,000 to the Gore-Lieberman Recount Committee in Florida. In 2004, during the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign, Mr. Poizner, who was then a candidate for the state Assembly, opposed the tax cuts that were the centerpiece of our economic recovery plan.

He also broke ranks with our party on national security and the “war on terror.” Mr. Poizner opposed the war in Iraq. To amplify his opposition to the national security policies of the Bush administration, he invited Richard Clarke to campaign for him in California.

At the time, Mr. Clarke, a former staff member of the National Security Council, was making the rounds on cable television to market a book that blamed the Bush administration for mismanaging the terrorist threat and enabling the Sept. 11 attacks against our nation. There was a clear purpose behind the Clarke campaign visit. Mr. Poizner was breaking from the Bush-Cheney ticket and our policy goals because he thought it helped his political ambitions.

The intervening years have proven that the resolve of the Bush administration and the courage of our soldiers on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan kept America safe at a perilous time in our nation’s history.

While I have doubts about the authenticity of the conservative voice that Mr. Poizner now speaks in, there is no disputing that Meg Whitman is the Republican the Democrats fear the most in this election. The unions and the Democratic donors invested in Attorney General Jerry Brown’s success have already started to run misleading ads attacking Meg Whitman. This is a clear admission on their part that Meg is the toughest Republican candidate for governor. The Democrats know that Meg can beat them in November, and, more importantly, they know she will put an end to the failed status quo in Sacramento as governor.

I encourage my fellow Republicans to vote for Meg Whitman. She is a woman of courage, a leader with conviction, a true fiscal conservative and champion of the values we hold dearest.

Read it at the Orange County Register Here: http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/california-248902-bush-poizner.html.

By: Meg Whitman

To get spending under control in Sacramento, the next California governor must have the courage to confront the public-employee unions and reform the state pension system. Short of raising taxes or cutting education to the bone, there is no other way to dry up the red ink in the budget.

The amount the state spends on the worker-retirement system has increased by 2,000 percent in the past decade. This year alone, the state will spend $3.3 billion on pensions and other retirement benefits for government workers. Conservative estimates peg the system’s unfunded liability at $182 billion. This means the average household in California is on the hook for nearly $15,000 unless bold reforms are put in place

To understand the pension crisis, you have to closely examine the lavish benefits politicians have promised to win union support for their campaigns. Under the current system, government workers receive retirement benefits that are far more generous than what is available to Californians who work in the private sector. Many state workers can retire today at age 55, after 30 years of work, with 60 percent of their salaries and 100 percent of their health-care benefits for life. For example, a DMV field rep who retires at age 55 could expect to draw a pension valued at $400,000. For some state workers, the benefits are much higher. The pension of a prison guard could easily be $1.4 million.

In comparison, the median American household only has $100,000 saved at retirement. It is simply unfair to ask non-government workers to pay higher taxes to fund benefits that far exceed what they can ever expect to receive in retirement. It’s also dishonest to continue promising benefits to state workers that are so woefully underfunded.

We have an obligation to both taxpayers and government workers to find a solution that will guarantee the solvency of the state’s pension fund without requiring higher taxes. We must raise the retirement age for non–public safety workers from 55 to 65. We must require state employees to contribute a larger portion of their salary to help pay for their retirement benefits. We must extend the vesting period, and we must bring new government workers in under a different deal where they receive a defined-contribution retirement plan similar to the 401(k) plans that most taxpayers have.

Read more at NRO.com……