Cutting through the political jargon has been my mission. Phone calls, reading websites, and sending emails to gubernatorial candidates has been my task; all with the goal of uncovering who the real conservative is in the race for California Governor. The conversations have been fascinating and the answers diverse, but only one candidate can officially have title of “True Conservative”, and it is not, as Tom McClintock endorsed, Steve Poizner.

One such endorsement comes from Conservative stalwart Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA). During a conference call McClintock pointed to a few reasons why he will support Poizner for California’s governor. “We simply cannot afford anymore Republicans in name only in California. Meg is nothing more than a Schwarzenegger third term.”

I began this journey asking the question on Facebook, “What questions would you like to have asked and answered by those running in the name of the Conservative for California Governor? I’ll be calling their offices on Friday, so shoot me your thoughts and questions.” Responses were posted and from these I created my questions for the various candidates. My hope was not to just read the talking points of each candidate, but to speak with the candidate or campaign staffer to hear the heart of the individual. Written words on a candidate’s website may state one’s position, but the passion and conviction of the heart is heard in the voice. Campaign advertisements and mailings are nothing but a polished sales pitch, a way to woo the heart and mind of the potential voter, many times by smearing the other suitors in the race.

Budget, business and immigration were the key concerns of my questioners, but for me, a fiscal conservative is not enough, and I was on a quest to find which candidate was a social conservative as well. I do not want to have to settle for the better of two evils, when there is a real candidate who stands for what I believe. I gave into the argument that I would be throwing my vote away if I didn’t vote for Schwarzenegger and indeed I did throw it away by voting for the Terminator. So this time around, I did my due diligence and talked with each of the candidates so as to find the individual who most closely represents what I as a conservative Christian believe.

The questions that were asked are as follows:

1. What measures will you take to make California a business friendly state? California tax revenue is down30% since taxes have been raised. What are your thoughts and what do you intend to do?
2. The policy of the decade has resulted in a loss in businesses and business in California. Our state is one of, if not the most unfriendly to business. How are you going to stand against the vocal minorities who are not pro-business and begin enticing business to come, stay and grow in California?
3. What will you do to support Arizona’s new immigrations law? Will you choose to uphold existing Federal immigration laws, including follow through on criminal charges brought against illegal immigration?
4. What are your views on healthcare, welfare, drivers licenses and school for illegals?
5. What ten programs will you cut?
6. Do you support the idea of a part time legislature to help balance the budget?
7. Will you cut taxes and limit spending to bring things under control without cutting essential services?
8. What are your views on abortion?
9. What are your views on education?
10. Define “Limited Government”.  How will you implement this idea, if you support it?
11. Define “Conservative”.  Do you feel that you fit into that description and why?

Steve Poizner

1.Tax Reform

• 10% Cut on State sales tax
• 10% Cut on Corporate tax
• 10% Rainy day fund
• 50% Reduction in the capital gains tax rate
• 2. Streamline Government : Create jobs and promote innovation.
• Labor Reform to empower employees and make California competitive again.
• Tort Reform for an economy focused on growth and expansion

3 & 4. Immigration: Supports Arizona’s Immigration Law.

• Securing our borders utilizing the National Guard.
• Create a multi-state National Guard Partnership between these border states.
• Cut taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants.
• Hold employers responsible for following the law.
• End sanctuary city practices.

5. Hiring Freeze a prohibition on the replacement of retiring or quitting workers.

• Debt Freeze prohibits treasurer from issuing new General Fund-backed debt
• State Spending Freeze holds spending to 2009-2010 levels

6. Supports a part-time legislature
7. 18-month hiring freeze in non-public safety state personnel
8. Abortion pro-choice

• Outlaw all government funding of abortions.
• Endorsed the 2010 Parental Notification Initiative.
• Opposes late-term abortions.
• Streamline adoptions and ensure that widespread educational programs.
• (These positions are found on his website and where also discussed with me by his staffer, however he has made earlier contradictory statements.  When I asked the staffer about Poizner’s 100% approval rating from Planned Parenthood, she stated it was just a rumor, however many news sources demonstrate otherwise. Here is a copy of the form that he filled out according to an LA Times article.)

9. Education : Transfer power and responsibility to the district level.

• Hold districts accountable for performance.
• Eliminate barriers to success in the state’s five worst-performing districts.

10. “Limited Government” : Part time legislature.
11.“Define Conservative” : Second Amendment, no legalized marijuana, traditional marriage, no federal health care, no foreign oil.

Meg Whitman

1. Less Regulation on business and businesses.

• Cut tax for starting a small businesses.
• Eliminate the 10% factory tax.

2. Increase research and development tax credit.

• Promote tax credit to encourage investment in water conservation technology.
• Eliminate capital gains tax.

3 & 4. “Does not support the Arizona Immigration Law.”

• No amnesty or path to citizenship for illegal aliens.
• Secure the border utilizing the National Guard.
• Economic fence: employers can check immigration status.
• Work place inspection for illegals, holding employers responsible for hiring.
• No drivers licenses, benefits, school, admission to California colleges for illegals.
• English immersion in the classrooms.
• Eliminate sanctuary cities.

5. Cut 40,000 government jobs.

• Cut healthcare spending in prison.
• Cut $15 billion of spending.

6. Supports part-time legislature
7. See number 5
8. Abortion Pro-choice

• Choice is for women, spouses and  their doctor.
• Only in the case of the harm of the mother.
• Parental notification and no late-term abortion.
• No federal funding.  (The above statements are from the phone interview with a staffer in Meg Whitman’s office, however, it contradicts earlier interviews.)

According to the Examiner: On abortion, she declared herself pro-choice but said she does not support late-term abortions, favors parental notification if an abortion is recommended for minors and supports adoption reform to encourage both mothers and prospective adoptive parents to participate in the adoption process.

9. Education : Reward outstanding teachers.

• Eliminate cap on charter schools.
• College- $1 billion to the U.C. Schools.

10. “Limited Government” : Less regulation on business.  Government should not be burden on people. Charter schools.

11. “Define Conservative” : “Meg stands on her ideals and it fits well with
Republican ideals. Second Amendment, limited government, serve the people.”

Robert Newman

1. & 2. Government must not be an obstacle to establishing a business.

• Permit process must be made clear and easy to complete.
• Regulation must be eased.
• Energy-saving and renewable products produced in California.

3. & 4. Endorses a thrust toward citizenship for those who have been living, working,
and law-abiding for many, documented years.

• A guest-worker program for areas of labor where needs are eminent.
• Federal government must absorb cost of border issue.
• Mexico needs to monitor her boarders.
• Supports Arizona’s sovereign right to protect her border.

5. Departments and programs must be gone through and wasteful spending eliminated; all department will see cut backs.
6. Supports part time legislature.
7. Essential services such as education, some aspects of welfare, safety and
mandatory spending will remain in place while the spending is cut.
8. Abortion Prolife

• Life begins at conception.
• No funding in the U.S. or abroad.
• No stem cell research.

9. Education needs sufficient funding so teachers can be secure in their jobs
and students will have the best learning environment.

• Teacher and pupil benefit greatly from increased contact, thus less paperwork.
• Parents are in charge of their child’s education. Supports charter schools, private schools, home schools and vouchers.

10. “Limited Government” : “Less government to interfere with the private
lives of people. All government has a tendency to encroach on personal
rights. Privatize as much as possible.”
11. “Define Conservative”: “Relying on principles presented in God’s
Word to conduct one’s behavior in life.”
“Fiscally conservative means living within one’s means, paying bills and debt
debt on time and creating reserve fund.”

Larry Naritelli

1. Lower tax rates

• 50%  for Corporations.
• Lower 30%-50% income tax.
• Eliminate capitol gains tax.

2. Free market solutions to rebuild business in California.

• Develop domestic oil.
• Restore certainty to agriculture for water.
• Opposes Cap and Trade and AB 32.

3. & 4. Supports Arizona’s Immigration Law as an effort to enforce Federal law.

• Enforce the laws in place, strengthen the fence. Support law enforcement and Border Patrol.
• Cut off financial incentives for illegals.
• Charge back the country of origin for the cost of their citizens in the U.S.
• Enforce, verify and document workers and hold employers accountable.
• Sanctuary cities will be held accountable.

5. Any program that is related to “climate change”.

6. Supports a part time legislature.

7. Programs like welfare and unemployment must be monitored and spending
cut. Subsidies for “green jobs and technology” should be cut, allowing the free
market to grow these markets.
8. Abortion Prolife

• Supports the sanctity of human life as a gift from our Creator.
• This is not an issue of choice, it is a matter of personal responsibility.
• The choice is always made up front before any conception.

9. Education : Put the power back in the hands of local school districts.

• Encourage competition through homeschooling, charter and private schools, and school vouchers.
• Private sector funding and loans for higher education.
• Curriculum must be based in truth, not false science nor revised history.
• Trade and vocational schools are important to our future.  Schools should be judged on the output of it’s student/citizen, not test scores alone.

10. “Limited Government” : “Trust the people. Government is responsible to
provide for the safety and common good of it’s citizens. Government is not in
the business to be in business. Free market defines what success it.
Less government will have fewer commissions and bureaucratic offices
and will be held accountable by the people.”
11. “Define Conservative” : “One who is fiscally responsible, believes in limited
government. Examples are Ronald Reagan and Eisenhower. One who care-
fully evaluates before making a decision. Prolife, traditional marriage, Second
Amendment. Let’s allow the free market work. Let’s stay true to our values,
principles and true to the Constitution. I have held these values all my life.”

Two other candidates that I did not reach are Ken Miller and Bill Chambers.

Ken believes we must spur economic growth and investments, create jobs, educate our children, reduce the size of government, stop illegal immigration, protect our citizens, and engage in our democracy.

Bill Chambers states on his website:

Californians needs a leader who is in touch with the majority of its people, a leader who is a peer on both a social and economic level, and a leader who can explain the reasons for making the decisions they do.  All of our elected politicians should be held accountable and responsible for their actions.  Politics is a field that with every decision you make, someone will disagree with your decision. You have to have thick skin and choose the decision that’s best for the people, even if it goes against your own personal opinion.

What, as a follow of Christ, should be my standard for voting?  It becomes difficult, when there is no choice that honors God’s standard found in the Bible, so one must pick the better of the evils.  However, I was convicted by an 18 year old girl who stated, “Shouldn’t we always vote for the candidate that is the moral choice?”  I haven’t always voted my conscience, because I bought the lie, that I was throwing my vote away, but as I contemplate the front runners and see that they do not hold to the standards of God’s Word, I as a believer, need to stand on the convictions of my faith,  and not be tolerant of their position and water down my vote.  We have been much too silent in our convictions I am afraid at the voting booth, and because of this, we have reaped a government that does not reflect what a Christian nation should look like and our culture is in moral decay.  Our hope is in God alone, but we are responsible for throwing our vote away when we vote for those who don’t stand for what God stands for.  In the eternal scheme of things, God will honor those of us who stand on the Word of God and represent Him, even in the voting booth.

Look at each candidate carefully and decide for yourself who is the “True Conservative”.