The Lincoln Club Made Some Truly Horrific Endorsement Decisions This Year – Orange County Register

The Lincoln Club is a large conservative donor group in Orange County. Historically, if one wanted to research the “true conservative” picks in elections, Lincoln Club endorsements could usually be considered a decent measure of that.

But has the man made any hasty decisions this year.

It’s one thing for them to endorse Republican Brian Dahle as governor, quite another for them to endorse Robert Howell as insurance commissioner. Robert Howell, I must point out to anyone reading this, is quite possibly one of the worst candidates for office I have ever interviewed in eight years of interviewing political candidates. Of the hundreds upon hundreds of candidates I’ve interviewed over the years, few knew less about the office they were running for and their personal motivations than Robert Howell. He might be the one person who could make Ricardo Lara a compelling choice. You can read more in Howell and Ricardo Lara’s Editorial Board Non-Approval.

But OK, maybe the Lincoln Club is just doing what a bunch of Republicans are supposed to do and endorsing Republicans. Good. No matter. Boring.

They also made some truly awful choices locally.

One is Gracey Van Der Mark, candidate for Huntington Beach City Council.

This from the late and great OC Weekly summed up why she shouldn’t be running for public office:

The controversy over Van Der Mark dates back to last summer when she accompanied a team of right-wing anti-Semitic agitators like vlogger Baked Alaska and Augustus Invictus – both scheduled speakers at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville a few days later – to disrupt a white privilege workshop in Santa Monica….

“This meeting was led by the Jewish elders who were present,” Van Der Mark wrote in now-deleted comments. “People of color were there doing what the elderly Jews asked them to do.”

But, of course, with Van Der Mark carrying the torch of Tito Ortiz, she’s popular with right-wingers who care more about owning the libs than being decent people. That’s not the conservative call. It’s the call of the clown. And the Lincoln Club made the clown’s call.

Then there are the crony capitalist endorsements of the Lincoln Club in Anaheim.

The Conservative club backed Trevor O’Neil, Gloria Ma’ae and Natalie Meeks. All three are enthusiastic supporters of government grants and incentives for businesses. All three downplay the problem of corruption in the city of Anaheim and are purposely blind to the disproportionate influence of big business in the city.

In what world are they the true curator’s choice?

They made other sketchy choices, like Assemblyman Phillip Chen, who voted for the really terrible Assembly Bill 2967lawmaker’s effort to shut down one of the few opportunities for cities to save money on pensions.

But hey, it’s their club. If the wealthy “conservatives” want to blow their money and their credibility, it’s on them.

Sal Rodriguez can be reached at salrodriguez@scng.com