Payback Against The Waxman-Berman Machine

Above, Paul Bannai receives a novelty frog gift from
Armand in Bannai's Gardena district office in 1974.

Two years ago, thanks to reapportionment and the wacko new primary election system in California that pits the top two vote-getters against each other, even if they are of the same party, Rep. Brad Sherman had to face Rep. Howard Berman in the general election.

At the time, many GOP bigwigs were tripping over themselves in issuing endorsements of either Sherman or Berman, I stayed true to my conservative principles and endorsed and voted for Republican Mark Reed in the primary. Unfortunately, Reed wasn't one of the top two vote-getters so it ended up being a choice between Sherman and Berman.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am not particularly enamored with some of the policy positions of Brad Sherman. I was not fond of Howard Berman either. Both are liberals. But the choice was made easier for me as I remembered how the Henry Waxman-Howard Berman machine installed a carpetbagger into the 53rd Assembly District (Hawthorne-Gardena) to run against Assemblyman Paul Bannai with big West L.A. money backing him. I worked as a field representative for Bannai off and on (college permitting) back in those days. So, it was natural for me to give Mr. Berman a little "payback."

Therefore, I came out in support of Brad Sherman and Sherman sent Berman into retirement. Some of my conservative friends almost had strokes over this. But, as Sir Winston Churchill put it, "If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons."

Above, Paul Bannai and Armand at the Little Tokyo Oshogatsu celebration on New Year's Day 2014.

In case you would like to read a little about the Waxman-Berman political machine, former Bannai campaign director Allan Hoffenblum has an article about it.

To read the article, go here.