Today, in a hard-hitting editorial on-line For the good of the 22nd District and the nation, the choice is clear: Andrew Janz, the Fresno Bee did something it hasn’t done since before 2002 — it is recommending a candidate for Congress “who is not Devin Nunes.” The editorial will be in the print version tomorrow.
The Bee says Janz will attend to the issues in his district and seek bipartisanship in Washington, D.C. For example, Janz wants to work with Republicans to develop a new source of water for Valley farms. While Nunes has done some work on water issues,
Nunes has also alienated Democratic representatives with his never-ending name-calling of environmentalists as leftists, socialists, even Communists. With no ground left for compromise, little has been accomplished. Janz will have a better chance of dealing with Democrat peers from elsewhere in the state on the water issue. Nothing will happen without compromise.
The paper points out that Janz is not being supported by the national party because Nunes has a 9 percentage point advantage in voter registration. Therefore, says the BEE, Janz can be independent from party politics. For example, on immigration Janz supports “an earned right to citizenship,” not amnesty, and wants to work out the details for a work visa program. He says Trump’s wall would be “a giant waste of money” because
drug and human trafficking already occur through the border’s regular checkpoints. Rather, he supports employing technology to beef up border security — drones, satellite surveillance, infrared imaging.
Janz does not back Nancy Pelosi for the House leadership. The BEE says Pelosi is anathema to many in the district, and Janz is looking for someone less polarizing. Regarding gun control, the editorial notes that Janz is a gun owner who believes people who have no convictions for violent crime should be able to arm themselves, especially if they live in the farm and ranch country of the district.
The BEE contrasts the position of Janz and Nunes on health care. Nunes voted for a bill which would have shrunk Medicaid by 15 million enrollees nationwide by 2026. In the 22nd District in January, 313,000 people were enrolled in Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid). 74,000 of them would have immediately lost coverage, and all would have seen some loss of benefits or access to doctors. “Nunes did this despite the fact that his district has more people relying on government-paid medical assistance than almost anywhere else in the nation.” In contrast, Janz wants ”every American to have access to quality health care” and pre-existing conditions must be covered.
The BEE points out that “many in law enforcement” are Republicans while Janz, a prosecutor, is a Democrat because he considers the party to have big ideas like Social Security and civil rights. He admires FDR’s actions during the Depression.
This year, Nunes has frequently criticized the BEE for “allegedly supporting Janz and having a supposed “leftist, liberal, socialist” agenda. The BEE explains:
The truth is The Bee’s Editorial Board had not arrived at a recommendation pending interviews with the candidates to size them up. The Bee sent two invitations to Nunes to attend such a meeting; not once did he reply. Janz, by contrast, made time to sit down and discuss the issues. For that reason — and more — he has earned the recommendation.
It warns that if Nunes is re-elected, the district will remain
stuck with the damaging partisanship he practices, the party-above-country mode that motivates him to protect President Trump from the investigation into Russian meddling more than meet his constitutional obligations as an independent arm of government.
In conclusion, the BEE exhorts the voters to “choose wisely” for the good of the district, and America.