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CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE candidate Elizabeth Emken speaks at a Tea Party in the Hills meeting on Aug. 14 at the American Legion Hall on GReenstone Road in Placerville. Democrat photo by Pat Dollins
Elizabeth Emken, the Republican challenger to Senator Diane Feinstein, spoke at the meeting of the Tea Party in the Hills on Tuesday night in Placerville.
A fast talking, enthusiastic woman, she said she was thrilled to be the Republican Party candidate for the U.S. Senate.
“I’m running because I’m angry,” she declared.
Describing her credentials, she said she has degrees in both economics and political science and previously worked at IBM. “Federal agencies have no idea what it’s like to produce,” she said.
More recently, Emken worked as vice president for Government Relations at Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest science and advocacy organization for autistics. Her own son was diagnosed with autism.
“I’m familiar with the legislative process and how to get things done,” she said.
Emken said she worked with Rick Santorum to get legislation passed that provided funding for autism research and services. “We share the same suspicion of federal agencies,” she said.
The Senate challenger then went on to denounce President Obama for the $800 billion stimulus bill that “was payback to his supporters and that propped up failing organizations. The waste of tax money was a defining moment for me.”
She also said she was frightened when the Obamacare legislation was passed. “It’s bad for people with disabilities, those with autism, and the elderly. It made a bad problem worse. I said I could do a better job than these guys.”
Emken believes that California is not as liberal as many think. “Seventy-three percent of Californians know we’re on the wrong track,” she said. “I’m the alternative to an entrenched person. Feinstein is an elitist and out of touch. She won’t even debate me. Even the Los Angeles Times commented that ‘nothing screams “entrenched incumbent” more than a refusal to debate an opponent.’”
Emken said that a poll conducted in August showed Feinstein with 45.9 percent support, Emken with 33.6 percent, leaving 20.6 percent undecided.
“How we beat Feinstein is with a grass-roots movement,” she said. “Undecided voters are looking for an alternative. We can win this race with a grassroots movement.”
Emken said the debt problem at the federal level needs to be resolved. “Feinstein voted for Obamacare and voted down the Keystone pipeline,” she said. ”We are going from it’s impossible to get rid of Feinstein to it’s inevitable. She has nothing to offer.”
In closing she asked for the group’s help “in creating an insurgency, a rebellion. We are having success across the country.
“I will be fighting for you every day. Fighting for you, our families and our freedoms. I’m an across the board conservative.”
Contact Dawn Hodson at 530-344-5071 or dhodson@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @DHodsonMtDemo on Twitter.
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JohnAugust 21, 2012 - 12:37 pm
Am I the only one to see the hypocrisy in this piece? Ms. Emken is foursquare against government, especially government spending. Yet, she was VP for Government Affairs--iow a lobbyist--for a non-profit. Her job? Get as much government money as possible for her cause. Ms. Emken and Cong. Ryan are in the mold of 99% of self-avowed conservatives: they're 100% for taking Govt. money for themselves but 100% opposed to giving any to other people. I am sure that the author of the piece, Dawn Hobson, tried to write a puff piece but ended up proving that you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. As for Sen. Feinstein's refusal to debate Ms. Emken, let's remind local folk that McClintock has refused to meet his Democratic rival. The same is true of Beth Gaines and her husband Ted Gaines. This is a time-honored practice of politicians who feel so safe that a debate could only hurt them The GOP plays the hypocrite card because they sense that their base consists mostly of schlumps incapable of analytical thought. It works.
RichAugust 24, 2012 - 7:15 pm
Thank you John, you said what a lot of us are thinking.......