Inside Golden State Politics
Bill Boyarsky and Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, two experienced California political experts, argue about politics from Los Angeles to Sacramento to Washington.
Bill Boyarsky is former city editor of the Los Angeles Times and was also a columnist, bureau chief and political reporter for the newspaper. Previously, he reported on politics for the Associated Press in Sacramento.
He is the winner of three Pulitzer Prizes for team reporting.
Bill is the author of two biographies of Ronald Reagan, a biography of Jesse M. Unruh; Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times, and, with co-author Nancy Boyarsky, Backroom Politics.
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe is a retired professor of the practice of public policy communication at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.
Sherry has been political analyst for KCAL-TV, NBC4 Los Angeles NBC's "Today" show and the BBC, where she was an analyst on American politics for programs in London, Scotland and Wales. In 2006, she was a nominee for the Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for NBC4’s news feature, “Decision 2005: A Voter’s Guide.
She has also appeared on MSNBC, CNN, Spectrum News 1 and Al Jazeera English and on radio shows in the United States and internationally.
Sherry has a Ph.D in government from Claremont Graduate University and a master's in political science from Rutgers, where she was a fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
Inside Golden State Politics
Summer Surprises
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We look at President Trump's defense of ICE traffic stops. We examine the impact of age, illness and death on the midterm elections. We discuss the seemingly invisible campaigns for California governor and Los Angeles mayor.
Welcome to another episode of Inside Golden State Politics. I'm Bill Boyarsky, former city editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and with me is our producer director, Nancy Boyarsky
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337And I'm Sheri Bebitch Jeffe, political analyst and self-styled media maven, to you from reviewing the recent testimonies of Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan before Congress. you think it's interesting that the court sent the girls, one conservative, one liberal, to face Capitol Hill questioning? I love it. And their testimonies were personal and powerful. you notice how nice, how polite lawmakers were in questioning the justices? The deep, rancorous partisanship typical of Congress today was muted. No Patel or Pam Bondi or even Todd Blanche confrontations here. over at SCOTUS made an astute political decision, sending in the girls. Not a bad piece of strategy. Why? as 20th century Canadian feminist Charlotte Whitton observed, quote, "Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought as good. this is not difficult." End quote. Over to you, Bill.
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337Sherri, this has been quite a day for the shooters of ICE. You can call them the ICE shooters.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Escapades
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337Three dead is the total, plus several wounded. And while people, around the country and- of various political stripes were condemning these shootings, one person stood out defending the shooters, the ICE
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337I
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337shooters.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337guess
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337You couldn't possibly guess who. Yeah.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Who, Bill. No there's nobody
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337s-
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337so callous as to do that, Bill.
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337men and women of ICE are doing a great, that's in caps, job
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337is a
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337on
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337I hope
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337to on what has to be done. We cannot give up one of ICE's most important and effective crime-fighting tools, the, caps, traffic stop, exclamation point, unquote. And so this is quite a compliment, I think, for the for the ICE crew, and it's quite a put-down for- anyone, any Republican the candidate for senate out in Maine, or anyone who questions the ICE people at all. Because the president has just given a huge pat on the back, slap
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337surprised?
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337The back, high-five to those ICE officers who may or may not be trained enough to do a sensitive job and which they've been doing, and which I must say throws certain parts of the country into rebellion and panic. I'm thinking Los Angeles, I'm thinking Chicago, and most of all, of course, I'm thinking Minnesota well, Sherry, do you think that the president's right?
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Of course not. But he wouldn't care. I don't think he knows that anybody else has rights other than the president. Y- just look in the last week, three deaths, by ICE shooting drivers in their car have occurred because of ICE intervention. That's wild. That is truly something very wild to happen. I don't know another time when it's occurred, and in fact, I've been looking at statistics earlier on in the first term, and certainly in the Biden term, and the numbers have exploded of ICE agents shooting at people, not necessarily fatally, shooting at people. It's not only not right and not ethical, against the rules of law enforcement. You don't shoot somebody in a car, if they're driving the car, because it could go out of control, among other things, unless there is a direct threat to yourself, ICE agent. It's not even public safety if you can't prove it's public safety. These guys, I have to believe, quite frankly, that even before the president announced, "Don't you dare not shoot," he knew, and ICE agents knew, that even with the order to pause, and it's only a temporary pause, if they had to, if they wanted to, they could shoot because probably, the president went wink, wink
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337He didn't even do that, Jerry. He gave them a green light. He green lighted anything they might do. I think it's really awful
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337I agree. He gave them a green light. And I do believe that it is possible that was also the possibility of a pardon for whatever they did down the line. Publicly screaming and yelling no," at those ICE agents who during the pause, which is not going to happen anymore shot and wounded or killed, at an ordinary person. It's quite frightening to me. I'm sorry. It truly is frightening to me. have been something like 17 incidents between agents and people in a vehicle Trump took office in his second term. Why? How does this.
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337it happens because the ICE officers who were doing the shooting are poorly trained and poorly led
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Yeah, I think. But, also what came to my mind, and I think that there's some truth in this, was a psychological experiment that was done in 1971. It, it's called the Stanford Prison Experiment because it was done with Stanford students, and it involved, I think it was 24 college students, and they were assigned... They were paid to do this. They were assigned randomly roles as either guards or prisoners in simulated prison environment at Stanford, which absolutely blows my mind anyway. The study was supposed to last two weeks. Prisoners were supposed to be prisoners. Guards were supposed to behave like guards. They it after six days because the nastiness and the behavioral weaknesses just exploded. And so they said, "Enough is enough. We cannot go on with this." What the study was supposed to prove, and it's a very debatable study, so keep that in mind. But they found that in any situation, i.e., the guards behaved one way and it was nasty. Even there weren't guards. They were college students. the prisoners, which one I associate with as the people who were the victims of the ice students were terribly stressed and the guards took, the pseudo guards took extreme advantage of the students. There you go there it is. They proved, I think, that situational factors tend to move toward, in terms of the guards, abusive behavior and The escalation of the study canceled the study. Think about that and substitute the ICE agents for those students who were playing the guards and the immigrants and others who were pursued were the prisoners. You, you give it a little bit of power and boom, it becomes reality
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337You know something a person we shouldn't forget because he's really the man behind the all these arrests, and that's Stephen Miller of Santa Monica High School and various colleges, who has been in charge of our immigration policy and who set an order, a goal of 2,000 arrests a day of immigrants. And that is--
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337It stems from 3,000,
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337That's what's driving this. These ICE agents aren't just acting from nowhere. They're acting from orders from the big guy he's not that big, Stephen Miller. And that's what's driving this whole thing, and that's another reason why
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337You don't have to kill. You can think. But the behavior comes, becomes so normal a result of the dynamic of the roles that I don't think that the ICE agents even think that this is the wrong thing to do. It's a psychological dynamic that's at work here. I'm not saying that Stephen Miller isn't a part of it. Oh no, I'm not saying that. But I am saying it does not surprise me that this is what happened as a result of poorly trained, poorly led, somewhat uneducated in law enforcement ICE agents. They shouldn't be playing those roles any more than those college students at Stanford in 1971 should be playing those roles. But what does that mean? Let's think about that. The hell? And by the way there are more interactions between ICE agents and others than we even know about, to tell you the truth. Why don't we know any more about it except when something as dramatic and as awful as these senseless killings are covered by the media
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337I think that's one of the things that that we do on this podcast that's pretty damn worthwhile is we've been focusing attention on the ICE killings and and the conduct of ICE even though much of the mainstream media kind of forgets it, goes in and out on it. This, what's really scary if you think about November when there's- the final elections. What about sending ICE agents out to polling places to check the...
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337He's threatened
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337Yeah.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337if you
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337To check the IDs of potential voters. What if that's a job for ICE?
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337What's the motivation behind that question?
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337The motivation behind the question is Trump's goal, I think, is to call off the November elections or invalidate them or que- put them into question so he can run for a third term. I think this is all about Trump's third term goals,
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337bit
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337aspirations
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337I am. I wouldn't question canceling the, the elections period and just sticking around the White House.
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337Whenever it does, but
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337that's crazy, but nonetheless, I don't think it's impossible
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337definitely whatever he does, he definitely plays the Monty Woolly role of the man who came to dinner and wouldn't leave
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337the movie was a lot less violent than living through it is. The real time of response to what's been done. But we'll have to see. if there is, in the next few days, one or more shooting matches, as a result of sh- of ICE, it'll be interesting to see whether or not are they calling him now? Taco Trump, because he'll just say, "Never mind, you guys, we're pausing." Because the backlash just be obscene. It will be very hurtful to Republicans for election and re-election in October. I'm gonna be watching to see how this falls off onto Collins, who happens to be the United States senator from Maine, and who cast the, a yes vote give ICE so much more money it has now. I just don't know how that albatross flies off your neck. I'm sorry. Maybe it's wishful thinking. I don't know
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337If we can think of somebody who's been out of action, hasn't really taken part in any of this, and that's the Senate leader,, M-Mitch McConnell, who's been ill, re-rehab and in the hospital right now. But this and the untimely death of the leading Republican has really crippled, I think, the Republicans as they go into the final days before the midterm elections
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337We'll see. And I have to tell you, the minute I saw the proof of life photograph of Mitch McConnell smiling broadly in his hospital bed with the newspaper to prove that it w- he was alive on Sunday, I thought of the movie at Bernie's. It looked just like a scene when the boys propped up the corpse of their friend because they didn't want anybody know that he had passed away. And I can't get that image of my mind. And indeed, apparently there are conspiracy theories floating all around the web s- indicating that they think this was... The picture isn't real. It was from a couple of years ago. It was totally AI. That gives you some idea, I think, and it's not good news, of how little people are trusting with any kind of communicative power, legislative power, administrative power. We just trust our institutions anymore, and I think that's very dangerous
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337It is. If that was indeed Mitch and he indeed was reading a paper he was reading the sports page, which I thought...
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337didn't do what?
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337I thought, "Oh that's okay.... Hey, he's like me. He's not a serious person. First thing he turns to in the, when he gets the paper in the morning is the sports page.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Oh, one of the arguments is, of course, that was planted in the picture, that was done by AI and one or two of I don't know, are they tweeters anymore? Really argue that the print really didn't match the sports section of The Washington Post. How the hell we ever gonna be able to function, to cooperate if that's where we're at this level? I don't know
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337it's going to be rather hard with sickness hitting the top Republican leadership. The very important contest that we haven't talked about yet which is for governor of California Xavier Becerra versus Steve Hilton and
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Oh, boy
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337and Karen Bass versus Rahman. We haven't talked about that, but that in the end could be quite important
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Yeah, but you know me and my predictions markets. I went into Polymarket and Kalshi last night wow. Wow, did it surprise me. Not that in terms of, for example, like Polymarket, LA mayor's race, and this is chance of winning. Bass 66% up 18%. Raman, 35% up 3%. It doesn't round out to 100, but I don't know because I don't see numbers. Governor, and this is wild, Becerra, 94% up 44%. Hilton, down 43%. And Kalshi, and this is margin of of win in the mayor's race. That's the way Kalshi is positioning it. Margin of victory, 54% up one. And they didn't even give you anything for Raman. governor, Becerra, four... 93.4% up 0.2%. 6.7% down one-tenth of 1%. Interestingly, in, in terms of chance to win, both are very close, and both say particularly that, Becerra might as well stay home, he's in, 94%. That's one of the reasons we're not hearing very much about a campaign. I w- I would posit that both Becerra Bass are running rose garden campaigns. What You mean? Wait, I haven't finished. Come on, listen to me. I'll let you know when I'm done. I... Because I'm gonna
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337How could I know?
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Not now. I'm gonna explain to you what I mean a rose garden campaign.
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337Oh, I see.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337the kind of that an incumbent might wage if indeed he or she looks almost invulnerable. They don't wanna make any mistakes. They're cautious. They want their opponents to make the mistakes, to embarrass themselves. should Becerra or Bass out there on the front lines when they don't have to be?
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337Actually, I spent a little time watching Becerra and Hilton on television just to see how they were doing out on the stump. And I got a idea. I... The first thing about Hilton I was surprised he's a a fairly presentable candidate.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Maybe
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337He's w- well-spoken. He's got the usual we've gotta change. We've had too many, the... It's time for the Democrats to leave." He's gonna do something with rents. He's gonna do something with housing. It's all very vague. Also, Becerra himself was was rather vague
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Right
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337you can see where he's going on this campaign. He's very much into running on his labor base. His labor unions, labor-
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337where they'd be with any Democrat running against most Republicans
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337That's his campaign.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337That's his Rose Garden campaign
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337I don't think they have a rose garden I think we eliminated the rose garden. Didn't we get rid of that? I don't know the answer to this, but who is the president who originated the Rose Garden campaign?
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Actually, I believe it was Jackie Kennedy which makes sense. Why would he want a Jackie Kennedy Rose Garden on- in his White House grounds? Oh, no
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337There's another thing that's if you're a Bass aficionado, she has had a remarkable turnover in her campaign.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Yeah
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337People who were... I can say with a moment of satisfaction, people who would not return our phone calls a few months ago are no longer with the campaign. Don't cross Sherry and Bill tremendous turnover in
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337the communications
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337in the communications section
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337thought that was really interesting because we've talked a lot here about prior to her running for reelection, and one of the reasons she has had, and maybe still has a bit of a problem there is was not communicating, she was not reaching out. There you go. I'm telling you, I get the press emails. There are no press releases anymore, at least I haven't gotten a paper one. But every day the mayor is doing this, the mayor is doing that, the mayor is making this statement. There's a whole lot that I hadn't gotten prior to the election, so I think somebody figured that out. But nonetheless, it may be too late. I think she'll probably win, but she won't win by a s- a significant margin. It's not a good image for her. And as we said before, how will the fallout after Boyle Heights rebound to her the coverage? And that's the only thing that I have seen that she ha- she has been involved in that has been covered widely. people are mad, boyle Heights should be, at least in, in some large part of her electorate
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337there's a member of the city council who's running for mayor who represents part of that area, Whose constituency was badly affected by the stinking explosion in the in the ice plant. And that's Riman. She has escaped so far any kind of criticism, where Bass has really gone right out in front and she's been out there. Other day she and Kathryn Barger, who's the head of the board of supervisors joined together in a strong letter to members of Congress and the administration asking for help for the Boyle Heights situation. And asking for help also for other things that are troubling this city. She's out there on all this. I haven't seen Riman doing much on this point, which is important
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337I haven't gotten any releases. I haven't seen a whole lot in the papers, and not on television. It is basically, from my perspective, an invisible campaign for the opponent. That can't be for the incumbent. There's a little bit of leeway there, but... And maybe that's why the statistics are so dramatic in terms of the prediction markets. Haven't seen a poll. Have you seen a poll?
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337No. I've seen the prediction markets which show Bass
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Ain't no
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337comfortably ahead and There hasn't been any kind of polling
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337That I've
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337that we've seen. Look at-- One other thing that is going on here and that is the way that candidates for governor Becerra and Hilton both kind of have settled on this theme of the California dream
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337No, everybody
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337I know. Isn't that--
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337that
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337I'm getting a, I'm getting a little tired of of the California
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337once
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337dream.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337reality. It ain't now. But the California dream, I think, has been changed, remodeled, remolded, if you will. And every candidate wants to that to hang campaign's theme on, along with other themes, if you will. Certainly neither of them is an incumbent in that particular office, so it makes sense that they can argue that if they are elected, we will take California back. In fact, I think Hilton talks about making California golden again, and his theme is Caliaccountability. He is going to make California able to be lived in again. Things are gonna be very different. People won't have to be moving away. Businesses won't have to be moving out of state. That's I think his major theme
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337I think that in the next few days we're gonna be hearing from the president, and he's gonna talk about the election and election preparations.
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Ah.
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337I just think that whole thing is so dangerous and so destructive to to our democracy. If you really...
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Now question
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337And I can see why no candidate wants to touch it. It's too explosive, too dangerous
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Wow. No candidate from California, but in other states where Trump still has somewhat of a base, they're ready to get on board with that, and that's the key. now it seems to me that A, is speaking and what he wants. He doesn't care about anybody else except he wants to hold that base, and that base loves the conspiracy theory of a stolen election. In fact, in case you haven't noticed, conspiracy theories popping up as they have never popped up before on many issues, including death of Lindsey Graham, and the illness of Mitch McConnell. Dear God, enough
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337Made for conspiracy theories
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337They seem to be all over us, all
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337And a president who feeds these conspiracy theories with his own c- conspiracy theories also. Sherry, been a quiet week and next week's gonna be tough, I think
squadcaster-46d0_3_07-15-2026_150337Yeah, I think it w- and if this is what is known as a quiet week, I don't wanna know what a week is. dear. Everyone, cheers. Bye
host-4ha0_3_07-15-2026_150337Cheers to you. Bye-bye.