Don’t Ask Questions
by Brian Campbell
“Be quiet and do as you’re told.”
That seems to be what our elected officials expect of us.
Recently, I wrote an article raising concerns about transparency from a local congressman. His office claimed my statement was provably false, but they refuse to provide any proof.
A public official, who works for you and me, refuses to back up his own claim. Instead, the Radical Left media jumps in with smear campaigns designed to bully and silence anyone demanding transparency from those we elect and pay with our tax dollars.
From the President to Congress, from the Board of Supervisors to the School Board: these people work for us. They are our employees, hired by voters. Yet, when we ask questions, the Radical Left launches attacks, slanders us, and, in extreme cases—such as City Council member Alejandra Gutierrez, who lost favor with Democratic leaders—even threatens lives.
Here in Santa Barbara, if you ask a question that public officials don’t want to answer, the local media steps in to bully and discredit you. Sometimes, they even make direct threats over the phone. The Radical Left is thriving here, and their tactics are clear: silence opposition through intimidation.
Years ago, a local businesswoman with a large social media following falsely called me and my running mate—who is Black—racist. She never met us, never spoke to us, never attended our public events. But because she was friends with our opponent, she spread baseless, slanderous claims to millions.
The Santa Barbara Independent has also labeled me a racist simply for asking why Hispanic students continue to underperform academically. It’s a documented fact, yet questioning why our school board has failed to address it is apparently off-limits.
Now, longtime journalist Jerry Roberts has published a piece in multiple locations - including here and here - attacking me, an Independent voter, for seeking transparency—going so far as to compare me to a Nazi. This is exactly why so many Americans rejected the path our country was on: a path of bullying, censorship, and hate.
The Question No One Will Answer
Mr. Roberts dismissed my reporting as an “evidence-free immigration attack,” referring to my article stating that Rep. Salud Carbajal “immigrated illegally.”
Yet neither Mr. Roberts nor Mr. Carbajal has produced any proof that this statement is false. Instead, they rely on assumptions and contradictions.
Carbajal has publicly discussed his immigration journey. We know he wasn’t born in the U.S. We know he obtained citizenship in 1990. What remains unclear is how he entered the country legally in the first place. His story doesn’t add up. He claims to have proof but refuses to show it.
Other public officials have provided documentation when their backgrounds were questioned. Why won’t Carbajal?
Mr. Roberts also falsely claims that my publication refused to correct the article. I told Carbajal’s office that if I were proven wrong, I would issue an apology. His office responded by saying my statement was “provably false,” but refused to provide the proof.
That’s not journalism. That’s not transparency. That’s politics as usual.
The Burden of Proof Is on Carbajal
Carbajal is a public official who denies my claim. The burden of proof is on him. If he has evidence, why not release it? Why hide behind a friendly media instead?
So far, his side has presented no evidence, while his own statements contain contradictions. For example, he once posted a photo claiming it was from his green card, when in reality, it was from Mexican authorities.
Even Mr. Roberts, a longtime journalist defending Carbajal, admits he has no proof of the congressman’s legal immigration status. Yet, instead of being a journalist and seeking proof from Carbajal, he resorts to name-calling and smears.
What Are They Hiding?
If this issue were so easily disproven, Carbajal’s office would have done so by now. Instead, they enlist the Radical Left media to attack and silence private citizens who dare to ask questions.
Why?
Illegal immigration costs California taxpayers $25 billion per year—$150 billion nationally. Meanwhile, American citizens sleep on the streets. Their suffering is impossible to ignore. https://www.fairus.org/sites/default/files/2017-09/California-Cost-of-Illegal-Immigration.pdf
As a U.S. Congressman, Carbajal advocates for policies that protect illegal immigrants, including pathways to citizenship. If he himself entered the country illegally, that would explain his positions. It would explain why he prioritizes illegal immigrants over struggling Americans.
So, I’ll ask again: Why won’t he provide the proof. What is he hiding?
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This question was explored in our campaign running against Salud Carbajal. We couldn’t find any evidence of legal immigration. We even consulted with Grock on X and the best it could come up with was to state: “since Carbajal is a congressman he must have been a legal immigrant”. Which passes for proof in the AI world but seems weak. Since he may have gained citizenship in 1990 we did the complex math on entry USA in 1964 to 1990 and called him an illegal alien for 26 years. So about half his life an illegal alien, which explains Salud’s love of the open border with Mexico and illegal migration in general. In the later months of the campaign we were attacked by Salud’s surrogate, Media Matters (funded by Soros and USAID government grants of $600,000 in 2024) The Media Matters posts deduced that Cole hated Mexicans because we are America first, safe borders. This racial smear was distributed to local papers in SLO and north SB counties, who were happy to print this as fact in an obvious effort to help and protect Salud. So it’s understandable that Salud doesn’t want people talking about or even asking about his questionable entry to our nation. I could go on, because this country welcomed Salud, housed and educated him, good paying easy jobs in government but he turns around and disrespects our constitution, our first and second amendment rights, disregards parents and students rights, like titleIX and basically votes the cultural Marxist line. No gratitude or respect for our nation and our traditions. Any dissent from Salud’s left party line is called racism and hate. This is where we are in California.
Excellent retort by Mr. Campbell in exposing the dirty little secret here in SB, which has been going on for years. Yes, the local “media” for lack of better term, is clearly the enforcement arm of the local Democratic Party and machine. That’s right, giving cover to local politicians, liberal agendas and going after those who merely ask the difficult questions. Any tax paying citizen that dares to ask critical questions of the homeless, liberal politicians, green energy, brown or black activism or LGBTQ indoctrination is met by bottom feeders like Jerry Roberts or “Angry Poodle” with a scarlet letter, excoriating them as a, wait for it…RACIST! Usually, that is enough for most people, who also have a local lively hood, to back down and shut up.
When pressed further, local activists will play the Nazi card. Such was the case recently when Roberts made it very clear in equating conservatives as fascists and racists, even going so far as attaching a “B” movie clip showing Nazi’s interrogating those lacking proper travel documents. His assertion being one as to what to expect from conservatives and ICE officials, hassling “brown people.” What a pathetic and vile attempt at journalism. Being a Jew, one would think Roberts would have a more intelligent response in expressing his opposition rather than showing images that triggers painful emotions for many, including myself, whose father was a WWII veteran. Glad Dad is not here to see this disgrace.
But this is not solely about taking issue with a washed up, has-been, angry little man masquerading as a journalist, no it’s more about cutting through the bullshit we have been fed here and the lame ass excuses from a privileged, political, white class that wants to keep things the way they’ve always been. Sure, many of the local uber wealthy liberals want to keep the immigration mess in tact. Keeping those in the shadows, impoverished and uneducated in order to maintain the Hacienda mentality. Now that’s the real news story!