THE CELEBRITY AND THE IDEOLOGUE Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom McClintock are shoo-ins for their respective GOP nominations for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively. Being from the same political party may be the strong tie that bind these two unique individuals, who are very different from one-another. In Schwarzenegger, you have the ‘larger-than-life’ movie star who loves to take on BIG projects and put on a show. He is moderate on social and (apparently) economic issues. He enjoys smoking cigars, and driving his Harley Davidson motorcycle. In McClintock you have much more a policy-wonk. A strong conservative, McClintock will often be the lead voice from the legislature on any move away from the right (which has included, at times, criticism of the Governor – such as his signing the ballot arguments against Proposition 57 & 58).… Read More

First, read this op-ed from Saturday’s Los Angeles Times. It’s by Joel R. Reynolds, who is described as "a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Los Angeles and director of its urban program."

Only one of two possibilities can explain Mr. Reynold’s outrageously wrong op-ed. Either he hasn’t visited the 241 completion alignment nor educated himself on it’s particulars, in which case his screed is the product of ignorance.

Or, Mr. Reynold’s simply ignored the facts in favor of propaganda, in which case he is a liar.

Neither possibility is good.

Reynold’s op-ed is a case in point of why it is hard to take 241 tollway oppoents in particular, and the professional environmentalist movement in general, seriously.

Let’s consider the Mr. Reynold’s literary coniption in detail:

…the governor considers how… Read More

On the San Bernardino County side of the 65th Assembly District, the candidate who seems to be drawing the most local support is Banning Councilwoman Brenda Salas. Although she’s from Riverside County, she’s secured the support of three members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors: Paul Biane (R), Josie Gonzales (D), and Gary Ovitt (R); aswell as San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos (R), and a host of business, developer, and local-types.

Salas’ consultant, Joe Giardiello, has worked San Bernardino County for a number of years, and has already proven he can listen to advice, in this case that given by fellow FlashReport contributor Phil Paule. The Salas campaign’s walk piece focuses a great deal of attention on her opposition toillegal immigration, which Phil was concerned about, in addition to her work as a regional chair of Jessica’s Law, HJTA membership, and why she joined the Party of Reagan after starting life in the Party of Jefferson — William Jefferson Clinton that is. Salas has a good team and enough money to get her message out.

The presumed frontrunner, San Jacinto Councilman… Read More

As I posted on here last Wednesday, Dr. Phil Kurzner has withdrawn from the race for Insurance Commissioner. I received an email tonight from his campaign chairman Dr. Joel Strom which I posted below.

This leaves us with Steve Poizner as the GOP choice. I too am not happy about the fact that he contributed to the Al Gore recount committee, but he appears to be our candidate. The fact is that no real conservative really wants to run for Insurance Commissioner. True conservatives want to set public policy, and roll back government not be head of a regulatory agency.I have never met Poizner and an looking forward to doing so at the Republican Convention this weekend in San Jose. With all that said, Poizner does bring some positives to the 2006 Election:

1) He advertises on the FlashReport

2) If I can believe his ad, he wants to get un-insured drivers off the road, although he does not elaborate on how is going to do that on his web site

3) He has a solid campaign team of Tim Clark and Mike Richman running the show( both who I assume have auto insurance).

4) He has the support of former… Read More

On Friday, the Governor appointed three new Judges in Los Angeles County. As part of our effort to look a the Governor’s appointments with an eye on the partisan registration, here they are (the original release is here):

Thomas T. Lewis, 56, of Thousand Oaks, has practiced family law as a partner with the law firm of Rehwald, Rameson, Lewis & Glasner since 1984. He was previously an attorney with the law firms of Rehwald, Rameson & Smith from 1980 to 1984 and Freeman & Freeman from 1978 to 1980. Lewis has also served as a judge pro tem for the Los… Read More

The Fresno Bee has started a new blog here which I encourage those reading this column to look at. In its post yesterday, the blog referred to a potential challenge to local Congressman George Radanovich from a presumably wealthy challenger on the Democrat side. I have long opined that Radanovich as well as other California incumbents are safe from Democrat challengers but that taken as a whole, the House may be up for grabs due to inaction on illegal immigration, and profligate spending that would make Democrats blush. But I have never opined that GOP incumbents are safe from strong primary challengers, because many of them are not safe. If a wealthy Republican threw $2 million into a race against any GOP incumbent it would be far more interesting than a race against a Democrat… Read More

RICHARD POMBO: A REAL HERO You never know what you are going to find as you sift through almost 50 websites early each morning – that’s a big part of the fun of putting together the main page of the FlashReport each morning. Will it be a crisis? A scandal? A major piece of breaking news? Well, today I was extremely pleased to see a major profile in the San Diego Union Tribune of one of California’s greatest assets, Congressman Richard Pombo, who hails from the Stockton area. I’ve known Richard Pombo since he was ‘just’ a rancher, with his modest 500 acre spread in Tracy. Pombo is just the kind of politician that you would expect a conservative like me to really like. With the strongest foundations possible — his faith and his great family — Pombo went off to Washington to try and make a difference. His commitment to voters was straight from his conscience and… Read More

RICHARD POMBO: A REAL HERO You never know what you are going to find as you sift through almost 50 websites early each morning – that’s a big part of the fun of putting together the main page of the FlashReport each morning. Will it be a crisis? A scandal? A major piece of breaking news? Well, today I was extremely pleased to see a major profile in the San Diego Union Tribune of one of California’s greatest assets, Congressman Richard Pombo, who hails from the Stockton area. I’ve known Richard Pombo since he was ‘just’ a rancher, with his modest 500 acre spread in Tracy. Pombo is just the kind of politician that you would expect a conservative like me to really like. With the strongest foundations possible — his faith and his great family — Pombo went off to Washington to try and make a difference. His commitment to voters was straight from his conscience and… Read More