Eric Hogue, a conservative Sacramento radio host, interviewed Gov. Schwarzenegger on his show this morning and asked him about his statement last week of making “health care for everyone” a priority in his second term in office.

Last week I raised the question of whether or not the governor would have to raise taxes to provide health care for everyone. (http://www.flashreport.org/blog0a.php?postID=2006053116174140&post_offsetP=0&authID=2006050314384669)

Fortunately, Eric raised the question directly with the governor when he asked, “Would you have to raise taxes to do something like that in California, governor?”

While Schwarzenegger didn’t come out with an affirmative “no,” the governor made it clear that taxes aren’t part of his plan and that he wants to bring all the stakeholders to the table and devise a creative solution to problem of uninsured Californians.

GAS: “I don’t think so…what we have to do is we have to be creative … We are sitting down and we are… Read More

In one of the most breathtakingly stupid political moves of all time, the Fresno Police Officers Association has endorsed Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown for Attorney General over our own State Senator Chuck Poochigian. The Board vote, as reported in the Fresno Bee, was 12-2.

This is idiocy for a number of reasons, to wit:

Senator Poochigian, throughout his entire service in government, has been a reliable law and order vote in the State Assembly and Senate;

Poochigian is from Fresno and has represented Fresno in the legislature for 12 years;

Pooch will outpoll Brown at least 60-40 in Fresno County if not by more;

85 percent of the Fresno Cops will vote for Poochigian.

What is the real issue here? Real simple. The cops hate, I mean HATE the Workers’ Comp reform bill written by Senator Poochigian and signed into law by the Governor in 2004. Workers’ Comp is no longer easy street, and unions are madder than a hornets nest about it.

No doubt, the FPOA vote was stupid, and I look forward to saying that to Union President Jackie Parks next time I see him. He can’t defend their actions with any logic… Read More

I written a few pieces on Jim Leford, the Mayor of palmdale that challenged Sharon Runner. He hid his donors. See here. He supports Deomcrats for office. See here .He supported tripling the car tax. See here. He attacked Sharon , the co-author of Jessica’s Law of being soft on sex offenders See here. The Good news he he lost and even lost Palmdale. See article here.Just wait until 2008.… Read More

FYI – I just got a release from the State GOP Victory Program announcing the Governor’s endorsement of the entire GOP ticket. Even the awkward Claude Parrish.… Read More

Governor Schwarzenegger appears to be playing hard to get, according to the Sacramento Bee, which filed this story from the trail of the governor’s bus tour today.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday he might endorse Democratic candidates in some of the races for statewide office this year.

"’If I like someone, absolutely,’ the Republican governor said in response to a reporter’s question inside the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall at a campaign event. ‘Let’s see. But right now, I’m just thinking about moving the state forward.’"

Ah, Arnold Unplugged. That’s the boy from Austria we know and … love? I suspect this was nothing more than a mere eye-rolling moment, like so many we’ve seen before, that really doesn’t mean anything. More impolitic rhetoric from a non-politician who got caught off-guard.

Think about it. Last month Carla Marinucci quoted Schwarzenegger campaign manager Steve Schmidt saying that at least three of the statewides already had the… Read More

[UPDATED – SEE THE E-MAIL FROM LANCASTER’S CAMPAIGN MANGER SENT TO ADAMS ON THE FRIDAY BEFORE THE ELECTION – IT’S AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.]

Apparently, years ago, Anthony Adams delivered pizza for a living. Whom among us hasn’t worked in a similar job when young? I actually remember my stint at Straw Hat Pizza, my memories of which are mostly washing dishes, and making free pizza to take home after work.

Adams just won the GOP nomination for the State Assembly where Dennis Mountjoy is retiring, a victim of California’s three term limit. In the spirited primary, another significant candidate in the race was Chris Lancaster, the son of former moderate GOP legislator Bill Lancaster.

Part of this story has to do with the fact that allegedly, many years ago, some senior citizen wrote a very strongly worded letter to a newspaper taking then-City Councilman Chris Lancaster to task for voting for a local tax increase. Apparently Lancaster sued the woman for her public criticism, and he served her with court documents by wrapping them in Christmas paper and delivering… Read More

Fellow FR contributor Adam Probolsky and I will be looking to see if there is extra protection on our Southwest Airlines flight home from Sacramento to “The OC” – some ‘people of interest’ who obviously rushed to the airport to be on our flight include Assemblymembers Lynn Daucher,Todd Spitzer, Van Tran, and Tom Umberg. Also State Senator Dave Cox and his wife. The “retired legislator caucus” is represented by former Senators Marian Berguson and Ross Johnson, as well as former Assemblyman Tom Mays.

Johnson, Berguson and Mays went to the back of the plane with Umberg. Probably letting him know the membership fees for the retired legislators club, which he will join later this year.… Read More

There’s only one unsettled race left in Orange County after Tuesday’s primary election: the 5th Supervisor District, which goes to a November run-off between Pat Bates and Cassie DeYoung. Pat took 44.3% on Tuesday to DeYoung’s 36.7%.

Both campaigns say transportation will be a central issue of the campaign, meaning much Cassie DeYoung Chicken Little-ism over the Terrible Tunnel. During the primary campaign, DeYoung attempt to make an issue out of Cong. Ken Calvert’s support for studying a possible tunnel underneath the Santa Ana Mountains connecting Orange and Riverside counties. Pat Bates supports studying whether a tunnel is even technically feasible before making a decision whether or not to build it.

I’ve blogged elsewhere of my free-floating anxiety about the collateral impact DeYoung’s demonization of the tunnel project might have on the resolve of other politicians who favor building, or at least studying, a mutli-use tunnel through the Santa Ana Mountains.

Take, for example, this Los Angeles Times… Read More