Last week I began a discussion of whether or not the GOP Base is ready to be energized. It appears that after several dreadful months the Republicans in Washington have stopped the bleeding (maybe its because they are out of town), and there is a presumption now that Governor Arnold is the favorite for re-election due to his drawing a poor opponent in Phil Angelides. I disagree with any premise that Republicans have momentum presently. The absence of additional blood on the ground does not spell momentum in politics. All that has happened in the past couple of weeks is that the bleeding has stopped for a time being. There is nothing to celebrate. So, is the GOP base ready to be energized? The answer is – YES. And our needs are so simple, its embarrassing, but here they are:

Balance the State Budget Protect us from crazy liberals Be not afraid to define the unions before they define you Appoint pro death penalty, pro property rights judges Respond to attacks laid out by Democrats Pledge to veto specific forms of legislation you know you will see in a… Read More

The Orange County Republican Party’s new website is stylish. With changing images of the most famous county attractions, loads of information that is easily accessible, and even links to local and statewide blogs, the Party has really outdone itself. One of the latest additions to the site is its "News & Press" section’s featuring of columns from local elected officials. The one up there currently, linked from the main page, is a very well written post-primary analysis from Orange, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles County Assemblyman Bob Huff.

I will post an exerpt and recommend you visit the OCGOP site for more:

"Never mind Governor Schwarzenegger’s race – a railroad switchman does not a credible opponent make.But, run the numbers… Read More

I’m not positive, but I think that Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (that’s Democratic leader of the state senate for those not familiar) predicted an Arnold victory this November in comments made to the Sacramento Press Club Monday, June 19th, as reported by New West Notes writer William Bradley.

Here’s a post from Bradley’s blog this morning, and I’m providing plenty of context so as not be accused of misconstruing Perata’s own words.

"Perata described the so-called ‘Real ID’ legislation at the federal level, adopted in the wake of 9/11, as perhaps the ultimate sleeper issue of the year as states move toward implementation.

"’We’ll all need to get new drivers licenses,’ Perata pointed out, ‘and you will need to prove you exist, to document where you came from.’ He described a bureaucratic nightmare that he said ‘could lead to the biggest act of civil disobedience in the… Read More

Gov. Schwarzenegger today launched a first in the state of California – a live, online chat with the public called “Ask Gov. Schwarzenegger.”

Starting last night, local televisions stations around the state informed viewers of the opportunity to submit questions for Gov. Schwarzenegger at www.gov.ca.gov/ask, which he would answer the following day. This morning, just past 10:30 AM, a local television political reporter in Sacramento went through about 500 pages of questions and moderated the Q&A live over the internet.

Howard Kurtzman wannabes will be critiquing today’s internet chat, which lasted approximately 20 minutes. Some will conclude that the TV interviewer crossed the line of journalistic ethics (is there such a thing?) by playing along with the gov’s “self-promotion scheme” at the expense of taxpayers. Others will suggest that if the gov really wants to communicate with the public he’ll agree to a series of one-on-one debates with Phil Angelides (to which most of the public will ask, “Phil Who?”). While the real… Read More

This will be the firsttime inmany years that Brooks Firestone won’t be hosting a gathering at his pad in the Central Coast (Solvang).

I just received an email from Carl Burton, the 35th Senate District’s own Minister of Disinformation and President of the decidedly liberal California Congress of Republicans, stating, "I regret to inform you that the 8th Annual Firestone Alumni Weekend in Solvang (the weekend of June 23 through 25) is canceled." Burton left a name and phone number to call with inquiries. Upon calling, I was informed by a polite but guarded young woman that "extenuating circumstances" were the causefor cancellation.

Could she mean these extenuating circumstances? It’s too bad.The gathering could have turned out to be a highly successful anti-recall fundraiser.

In the article, Brett Wagner, the man leading the… Read More

The recall of the Pomona Unified School District Board in up and running. See article here.The article doesn’t mention that the committee is holding training workshops for volunteer signaturegatherers. Great move. That should help at verification time. You can read the article if you want to know about the scandals that brought this about.

One interesting thing is the Board President and long time boardmember is a Republican. Until this last election she was a local central committee member. She is the type of Republican that enjoys a long and dedicated support of the union. The one trustee no being recalled is newcomer Andrew Wong, a education reformer. He was elected over opposition from Nancy and the old guard. This is playing out in th erecall as well.

Pomona Unified has heavily Dem Pomona and the heavily GOP Diamond Bar in the district. Look for these fault line to shake if the recall qualifies.… Read More

(H/T to "Lurk" at the always informative OC Blog)

The Orange County Register’s Total Buzz blog broke this bit of news last evening. An exerpt:

"I just heard that [Orange County Clerk Recorder Tom] Daly has hired LA Times Political writer, Jean Pasco to come over to the office and help broaden the public’s access to the county’s vast archives.

"From the memo that’s floating around county hallways, it looks as if she starts July 3."

(left to right: Register columnist Gordon Dillow, InsideOC Host Rick Reiff, Jean Pasco, FR OC Correspondent Adam Probolsky)

More:

"She’s covered Orange County politics – both for the Register and the Times – for decades and knows virtually every person in town. And through her tough style of… Read More

Today is my first turn at sharing the Daily Commentary chores in our publisher’s absence. Since Jon is thousands of miles away in Great Britain, I’m going to step outside of my usual Orange County bailiwick and comment about the senatorship of Barbara Boxer – the nightmare from which we cannot awaken. Like many California conservatives, Election Night in November 1992 is probably the darkest night of my political night. That was the night Bruce Herschensohn narrowly lost the U.S. Senate contest to that screech owl of the Left, Barbara Boxer.

Sen. Boxer provides us with regular reminders of how much California and the nation lost when she, and not Bruce Herschensohn, was elected to the world greatest deliberative body. The most recent example was Boxer’s vote to require a pull-out of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end-of-this year (this defeatist resolution allowed "only forces that are critical to… Read More