Be sure to check out the New West Notes blog today. Bill Bradley has posted video from the California Republican Party convention and Phil Angelides’ counter-press conference.

There is also a charming interview with Angelides’ political consultant, Bill Carrick, who notes to that the “dog days of summer” are long gone for the modern campaign. The final seven seconds of this video offer snippets of a peculiar conversationBradley is having with an unidentified person, in which Bradley says, “…not to have,,, Schwarzenegger do the event with him? That was me.” This, of course, is interesting because one does not often (ever?) hear a reporter talk about giving advice on appearing with a political figure. But we can assume the snippet was included, and not edited out (as were other parts of the conversation), in order to raise interest in Bradley’s insider interactions with different politicians.

Video blogging on the campaign trail by a credenitaled member of the media, who has access to events that campaign interns do not, is sure to provide… Read More

This last weekend, along with many hundreds of other State GOP Central Committee members, I participated in the State Republican Party Convention at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. This hotel is the site of a lot of fond memories. At one point, Californians for Schwarzenegger finance guru Marty Wilson and I were reminiscing about how all of the Ronald Reagan victory parties were held in this hotel. Of course, Republicans gathered here on the night of the recall election, cheering on newly minted Governor Schwarzenegger at his victory party. So this is the hotel of Ronald Reagan…and Arnold Schwarzenegger! Later this week, the FlashReport will be publishing its renowned "Winners and Losers of the GOP Convention" column — and as always, many of our best ideas come from fellow attendees who submit their ideas. So you can write to me … Read More

This last weekend, along with many hundreds of other State GOP Central Committee members, I participated in the State Republican Party Convention at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. This hotel is the site of a lot of fond memories. At one point, Californians for Schwarzenegger finance guru Marty Wilson and I were reminiscing about how all of the Ronald Reagan victory parties were held in this hotel. Of course, Republicans gathered here on the night of the recall election, cheering on newly minted Governor Schwarzenegger at his victory party. So this is the hotel of Ronald Reagan…and Arnold Schwarzenegger! Later this week, the FlashReport will be publishing its renowned "Winners and Losers of the GOP Convention" column — and as always, many of our best ideas come from fellow attendees who submit their ideas. So you can write to me … Read More

On ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," Senator John Kerry today came out aggressively opposed to the war in Iraq, Senator Joe Lieberman (he called him the "new Cheney"), and President George W. Bush. No surprises there.

Kerry and his ilk are pushing an anti-Iraq war agenda, which I think the media is interpreting as being anti-war, period. But that isn’t what Kerry is saying. Or at least, it isn’t what he said today.

Specifically, he said that the war on terror is not centered in Iraq but rather is in a host of nations – probably 40 to 60 by now.

I know I’m playing Monday Morning Quarterback here, but it strikes me that if Stephanopoulos had had his wits about him this morning, he might have bothered to ask John Kerry WHERE the US military should be waging the war on terror.

Kerry stated, “I believe we can fight a far more effective war on terror.”

Therefore, Kerry is not anti-war, as the Ned Lamonties would like to believe. He simply is suggesting that we pull out of Iraq and fight the war on terror elsewhere.

But when reporters like… Read More

I’m here on the floor of the state GOP convention. The good news is that the many hundreds of Republicans are clearly excited about our opportunities for victory in November!

I can report to you that the committee report of the Initiatives Committee was adopted, which means that the GOP has firmly planted both feet on the ground – one foot representing a firm opposition to tax increases, the other an embrace of massive borrowing and debt.

I am proud that Governor Schwarzegger, Tom McClintock, the entire GOP ticket and the State GOP are unified against all of the myriad of tax measures on the ballot.

I am equally disappointed that delegates, in their desire to stay unified behind the Governor and not give him black eye, agreed to support massive infrastructure borrowing. More on the specifics to follow!

It is hard as a GOP activist to figure out the line between support of a candidate (I am a stong supporter of Governor Schwarzenegger’s reelection) and frustration when my candidate, and now my party, embrace spending measures which materially and philosophically contradict the limited government philosophy that brought me… Read More

A local lesson on good credentials and a tad good luck….

In a further tribute to now former FR blogger Joe Justin, I opt today for a song title.

In politics, a Free Ride is something incumbents can only hope for once in a blue moon. Even the strongest will often garner the opposition of someone usually well-meaning, yet with nary a clue about the reality of competing against an incumbent’s wheelbarrow full of name ID, funding, and popularity, not to mention societal issues like resistance to change, apathy, no-news-is-good-news, and you name it.

At the partisan level, in a majority of the gerrymandered, uncompetitiveseats (like all of ’em), we only know too well how the opposition may be non-existent in the primary, but the opposing major party (and often the Libertarians) will always try to field a suicide candidate in every race for November.

At the local level, meaning especially city councils and school boards – and often extending to special districts – free rides for incumbents happen a bit more often,… Read More

This morning’s commentary will be short, as I have to get ready to go down to the general session here at the California Republican Party’s convention. I was up pretty late (I have vague recollections about a conversation at around 2am with LA Weekly Reporter Bill Bradley and Steve Schmidt from the Governor’s campaign and from there it fades to black). On a quick note, I will update FR readers that despite the well articulated arguments to the Resolutions Commitee as to why embracing massive government borrowing was a bad idea, the committee members (with the Party Chairman and some Team Arnold mucky mucks watching from the back ot the room) voted to embrace the Transportation and Levee bond measures, and take a "no position" position on the massive education bond measure. I won’t repeat for the millionth time here why I think that all of the bond measures are poor public policy, but I will spell out that I think that it is a big political mistake for the convention delegates today to vote for these recommended positions. Governor Schwarzenegger, who has planted himself firmly in the political center of the… Read More

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