Last weekend at the GOP convention, just 72 hours after casting the deciding vote to pass a massive tax increase out of the State Senate, Senator Abel Maldonado actually had the moxie to show up. I ran into him in a hallway there, and we shared some words — the kind of "street theater" reminds me of the "old days" when I was an activist with Young Americans for Freedom…

I had told a few people about it — but now everyone can see it, as Carla Marinucci from the San Francisco Chronicle apparently had her handy-dandy video camera on at the time. You can read more of her observations on the convention here. I’ve reposted the video below… … Read More

I am no sure what rock I was under when Outrageous Hero: The B.T. Collins Story came out last year. When a friend mentioned the book to me I knew it was going to move to the front of the line of books I needed to read.

I was a young Capitol staffer when Collins died of a heart attack in March 1992. i talked to him a few times but don’t pretend that I knew the man. He was a legend.

This is a man that grew up in New York, joined the Army during Vietnam and spent two tours there. On June 20, 1967 as an Army Captain he lost an arm and a leg to a grenade. This one day defined his life to a degree but did not stop him from going on to Santa Clara Law School, becoming a staff member for Governor Jerry Brown, running the California Conservation Corps, serving as Chief of Staff to Governor Brown, running the California Youth Authority for Governor Wilson, and then winning a special election for the Assembly and getting re-elected before suffering a massive heart attack… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog]

Sen. Abel Maldonado, basking in the adoration of the California Left — not to mention that of Governor Hollow Man — declared this weekend that "We need a change."

By "we," Maldonado means Republicans, and he uttered that profound insight in response to my f friend Jon Fleischman calling him on his role as the enabler of the largest state tax increase in American history. Kudos to Jon, by the way — wish I could have been there.

By the way, if you haven’t joined my FaceBook group — "Never Elect Abel Maldonado To Anything, Ever Again" — please do so. It figured in a San Francisco Chronicle story on Friday, and in the… Read More

Congratulations to the California Republican Party on a great convention. I’ll echo previous posts by affirming that the general mood at convention was upbeat and optimistic. Considering the state of the GOP nationwide, and grassroot contempt for the GOP’s participation in California’s massive tax increase, Republicans are looking to 2010 as a year of redemption. 2010 holds a lot of promise for California Republicans. Schwarzenegger will be exiting the stage, mid-term elections usually favor the minority party, and there’s an impressive bench of candidates ready to woo the party faithful in our primary.

As a woman, I am very excited to see two strong female candidates contemplating bids for governor and senate. Meg Whitman had quite a presence at convention, with ubiquitous signs and stickers, a speech at a convention meal, and a reception with Mitt Romney. With such endorsements from Romney, Darrell Issa, Tony Strickland, and other legislators, Whitman is building a broad support base quickly. Although she hasn’t declared her intentions yet, Carly Fiorina was also making the rounds at convention and delivered an impressive speech at the CRA’s meeting… Read More

In case you missed the detailed links from today’s FR homepage, an excerpt from the SF Chron piece on the State GOP Convention:

The bad blood in the party was evident at the convention. On Saturday, state party vice chair Jon Fleischman angrily confronted state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County), who made his name last week by providing the critical vote needed to pass the state budget.

"You voted for the largest tax increase in the country when you could have stopped it," said Fleischman, publisher of the GOP Web site Flashreport.com, which had publicly pressured Republicans to stand united against the package of $15 billion in spending cuts and $12.5 billion in new taxes. "Good call."

As an open-mouthed crowd of Republicans looked on, Maldonado – viewed as a turncoat by some Republicans, and a hero by others – coolly shot back: "We need a… Read More

I was in attendance at the CRP Convention this weekend and, going in,I wasn’t sure what to expect…in terms of turnout or in the moodof the membership. Despite the November election results, the hundreds of billions being frittered away in DC, and the great frustration overCalifonia’s deplorable budget disaster, Republican energy was way up and ready to engage the next battle.

Most all agreed that the battle starts with the soul of what the party is to be about, that there isn’t anything wrong with the "Republican Brand" or its platform, but instead with the vision to adhere to it by those we elect.

The elections for the party posts went smoothly and infighting amongst Republicans seems to be at a minimum on a party level…again the anger is aimed "primarily"at the elected officials at all levels, withvery stinging repeated rebukes by many of the speakers toward those that voted for new taxes or spending in Sacramento and DC.

2010 is in very clear focus for party activists as well as the 2009 Special Election that will soon be spelled out as the public comesto understand the issues on… Read More

Look for the main page to be up around 930am. Blame sleep deprivation, and the black-out curtains here at the Sacramento Hyatt Hotel.… Read More

Despite all the angst among Republican legislators and activists from earlier in the week, this weekend’s Republican organizing convention was remarkably upbeat. I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the party volunteers to take a look at the candidates who are already campaigning for office in 2010. With the knowledge that the controversial Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations will not be on the voters’ minds in 2010, there is renewed hope for Republican gains. There is also an understanding that voters will turn quickly on new officials who do not deliver on their campaign promises, and there is ample evidence that this will hit the new Obama administration by the 2010 elections.… Read More