Service Employees Solely Bankroll San Diego County Supe Term Limits Effort… Jim Sills of SD Rostra breaks the news yesterday that the entire $250 grand raised so far to qualify a term limits initiative for County Supervisors has come from either the local chapter of SEIU or its State PAC. It is of course no surprise that labor is pushing the measure; perhaps the surprise is that SEIU hasn’t bothered to raise any funds from outside sources.

Uhhh, and perhaps that’s no surprise either.

In his SD Rostra piece, Sills creatively paraphrases Winston Churchill with, “Never have so few, donated So Much, for So Little.” He points out the apparent "philosophical disconnect," as only a year ago SEIU contributed $2,200,000 in support of Proposition 93 to overturn state term limits.

So, why the dichotomy? Does SEIU oppose or support term limits? Read Sills’ piece here.

Fleischman: Join SEIU in Supporting County Supe Term Limits?…… Read More

Last evening, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared at a event for Democrats in Orange County… Lauryn Picciano, the Executive Director of the OC GOP and President of the Orange County was on hand and sent an account of the "greetings" given to Pelosi from conservatives…

Once upon a time (Friday December 4th, 2009) Local Tea Party Organizations, Republican… Read More

It appears that the politics of who is going to be the next Speaker of the Assembly is still yet unresolved. Sure, the current occupant of the job, Karen Bass, held a press event and announced that her ally and chosen successor, John Perez, had secured the necessary votes to win the influential position. But rumors continue to swirl around that Kevin DeLeon, who has aspired to the Speakership for some time now, is still working hard to put together the votes.

For me and for Republicans, this is a tragic spectator sport because both of these Democrats are not just liberal, but are literally tied for being the most liberal members of the legislature, scoring goose-eggs on those ratings from conservative groups. In other words, neither Perez nor DeLeon are going to do anything but continue to try and push California off of a cliff — working to increase taxes and create new regulation at a time when the exact opposite is needed.

The reason I am writing about this as we head into the weekend is that I have now heard from multiple sources that one of these ultra-liberals (Perez, if you were curious) is trying to lure Republican legislators to "cross the… Read More

Ever wonder where your Member of Congress is spending his or her time? Curious if they are in DC or in the District?

Well the 2010 House voting calendar is out. I’ve attached GOP Minority Leader Boehner’s versionin .pdf format below. Or you can click here to see Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s version.… Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a statement today establishing that a first round of decisions on argued cases this term will be released next Tuesday, December 8. One of the cases pending such an announcement is Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which I have reported on here several times before. A decision in that case could significantly change campaign finance law in America. Your humble political law reporter is on the case and will be watching out for you, and will post any development here in real time, even though I am going to Las Vegas on Tuesday. Stay tuned!… Read More

Quote of the week: “I didn’t see a lot of warmth in that crowd out there that the President chose to address tonight and I thought that was interesting. He went to maybe the enemy camp tonight to make his case.” – Chris Matthews on MSNBC after the President’s speech at West Point.

Wait a minute Mr. Matthews. The United States Military Academy is an "enemy camp" for the Commander-in-Chief?

Afghanistan: Before I comment on the President’s plan for the war in Afghanistan, let me reiterate that this is a very difficult situation with no easy answers. The President laid out his plan this week, and that plan will have some Republicans and some Democrats in support, and other Republicans and Democrats in opposition.

I will be one of the Republicans in opposition. Perhaps for not the reasons readers of this missive might expect. Some people will legitimately oppose this plan because the 30,000 additional troops is below the minimum range of troops outlined by General McChrystal several months ago to get the job done. He had called for 40,000 to 80,000. The strategic maxim of "overwhelming… Read More

Following up on my commentary of this morning, I would like to draw the following to the attention of FR readers (especially those Republican legislators who think that even as a minority party, we should be entitled to pride and respect)…

Here is a quote from a report of the Congressional Research Service, Party Leaders in the House: Election, Duties, and Responsibilities, that succinctly describes the process that the United States House of Representatives

It would appear that as early as next week, there will be a vote on electing a new Assembly Speaker (though it is unclear precisely when the transition will take place).

There is a tradition in the Assembly (that seems to find its origin the election of Bob Hertzberg as Speaker, nearest as I can tell) where whichever candidate the Democrats put forward for Speaker is unanimously elected to the Assembly’s top spot in a voice vote. I suppose this is some sort of "congeniality of the house" maneuver since the outcome of a potential election between a Democrat and a Republican candidate for Speaker is preordained due to the large majority of liberals in the Assembly.

This practice is just wrong, and it shouldn’t be taking place.

The Assembly is an elected body with recorded votes. It is based on these votes that the people can judge their elected officials. It should be very clear to the "viewing audience at home" whom their Assemblymember voted for to be Speaker.

In the United States Congress, each conference — Republican and Democrat — has placed into nomination for the top spot their respective… Read More