Back in July I met in person a young woman who I had spoken with on the phone many a time – at times back east, at times in California, at times on a campaign, at times in between campaigns. She walked straight into my office over my USC rug and told me she knew I had to be good people.

Her name is Lindsay Conwell and she is a Trojan with degrees in political science and psychology, a former political fundraiser, and the co-founder of a political fundraising software company called iDONATEpro.

With about 15 minutes before my next meeting, Lindsay quickly pulled out her Mac and opened up iDONATEpro. She explained that when she started her own political fundraising business, she was unable to find a product to manage her data, so she hired her now business partner, Forrest Howell, to create a one. Lindsay was quickly blown away by the features that Forrest added, and Forrest was blown away that the market was without a product like so many he had developed for corporations and nonprofit organizations. The two sought to create a solution.

Lindsay showed me the single space where one would… Read More

Our president was educated as a child at a Muslim school, that is factually a correct statement, that Obama will not speak to. But whether or not that makes him a Muslim, the ignorance of the religion among highly prejudiced non-Muslims locally and nationally is stunning. In Temecula, reports of opposition to building what otherwise seems to be a beautiful structure dedicated to the same God of Abraham that Jews and Christians pray to, is clearly interwoven with concerns that the Mosque “will bring terrorists” to Riverside County. While it is encouraging to see Mormons and Muslims in Mission Viejo trying hard to understand each other, the mutton-chopped Rev. Terry Jones in Florida has been rebuffed by none other than General David H. Petraeus for his “burn a Koran Day,” which the General thinks will only incite more violence against our troops overseas. Polls show the majority of Americans think of Muslims favorably. The same polls show a majority of Americans don’t want a Mosque built at Ground Zero in New York. I agree with the majority of Americans. I think one can think favorably of religious Muslims and at the same time understand that… Read More

Today Assembly Speaker Perez released his target book.

Here is his e-mail announcing the publication on their Website…..

Dear Friend,

I am happy to provide to you a link for the 2010 Assembly Democrats candidate directory. This directory includes district profiles, candidate contact information, and other useful resources about our Democratic candidates for Assembly. The directory can be found online at www.assemblydems.org (Login: dem; Password: win2010).

I am very proud of our candidates this cycle. Not only are they representative of the rich diversity of California, but they will also be extraordinary Democratic leaders when they are elected. This is especially important as we confront the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Our party and its candidates are fighting for jobs, full funding for education and a budget that puts California back on the pathway to prosperity–as opposed to Republicans obstructionists who put pledges to party bosses over the people of California. The contrast couldn’t be clearer, and our Democratic candidates are going to win by fighting for California’s… Read More

Conservative Republican Assemblyman Ted Gaines has retained well-respected pollster, strategist and FR friend Arnie Steinberg for his public opinion research. Steinberg & Associates just got out of the field with a survey… Here is a memo from the pollster to his client (but really written for the rest of us)…

Date: September 7, 2010 To: Assemblyman Ted Gaines and Dave Gilliard Fm: Arnold Steinberg Re: Senate District 1 Conclusion. Based on my review of the data, I believe Assemblyman Ted Gaines is in a good position at… Read More

Earlier today Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner put out a statement (h/t to the Sacramento Bee) endorsing the entire GOP ticket for the General Election. Most significantly this included his endorsement and support of Meg Whitman, his former opponent in June’s epic primary battle.

Poizner had not endorsed Whitman, which frankly was not a big surprise to many. We are all too familiar with campaigns that go negative — and the Poizner vs. Whitman battle royale was no exception. It is often times very hard for the loser of a campaign with a lot of attack ads (and there were plenty to go around on both sides of this fracas) to circle in behind the winner. It often can take some time for wounds to heal, or at least to not hurt as much.

That said, when you take into account that everything was done on such a grand scale with the Whitman campaign… Whitman didn’t just attack Poizner — she pummeled him with more negative attack mail than — well, more than I… Read More

With the dust clearing on the “fine works” of the Democrat-controlled state legislature, it’s becoming very clear that some very noxious pieces of legislation are now sitting on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk, awaiting his perusal. While the FlashReport annual Top Twenty Bills To Veto feature is due out later this week, there is one particular set of terrible bills that are worth their own separate mention right now. Given that our state’s economy is in bad shape, these bills represent job killing legislation at its worst.

We are calling on the Governor to swiftly use his veto pen on Senate Bill 900 and Assembly Bill 1602. These two companion pieces of legislation together represent an effort to see California embrace Obamacare years early, and (of course) seeks to put into place regulations well beyond those required by the unpopular federal legislation. One bill creates a “California Health Benefits Exchange” and the other dictates how it will be operated. Under federal mandates, it is estimated that between 4 and 9 million Californians would be… Read More

A hodgpodge of otherwise mostly-missing-from-the-mainstream missives from the San Diego area…

Public Twitter Act… By Kelly Thornton at Voice of San Diego, an excellent analysis of the growing question: Should politicos be able to communicate electronically during public meetings and just what exactly in this day and ageis a public record? (Side note: A few years ago when a local reporter asked for my public calendar, assumingI must have a paper one, I was half inclined to hand her my Blackberry and ask how soon I could get it back.)

Read the Voice piece, Silence of the Thumbs. San Diego Rostra Fledgling, but Growing… The little area conservative blog, which I consider a local partner to… Read More

So it is clear, I am talking about Republican officeholders and candidates, not the tireless volunteers that work endless hours helping that hapless group get elected. We are about to enter the sprint phase of this electoral marathon, and Republican officeholders and candidates are very ill equipped for the victories they are about to receive.

The good news is, voters don’t care. Voters are so angry at Democrats that Republicans can show up to this party drunk and get power. But those officeholders and candidates are not ready. I listened to Meg Whitman on John and Ken. It was painful. But the race is over. She can phone it in now, and Jerry Brown is still toast. Carly Fiorina will probably beat Boxer. It is close, but I think Boxer loses (I said so in January). It will be a duel, but in the end, I think Fiorina wins. But like Whitman, she has not persuaded the voters that she is good. They just know that Boxer is bad.

And that is because Republican officeholders are lazy. The first rule of politics is that the purpose of the political process is to persuade the people to entrust you… Read More