Last week former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman officially joined the 2012 race for the White House in front of the Statue of Liberty. He has wasted no time circling the wagons with press and fundraising appearances across the country. One such appearance was at a private fundraising event emceed by OC GOP Chief Scott Baugh at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. A number of top GOP donors and influential operatives were in attendance to hear the Governor, encourage friends to support his campaign and get a better understanding for his plan to defeat Barack Obama in 2012. Of course in order to do that he will have to stand out to GOP primary voters in what is becoming an increasingly crowded field. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the event and get a better perspective of Huntsman and his campaign.

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Republican representatives in Sacramento probably have the worst political job in America. They have to sit and watch extremely stupid people across the isle ruin the State, work on “problems” that don’t exist while ignoring ones that do exist, and propose absolutely nothing of import to get the economy out of the mud, provide confidence to business owners, and enable hiring.

This must be very difficult to observe close up. Thank goodness I only have to read about it, because it is probably ten times worse than what we read or see in in the print media.

We’ve ceded ground on almost every issue in Sacramento over the past 10 years. Our legislative “leaders” in 2009 went up on a tax “solution” that solved absolutely nothing. We continue to feed tax dollars to the education pig that demands more even as statewide student enrollment declines while educational performance suffers.

My point is simple – the tax extension is a hill to die on. I wish our representatives continued resolve, strength, and in the face of insult from the Governor’s staff, its time to dig in even harder. Keep it up!… Read More

Governor Jerry Brown and legislative leaders are hoping that a surge in new revenues will help them avoid triggering additional budget cuts.

But it’s hard to imagine their budget numbers working when California is racing to become the nation’s unemployment leader.

We need jobs to spur revenues, but burdensome taxes, fees and regulations continue to hold back California’s economic recovery. The Governor and Legislature need to wake up to the reality that their economic policies are destroying California’s competitiveness.

If the Governor and Legislature want to see growth in revenues, they need to get Californians back to work. We need to bring private sector jobs back to California instead of driving them away.… Read More

The statewide sales and use tax rate will decrease from 8.25 percent to 7.25 percent on July 1, 2011. This is great news for overtaxed Californians, who bear the sixth highest overall tax burden in the nation. A lower sales tax will help our state’s economy and help job creation.

There’s still time for a budget deal before July 1, but it’s already too late to extend the higher sales tax. According to a June 6 Board of Equalization letter, the minimum amount of time necessary to notify retailers of a sales tax rate change is 15 days.

In May 2011 the Board of Equalization notified approximately 680,000 California retailers and out-of-state businesses that make sales in California that the statewide sales and use tax rate will decrease from 8.25 percent to 7.25 percent on July 1, 2011.

Temporary taxes often have a way of sticking around—keep in mind that the 1991 ‘temporary’ 1.25% sales tax increase is still with us today! It will be good for California if this latest sale tax hike goes away and stays away,… Read More

On June 30th, the wishes of California voters will be fulfilled. At the end of this month, the last vestiges of the “temporary” tax increases passed in the ill-fated 2009 budget deal will expire. De facto tax relief will be given to working Californians, which is sorely needed in this over-taxed state.

For many months now, we’ve had to endure Governor Jerry Brown, and legislative Democrats berate Republicans because they believe that the voters should have a chance to decide whether or not to “extend” these incomes, sales and car taxes (and a big reduction in the child tax credit) for four more years.

Republican legislators have rightly challenged Democrats on this point, reminding everyone that will listen that voters already were asked to extend these very same taxes, but for only half the time proposed by Brown, and they overwhelmingly rejected the idea.

Lest anyone has forgotten, Proposition 1A was the top item on a May 19, 2009 Special Election ballot. This measure, if passed, would have triggered the extension of the taxes put into place in the February budget deal, which were only to last for two years.… Read More

I am not saying I endorse the so-called “National Popular Vote” bill that is pending in the Legislature, having passed in the Assembly 52-21-8 with some bipartisan support, as well as in the Senate Elections Committee, however, I am not so sure the arguments I am hearing against it are as sound as opponents portray. And I am also not saying that all the arguments I have heard about “making California relevant again” in national Presidential elections is the only reason to support it. But looking at the legislation honestly, and fairly, I think there is something to it.

National Popular Vote legislation is nothing new. It passed the Assembly in 2006 and again in 2008. It has been enacted in six states and the District of Columbia. And polls show it is supported by about 70% of Californians. National Popular Vote (“NVP”), if enacted here, means that California’s Presidential Electoral College votes would be cast for whichever candidate for president wins a plurality of the vote, regardless of who wins in California. Promoters of NVP say it will guarantee that whoever wins the most popular votes in the country would be… Read More

There are many interesting developments in the new maps for residents of the Central Valley, particularly at the Congressional level. The first thing I took note of was the newly drawn Fresno Congressional District.

Having attended Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearingen’s State of the City speech a few weeks ago, it struck me that Republicans have a real all-star on their hands. When I saw the Fresno district, I couldn’t help but think what would happen if the Mayor decided to run for that seat.

Her polling numbers are said to be off the charts with favorable ratings in the seventies. With a new seat sitting directly over her main constituencies, she would be very tough to beat.

If asked today, I’m sure the Mayor would say she’s focused on the needs of her city and that’s where she wants to spend her energies. But you can’t deny that being an all-star in the Congressional House Majority in a “safe” Republican seat is an opportunity hard to pass up.

Time will tell where the Mayor’s path lies. But, one thing is for certain: It’s a new world with new maps. Maybe we will see new candidates… Read More

At first blush when the ‘visualizations’ were published on June 1st by the California Redistricting Commission [CRC], Republicans believed they dodged the bullet. Then came the first draft, 10 days later, and panic began to spread. Substantially revised from the visualizations, some experts estimated that three to seven Republican congressional seats could be threatened.

Only 36% of the state’s 53 Congressional seats 19 remain Republican hands. Obama trounced McCain in 2008 with a 61% to 37% showing. Even with Governor Brown’s massive victory in 2010, he earned only 53% vs. 42% for Whitman. In a bad year, Californians will at least give to republicans 37% to 42% of their vote. For Congress, the percentages are actually higher. So why would Republicans ‘lose’ more seats?

Clever gaming and racial gerrymandering is the answer. Democrat activist Secretary of State Debra Bowen and the California State Auditor are responsible. Under the CRC initiative act, Bowen and the Auditor set up procedures to vet several thousand candidates who would eventually make up the 14 person commission. They each took their duties seriously… Read More