The Republican National Committee is meeting as we speak in New Mexico. For some time now (actually for many years) the RNC has been debated how to reform the GOP Presidential nominating process in a way that might make more sense. State GOP Chairman Ron Nehring who is at the meeting just sent over this news:

The net effect of the Ohio plan is that large states like California will never be among the first states voting. Under the… Read More

“OSE CAMPAIGN ACCUSED OF VIOLATING FEDERAL ELECTION LAWS” Placer County GOP Files Complaint against Ose for Failing to Disclose Contributions

Roseville— The Placer County Republican Central Committee Thursday filed a formal complaint with the Federal Elections Commission in Washington D.C. alleging that Doug Ose’s Campaign for Congress distributed a direct mail piece that violated federal elections laws.

Ose is running against State Senator Tom McClintock in the Republican Primary for the 4th Congressional District to replace Rep. John Doolittle.

“Placer County Republicans request an immediate investigation,” said Tom Hudson, chairman of the Placer County Republican Central Committee. “We believe that the Ose Campaign engaged in unfair campaign practices and violated federal election laws.”

According to the complaint, the Ose Campaign for Congress recently sent voters a direct mail piece that shows an illustration of opponent Tom McClintock that is both silly and demeaning. The problem for Ose is the so-called ‘creative material’ is identical to the graphic artwork used against McClintock by then-opponent Dean Andal… Read More

You may not know it, but Sen. Lou Correa strongly opposes completing the 241 toll road.

True, it is Rep. Loretta Sanchez is the OC legislator who has garnered the attention — and just criticism — for her efforts to kill the 241 completion: a politically curious position considering the 47th Congressional District isn’t a hot-bed of environmental activism. That strain runs more strongly through affluent districts where residents can afford to be no-growth environmentalists.

Yet Sen. Lou Correa — who represents many of the same union households as Loretta — also opposes completing the 241. He”s just been quiet about it.

During January’s California Coastal Commission hearing on the 241, the various commissioners had to declare their ex parte communications on the issue.

Commissioner Larry Clark described his being lobbied by Sen. Correa:

On the 24th of January, and again on the 4th of February, I received telephone calls from Senator Lou Correa, from the 34th Senatorial District. Senator Correa conveyed this information to me, and position, his strong opposition for the 241 toll

Memo Date: April 2, 2008 To: Assemblyman John Benoit From: Jon Fleischman RE: Understanding Liberals I saw that yesterday, on a party-line vote, Assembly Democrats rejected your Assembly Bill 2389 which, put simply, would require that welfare recipients in California must submit to random drug tests, and if they they fail, be enrolled in mandatory treatment, or lose their right to welfare. You are to be commended for bringing forward such a common-sense measure, but I think that we all knew, unfortunately, that it was destined for defeat. It is not a coincidence that Democrats opposed this bill, while your Republican colleagues supported it. You see it goes to one of the basic core differences between the… Read More

I’m running out the door — but this just came in over the transom. Given the the Club for Growth is one of the premier organizations in Washington that is battling for fiscal reform and curbing the voracious appetite, present in both political parties, for pork barrel spending, I wanted to pass this along ASAP…

Also, BELOW the Club for Growth release, I have excerpted the opening paragraphs of some hard-hitting commentary from Frank Schubert (of Schubert-Flint Public Affairs), a resident of CD-4 who hits Tom McClintock pretty hard and makes the case for why he believes Doug Ose, and Tom McClintock should be his Congressman…

Memo Date: April 2, 2008 To: Assemblyman John Benoit From: Jon Fleischman RE: Understanding Liberals I saw that yesterday, on a party-line vote, Assembly Democrats rejected your Assembly Bill 2389 which, put simply, would require that welfare recipients in California must submit to random drug tests, and if they they fail, be enrolled in mandatory treatment, or lose their right to welfare. You are to be commended for bringing forward such a common-sense measure, but I think that we all knew, unfortunately, that it was destined for defeat. It is not a coincidence that Democrats opposed this bill, while your Republican colleagues supported it. You see it goes to one of the basic core differences between the… Read More

Today’s front page of the Flash Report features an article from the San Diego Union Tribune about possible DMV tampering with voter registrations. Apparently several Republicans in San Diego were dismayed to learn that although they thought they had registered as Republicans at the DMV, when they arrived to vote in February’s primary there was no record of their registration with the GOP. Secretary of State Debra Bowen is investigating allegations that the DMV transferred the Republican registrations to nonpartisan.

Reading this article brought to mind a bill currently being considered in the legislature: AB 2371 by Assemblyman Joe Coto.

Every year lawmakers introduce legislation that will “make it easier” for voters to register or re-register, as if it so difficult to register right now. AB 2371 would require that anytime someone who is not registered to vote applies for a driver’s license, instruction permit, junior permit or identification card, or who files an… Read More

What would you say if I told you that in the state’s current fiscal climate Assemblyman Albert Torrico (D-Newark) is carrying a bill, AB 1967 (see link to .pdf below) that if passed, would cost our state retirement funds (both Cal-STRS and Cal-PERS) billions of dollars?

AB 1967, in essence, puts some pretty huge prohibitions on where the billions of dollars in these retirement funds can be invested. Of course, right now, these funds are invested (presumably) to maximize rate of return. But under Torrico’s bill, these public funds who have to immediately and forever divest from any investments with what are called Sovereign Wealth Funds, which to put it simply are those funds that are affiliated with foreign countries. Torrico’s bill does exempt any SWF’s affiliated with a country (or countries) that have signed onto a bevy of various international human rights accords. Oh yeah, the United States, were it considered a foreign country under Torrico’s bill, would not meet the criteria as we have not… Read More