I am in the Philippines this week, so I am commenting on this matter based on newspaper articles I have read. I have no secret inside information, just the comments of the Governor and newspaper commentators.

I saw two articles, one in which the Governor called the concerns the Republicans have about illegal aliens getting free, taxpayer-paid California health care as "Mickey Mouse" concerns, and one in which Fabian Nunez said he and the Governor want to be on the cover of time magazine. In his comments about Republicans, he compared Republicans to "obese" people, and his comments to those encouraging the obese to exercise for their own health and well-being.

In the spirit of those kind of encouraging remarks, I like to make a few of my own, because, when it comes to governing, intellectual obesity, intellectual laziness, if you will, is far worse than physical obesity. Ideas in politics are not the matter of polls, and they are not the matter of talking points and populist rhetoric, they really do matter. Unfortunately, the Governor doesn’t like to think about policy. He wants to be popular. He wants to be on the cover of… Read More

Wouldn’t it be nice to buy baseball tickets, attend banquets, or join an organization and have someone else foot the bill? Well, that is precisely what is happening at the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Taxpayers may be surprised to hear exactly how their hard-earned money is being spent. According to the San Jose Mercury News (September 4, 2007), “Over the past three years, the board members have billed the public for such items as $415 in bar associations membership fees, $121 in funeral flowers, $84 in parking tickets, and 15 trips by the current board chairman to conferences in San Diego.” It gets better. “When [the board members] talk to the to the Mercury News, they charge the public more than $200 for the effort. The same goes for YWCA luncheons, NAACP banquets, Woman’s Equity Day and American Diabetes Association dinner[s]… One particularly creative director charged the public $817 for attending four ‘softball meetings’ involving district staffers.” Sadly, these board members do… Read More

Former San Joaquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock continues to lock down his base in San Joaquin County with a tremendous two weeks, highlighted by his Lodi fundraiser last evening that was attended by close to 150 people.

With the unanimous endorsement of Lodi’s GOP council members along with winning the endorsement of Senator Dave Cogdill (who represents Lodi), Sieglock is making the solidly Republican bastion of north San Joaquin County very difficult to compete in let alone win. With the strong backing of GOP super heavyweights Alex and Michael Spanos there will be no lack of resources to take the battle to the rest of the district.

Today I have learned that all GOP Stockton council members have endorsed Sieglock which will give added strength in the heavily Republican northern Stockton precincts. By locking down his base this early, Sieglock will be able to press into Sacramento, El Dorado and Amador County and peel votes away from the other candidates in the race who need every vote out of those areas to offset the large GOP margins of a united San Joaquin County.… Read More

I guess it should come as no surprise that Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed a massive NINE BILLION DOLLAR borrowing scheme that includes billions for "above ground water storage" (I guess that polls better than calling them "dams"). The Governor LOVES to ask Californians to indebt themselves and future generations. It has become a hallmark of his administrations. Bonds, bonds bonds. I guess the Governor and his team have done some figuring. They know that Republicans legislators will not support higher taxes. And they know that Democrats will not support any cuts in their state-sponsored social engineering and wealth-redistribution programs. If you can’t get the politicians of today to raise taxes or cut spending on other programs, let’s once again whip out the California credit card. Just when you thought it was maxed out – think again. First and foremost let’s be clear — California has a water infrastructure problem. That is real, and it needs to be dealt… Read More

I guess it should come as no surprise that Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed a massive NINE BILLION DOLLAR borrowing scheme that includes billions for "above ground water storage" (I guess that polls better than calling them "dams"). The Governor LOVES to ask Californians to indebt themselves and future generations. It has become a hallmark of his administrations. Bonds, bonds bonds. I guess the Governor and his team have done some figuring. They know that Republicans legislators will not support higher taxes. And they know that Democrats will not support any cuts in their state-sponsored social engineering and wealth-redistribution programs. If you can’t get the politicians of today to raise taxes or cut spending on other programs, let’s once again whip out the California credit card. Just when you thought it was maxed out – think again. First and foremost let’s be clear — California has a water infrastructure problem. That is real, and it needs to be dealt… Read More

FR friend Mindy Fletcher has spent a couple of months now working hard on an important program — one in which we hope that many FR readers will participate. Here is a note from Mindy…

Do an informal survey of your Republican friends as to which Republican leader has the brightest and most innovative ideas and one name always tops the list—Newt Gingrich. I had the privilege of being on Capitol Hill in 1994 when Newt Gingrich through the power of ideas, helped Republicans win control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. As a young Press Secretary on the Hill, I watched as this history professor transformed government and brought about real change to issues such as welfare reform, a balanced budget, and the list goes on and on. Newt convinced voters to put their trust in a reform-minded group of elected officials who managed to make great strides in… Read More

Today’s Capitol Morning Report outlines the announcement of GOP Assemblyman Benoit’s"There Ought To Be A Law" Contest for high school students. I know the object is to get kids involved in the political process and that is good.

And I don’t mean to pick on John. He is a good man, but the problem is that this contest presumes there should be more laws and more controls by a bigger government. Sen. Tom Harman did such a contest and then took the idea from one kid to force other kids to "volunteer" before they could graduate. Sen. Harman and this kid didn’t see that forcing someone to "volunteer" means you are no longer "volunteering".

Republican lawmakers should show leadership and help kids learn. They should sponsor "There Ought NOT To BeA Law" contests among high schoolstudents.Turn these kids loose on the thousands of pages of Education Code and have them come up with something that needs tobe repealed.

Shouldn’t we send… Read More

Presidential candidate U.S. Senator Sam Brownback has confirmed he will be a speaker at the upcoming Western Conservative Political Action Conference in Newport Beach on October 12-13.

A copy of the current conference agenda is attached. Other confirmed speakers include Mike Reagan, who is the General Chairman of the Conference and will be leading a panel on the Conference’s theme, "Preserving the Reagan Legacy." Other top speakers who are confirmed include State Senator Tom McClintock, Dave Keene (Chairman of the American Conservative Union);Joel Fox, President of the Small Business Action Committee; Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.; Lew Uhler, President of the National Tax Limitation Committee; San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus; radio-talk show hosts Melanie Morgan (KSFO San Francisco), Gregg Jackson (WRKO Boston), and Mark Larson (1700 AM, San Diego); and Hoover Institute Fellow and author Dinesh D’Souza. A host of other conservative elected officials will be on hand, including a number of other presidential candidates to be confirmed, and the agenda is being updated daily as new… Read More