Congressman John Doolittle has penned this column for FlashReport readers:

Don’t let the Democrats fool you, while they campaigned on the promise to fix our broken immigration system, their first attempt at immigration reform was a bill that would have granted an estimated 12-20 million illegal immigrants amnesty. Months later, in a misguided bill that expands government-run health care to Americans with incomes higher than $80,000, the Democrats are attempting to provide illegal immigrants with health care. Ten years ago, Republicans in Congress and President Clinton enacted a health care program for poor children. When we drafted that legislation, we specifically prohibited non-citizens from receiving… Read More

I haven’t posted about the budget lately……frankly, I’ve been a little afraid to.

When I reported from the floor of the Senate during the infamous Senate lock-down I think I set the Pro Tem off. Later that day he said Senate Republicans were a bunch of whackos captured by right-wing blogs. He then amped that up by calling us terrorists.

Then, in another post, I got into a "comment dual" with the Speaker’s press operative, Steve Maviglio – ‘nough said.

In an effort… Read More

We have really come full circle. When I campaigned vigorously for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2003 special recall election, I was supporting a candidate who boldly campaigned as a fiscal conservative. Heck, I remember his waving the broom in the air, to talk about "sweeping out" the special interest groups that have a firm control over California’s bureaucracy. It was true then and it is true today. Public Employee Unions and other interests have prevented any major substantive overhaul to how state government functions. The Governor’s California Performance Review is gathering cobwebs in a file cabinet somewhere. Of course, the Governor went through a rather famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) ‘reinvention’ of himself after the multiple (and important) ballot measures that he championed in 2005 fell short at the special election polls. Still, in his re-election in 2006, which I supported, again the Governor campaigned as a fiscal conservative.… Read More

Apparently earlier today in Fresno, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger responded to a reporter about Denham and pressuring his budget vote: “He (Denham) should get a lot of heat.” The Governor also told those attending the meeting and listening over the web to call Senator Denham and tell him to vote for the budget.

To this, Denham issued the following response:

Governor, let me repeat myself again, since perhaps you are not listening yet. I will not be bullied, intimidated or pressured into voting for a budget with inflated revenues, unaccounted expenses or accounting gimmickry. Stop the theatrical performances, call the Legislature into session, balance the budget, put the cuts in writing and clean up the trailer bills. Governor, playing ‘Chicken Little’ and saying the ‘sky is falling’ is not productive – instead, you should endorse my ‘Denham… Read More

In the great profile piece on the FlashReport in the Contra Costa Times yesterday, there was a factual error. While we did cover extensively the unfortunate and ill-advised appointment by the Governor of former Democratic Party Executive Director Susan Kennedy to be his Chief of Staff, that story first broke a few hours before we reported on it over at New West Notes. I have been told that this error will be fixed in other NewsMedia papers that run the profile piece, and that a correction will run in the CC Times. My sincere apology to any offended parties.

Oh yes, this is a good time to ask again for the Governor replace his Chief of Staff with a Republican. Susan Kennedy is charming, smart, and witty — and a Democrat. We believe a Republican Governor should have a Republican Chief of Staff.… Read More

Last Wednesday, Mike Zapler, a reporter with the San Jose Mercury News in their Sacramento Bureau came down to Orange County to spend a day with me, which was fun. He’s a cool guy, and he wrote a pretty lengthy profile on the website and its influence, that actually appears in today’s Contra Costa Times. It will run in the Mercury News soon, I’m sure, since that is Zapler’s "home paper" — but the Mercury News, the Times and about fifty other papers are all under the umbrulla of Media News Corporation.

I would like to give a shout-out to United States Congressman John Campbell, who came over and shared an iced tea with us on Wednesday. Somehow he ended up on the cutting-room floor of this piece, though the Congressman did a great job of talking about the important role that our website plays "Inside the Beltway" and on what happens out that way.

I’d also like to thank Senator Dick Ackerman and Dan Schnur for their kind words. I’ll definitely give a shout-out to our vital FR advertisers, without whom this site would not be a reality. And last, but most significantly, thanks go to YOU, the FR… Read More

Last Wednesday, Mike Zapler, a reporter with the San Jose Mercury News in their Sacramento Bureau came down to Orange County to spend a day with me, which was fun. He’s a cool guy, and he wrote a pretty lengthy profile on the website and its influence, that actually appears in today’s Contra Costa Times. It will run in the Mercury News soon, I’m sure, since that is Zapler’s "home paper" — but the Mercury News, the Times and about fifty other papers are all under the umbrulla of Media News Corporation.

I would like to give a shout-out to United States Congressman John Campbell, who came over and shared an iced tea with us on Wednesday. Somehow he ended up on the cutting-room floor of this piece, though the Congressman did a great job of talking about the important role that our website plays "Inside the Beltway" and on what happens out that way.

I’d also like to thank Senator Dick Ackerman and Dan Schnur for their kind words. I’ll definitely give a shout-out to our vital FR advertisers, without whom this site would not be a reality. And last, but most significantly, thanks go to YOU, the FR… Read More

I am at a wedding reception and one of the other guests is State Senator Bob Margett (one of his staff members is the bride!). Anyways, I just took the opprtunity to commend Senator Margett for, along with his colleagues, voting against a bloated state budget in need of cuts and programmatic reforms.

Senator Margett pointed out that people need to be looking beyond just this year’s budget and the need to make changes now to cut projected major defecits for future budgets.

If you come across a Senate Republican, I urge you to praise them as well. Well, I guess every Senate Republican Abel Maldonado, who rather infamously voted with all of the Democrats for the bad budget. If you run into Abel, urge him to reconsider his vote, and stress the importance of standing tall with his fellow Republicans, for fiscal prudence.… Read More