I know I am starting to sound like I am beating the same drum over and over. But I am still reflecting with wonder on the fact that earlier today House Republicans gathered in a room and largely re-elected the same leadership that they had while in the majority.

The gravity of the problem for House Republicans is highlighted by my reaction to reading a speech I found online given by Roy Blunt (right), who was re-elected into House Leadership. In it he gives a speech that makes it sound as if he suddenly has turned over a new leaf. This the man who for years literally whipped up the votes to massively grow government. Now, stripped of his majority status and power, he is giving lip service to past mistakes.

Why would anyone believe that if Republicans took back the majority, things would be appreciably different than before, with the same leadership?… Read More

On election night I was in the McClintock suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel as the election results came in. I knew we were in trouble when Tom has a couple of percentage point lead and LA still hadn’t been counted. Pollster Stephen Kinney was there. It was his and other polling that had told us that McClintock, McPherson had slight leads and that Strickland was getting close.

Today Kinney made his post-election analysis at the meeting of the San Gabriel Valley Lincoln Club (For disclosure purposes I chair this Lincoln Club chaper)

Steve went through all the pre and post polling. Why did we lose the down ticket races? TURNOUT

Kinney thinks that the spread between Dem and GOP turnout may hit 10%. Some big Southern California GOP counties had lower turnout than in 2002. Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino to name them.

The reason. Kinney points to the nationalization of the election that didn’t come to California really until the last few days. Republicans were demoralized and didn’t show up. According to Kinney Arnold won by only 2% on election day.

I agree… Read More

Senator Ackerman sent me the latest numbers, not so good for Reps. Lou has pulled out to a 783 vote lead, a little less than the Otto Bade write-in number of yesterday, 800+ votes. These seem to be all provisional day-of ballots. If they were still the absentees it would be better. 55147-54364, advantage Lou.… Read More

That’s right. The tax increases are coming! A while back a reporter asked me if I feared an Angelides tax increase. I told him I didn’t, because Republicans would block, like we did during the Gray Davis years. I feared an increase from the Governor, because he might get some GOP votes for it. See the interview here.

I know you didn’t see it in the advertising for the bonds but with the State 5 Billion in debt (This is without lots of bad things like prison reform, pensions etc.. not figured in), that fear is reality.I have now confirmed that the governor’s office is considering tax increases. Specifically, I have heard these at least in play. A taxon satellite and cable television and radio and TV advertising. I assume that is the tip if the iceberg.

If you see some GOP legislators. Grabthe and tell them they have to vote no. That is the only thing that may stop these increases

I hope the governor proposes to tax retroactively all the advertisements that ended just a couple of weeks ago… Read More

It seems to me like Senate and House Republicans in Washington, D.C., have a tremendous challenge ahead of them. If I had to give it a title, I would call it, "Mending the Credibility Gap." When you are the party in power, you have to govern. This means that you move beyond the world of rhetoric, and you actually have to enact policy. I believe that a large part of the reason why Republicans their majorities in the Senate and the House in this last election was because a lot of core Republican voters had finally stopped mustering up the support to re-elect Republicans who were long in rhetoric about limited government, but who presided over unprecedented growth in the size and scope of the federal government. According to Ed Fuelner, the President of the Heritage Foundation:

What a freaking joke! One week after the election we get the big "State budget deficit" story with the accompanying "budget cut" lingo. It just so happens the Legislative Analyst couldn’t get the job done in time so that voters would know about the debt they just piled on top of a budget crisis in the form of $43 billion in bonds. With new leadership in the State Assembly on our side in the form of Mike Villines (R), Clovis, the Minority Caucus essentially has three jobs over the next two years: 1. Stick together at all times. The Democrats and Governor will lay lots of deals on the table to pick off budget votes, particularly to the termed out legislators. If even one member breaks from the Caucus we might as well throw in the towel; 2. Tell the Governor now, that there will be no votes for a deficit budget or tax increase from our Caucus, and present a list of legislative items we will need in order for their to be any Republican votes on even a balanced budget; 3. Change the language in the budget debate. Already we are hearing about "massive budget… Read More

Since we are short a Central Coast correspondent, and I’ve spent some time over the last several months working races there, I thought I’d pick up some of the slack. In Ventura County ‘The Mother of All Supervisorial Battles’ between Republican Peter Foy (disclosure: Coronado Communications client) and Democrat Jim Dantona appears to be coming to close as the remaining absentee votes are counted. On Election Eve Dantona led by a 300 vote margin… a lead which has deteriorated into a 700 vote deficit with about 40,000 votes counted and a couple thousand left to count.

Mike Osborn/Ventura County Republican Party were significant winners in this brawl. As long as I can remember the Ventura County Republican Party has been at best useless. Several weeks before the November Election Mike Osborn was elected Chairman and immediately took steps to make the organization relevant. In short, he actually raised and spent money to help elect his local candidates. Chairman Osborn’s biggest victory was clearly Peter Foy, where the Party spent tens of thousands of dollars making sure the seat would be held by a Republican as opposed to a partisan… Read More

The Legislative Analyst, Elizabeth Hill, has once again issued a report where she is VERY concerned about the structural deficit of the State of California. Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines (pictured) responded to her alarming report by saying: