San Francisco saw its Olympic dreams go down in flames this week after the 49ers announced that they were moving the team to Santa Clara. The San Francisco 2016 committee had planned on pitching a new stadium at Candlestick Point as the home for the opening and closing sessions of the summer Olympics that year. But by yesterday, Mayor Gavin Newsom had sent a letter telling the U.S. Olympic Commission that the city was withdrawing from the competition to be the American city recommended by the USOC to the international committee. Chicago and Los Angeles are still in the running. Newsom’s letter told the USOC that it didn’t make any sense to “drag out what in the end would clearly be a… Read More

Richard Costigan, who has served admirably as Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggers top point person with the State Legislature is leaving his Deputy Chief of Staff post and going into the private sector, where we hear he is going to work for the prominent, well heeled PR/Law firm of McKenna, Long and Aldridge (then again the last time we ‘heard’ where he was going, not only was he not going there, he wasn’t going anywhere). Nevertheless, the source is credible. We here at the FlashReport wish Richard the best of luck — we have no idea how anyone could stand up to the rigors of that post under quasi-normal circumstances, let alone the absolute craziness that he has had to endure. I caught up to Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman and asked him to comment on Costigan’s departure. He had this to say: "Richard did an excellent job in trying to push the Republican agenda and sometimes difficult situations. We wish him the best luck in his new endeavors." Of course, Richard’s departure sparks the question of who will be hired to fill this critical role in the… Read More

A must read in California Political Review Online from Bill Saracino, including this mild passage:

"Here in California it would be madness for rank and file Republicans or GOP organizations to give Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger anything just because he asks for it. Running perhaps the most selfish campaign in California history, the governor gave the Republican party absolutely nothing, and that is precisely what he should receive in return. He is now officially a lame duck and should be treated as one.

"He did less then nothing for his statewide ticket “running mates,” finding time in the last ten days of the campaign to take a gratuitous slap at Tom McClintock over McClintock’s opposition to some of the bonds on the ballot. Running between 18 and 25 percent ahead of dead-man-walking Angelides in polls, and with a 3 to 1 monetary advantage, Schwarzenegger couldn’t see his way clear to share any of his funds with other Republicans, let alone appear with them." Bill, why don’t you tell us how you really feel.

Read it all… Read More

The FlashReport’s Beltway Correspondent, Congressman John Campbell, has just endorsed Congressman Mike Pence for House Republican Leader. We will follow his lead as a publication, and I want to announce that the FlashReport endorses Mike Pence for Republican Leader of the House of Representatives.

We have been following, and applauding the conservative moxie of Pence for a couple of years now, since he took over the reigns of the Republican Study Committee, the conservative caucus within the entire GOP conference.

When Republicans take the kind of drubbing they took last Tuesday, the honorable thing to do is for the existing leadership TEAM (yes, all of them, not some of them) to step aside and let new leaders emerge to try and win policy and political battles in the next session and election. Unfortunately we have a couple of leaders in the House — John Boehner and Roy Blunt — who are suffering from a classic case of "it wasn’t me" syndrome. I have news for both of… Read More

I thought the readers of the Flash Report would be interested in reading the following letter. It is a letter I sent a couple minutes agoto my fellow Republican House members endorsing Mike Pence for the position of House Minority Leader:

Dear Republican Colleague: I would like to ask you to join me in supporting Mike Pence for Minority Leader. My support of Mike is not due to any real or perceived shortcomings of either of his opponents. They are both fine men with excellent records, but I believe Mike will bring a new voice to leadership that can lead us back into the majority.

An axiom in politics is to win by securing your base then extending from it. Arguably, we did neither in this past election. First and foremost, we must show the country and our base that we have gotten their message and understand that change is necessary. By putting a fresh face in leadership who is dedicated to the core principals of our party and can skillfully articulate these principals, we can restore the country’s confidence in the Republican Party. Mike Pence… Read More

I can think of a lot of reasons why Rep. Dan Lungren doesn’t deserve a leadership post in the the new minority GOP House.

1) He ran a poor campaign for governor when he was the Republican nominee.

2) He left the California Republican Party over a million dollars in debt but then kept nearly as much in his own campaign account. Even after repeated attempts by outgoing chairman Mike Schroeder and incoming chairman John McGraw to collect on Lungren’s debt, he refused.

3) He doesn’t listen to anyone. If we are going to take back the majority any time soon, we need leaders who are engaged and inclusive and able to relate to the voters. Lungren brings none of that to the table.

Care to add additional reasons of your own?

Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?

Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.… Read More

I can think of a lot of reasons why Rep. Dan Lungren doesn’t deserve a leadership post in the the new minority GOP House.

1) He ran a poor campaign for governor when he was the Republican nominee.

2) He left the California Republican Party over a million dollars in debt but then kept nearly as much in his own campaign account. Even after repeated attempts by outgoing chairman Mike Schroeder and incoming chairman John McGraw to collect on Lungren’s debt, he refused.

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

When the GOP lost control of Congress last week, there was much talk about Nancy Pelosi bringing San Francisco values to the nation’s capitol. Today, local officials in San Francisco take on two issues that show how remarkably out of touch San Francisco is with the rest of the country.

The San Francisco‘s Board of Education is expected to vote to eliminate the JROTC program from San Francisco public schools today. In typical San Francisco style, supporters of cutting the program say that the military has no place in public schools and that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is in conflict with the school… Read More