As noted by others who aremore observant of national trendsthan me,a new fightfor the heart and soul of the Republican Party is well underway. The combatants are the BigGovernment Republicanswho have dominated Congress and the Presidency post Clinton and post Gingrich v. the resurgent Good Government Reformers.

Congressman Brian Bilbray (disclosure: a client of Coronado Communications) made a pretty good argument for the Reformers’ position last week in the North County Times:

Changing Culture Requires Real Reform by: CONGRESSMAN BRIAN BILBRAY

San Diegans believe that the accountability and transparency they expect from their elected leaders has been replaced by backroom deals. When I left Congress in 2001, Congress had a balanced budget and a $155 billion surplus. Today, that surplus has turned into a $296 billion budget deficit. We need budget reform, and Congress must balance the books.

For months, the American people have been waiting for Congress to follow through on the promise to bring more transparency and accountability to the budget and earmark process. Congress has responded by taking a few first steps in the right… Read More

Congress adjourned at about 20 minutes after midnight Saturday morning. Both the House and Senate wrapped up work meeting the deadline set by a predetermined adjournment date. This past week was the last chance to pass legislation until Congress returns in late November for a lame duck session.

The UTLA fresh from making a deal that undermines student acheivement in LA’s schools has a new target. Israel. The UTLA Human Rights Committee is sponsoring a meeting of the radical leftistLAchapter of theMovement for a Democratic Society. (Noam Chomsky is on their National Board)The puropose is to identify and boycott goods and investment in the State of Israel.

The big question for the UTLA is this helps kids read how????

The bigger questions is. The State forces teachers to pay union dues to the UTLA because???

The good news is there is an organization that helps teachers that care about kids more than politics. Their goal is to make sure teachers understand their rights. It is called the The California Teachers Empowerment Network. You can see their site here.

Here is the email sent to me from a LA teacher

Please join the Los Angeles Chapter of Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS) in launching a local boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign in support of the Palestinian people. WHEN ? Saturday,… Read More

For a second I actually considered entitling this post after a Dickens’ novel, but that would’ve been too obvious. Suffice it to say that both Escondido and National City have received much attention in recent weeks for the polar opposite directions they are taking on the issue of illegal immigration.

National City Mayor Nick Inzunza has garnered headlines for his announcement that he would declare a "Sanctuary City" for illegal aliens, which he simply refers to as immigrants (see my prior posts). Yesterday, Inzunza signed the sanctuary proclamation (SDUT story), while — on the advice of law enforcement, apparently in no mood to try to protect him — he was holed up in city hall during another protest rally outside. This was the second such rally in two weeks, with illegal immigrant apologists… Read More

The Governor gave his veto stamp to Gil Cedllo’s SB 160, which would have given illegals grants to attend state colleges. See veto message here.

The Gov is done with all the bills. I’m know I fell better. I remember saying at the beginning os the year, that I would fell better if we just had these 910 bills signed into law. You can see the rest last bit here.

Arnold did sign a bill to give marriage tax breakx to gay couples. And he vetoed attempts to legalize hemp and ban ultrasounds.… Read More

UPDATE: The Governor VETOED this bill!

One of the last Big Name bills still needinga veto is the trashing of the Electoral College via AB 2948, a scheme that would circumvent the carefully planned and balanced approach the Founders brought and intended for ournation’s presidential elections. California would be the first of a syndicate of as few as 11 states that could defy the voters of their state and allocate their Electoral votes opposite of the result of their state’s election and decide the Presidency. If you want a recipe to feed the "why bother to vote" sentiment, this would surely be a key ingredient.

Those thatthink the rural states or rural areas of states are "flyover" country now, wait til candidates only have to campaign in a handfulof "syndicate states" where they can add up 270 electoral votes or gain 50% + 1 of the nations popular vote.

Thinking that this plan will change behavior of candidates to visit areas they don’t now defies logic and reality. Candidates willalways campaign especiallyin areas where they believethey… Read More

As I sit down (at midnight) to write the commentary for Saturday, I’m having a hard time caring about anything other than whether or not the L.A. Dodgers make it into post-season play, having just returned from a nail-biter at AT&T Park where the Dodgers eked out a 4-3 win to keep their post-season chances alive. But I think I’ll get a note from Jon Fleishman if I subject FR readers to a commentary analyzing my team’s chances of making to the playoffs. Back to the reality of state politics…

Today is the last day of bill signing for the governor. I’m sure his legislative staff has their bubbly on ice, since they’ve worked long and hard all year, especially in these last few weeks. Personally, I’m glad that bill signing is wrapping up, ending the guessing game about what action the Governor would take on… Read More

As I sit down (at midnight) to write the commentary for Saturday, I’m having a hard time caring about anything other than whether or not the L.A. Dodgers make it into post-season play, having just returned from a nail-biter at AT&T Park where the Dodgers eked out a 4-3 win to keep their post-season chances alive. But I think I’ll get a note from Jon Fleishman if I subject FR readers to a commentary analyzing my team’s chances of making to the playoffs. Back to the reality of state politics…

Today is the last day of bill signing for the governor. I’m sure his legislative staff has their bubbly on ice, since they’ve worked long and hard all year, especially in these last few weeks. Personally, I’m glad that bill signing is wrapping up, ending the guessing game about what action the Governor would take on… Read More