Today Governor Schwarzenegger announced his intention to appoint former Congressman James Rogan to a seat on the Orange County Superior Court that will become vacant on September 30th..

Rogan, of course, is a superstar on the Republican side of the aisle. While originally a Democrat, Rogan found his heart and soul in the Grand ol’ Party of Abraham Lincoln. He has had a storied career — as a successful gang murder prosecutor, a judge up in Los Angeles County, GOP Majority Leader (yes, we had one of those once!) of the California State Assembly, a Member of Congress (where he served as one of the handful of managers of impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton), and went on to serve President George W. Bush as an Undersecretary of Commerce and as Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

If you ask Jim about his career, and of what he is most proud, he will readily pull out of a photo of his family, and beam as he tells you that his family is his most proud achievement.

Anyways,… Read More

"There’s some things you don’t want to answer to give ammunition to the other side."

This gem of a quote was given to veteran Stockton Record political reporter Hank Shaw when he spoke with Jerry McNerney, the Democrat nominee for Congress against incumbent Republican Richard Pombo in California’s 11th District (pictured to the far left), which is largely based in the Stockton area, and in the East Bay Area.

McNerney besides being candid in his belief that you should hide your positions on the issues if they are unpopular, has got to be one the dumbest candidates for office – EVER.

Shaw penned a story for the Record which ran on Sunday, On 2nd thought: Democrat changes dozens of answers in online survey, in which Shaw reveals that McNerney, fresh out… Read More

"There’s some things you don’t want to answer to give ammunition to the other side."

This gem of a quote was given to veteran Stockton Record political reporter Hank Shaw when he spoke with Jerry McNerney, the Democrat nominee for Congress against incumbent Republican Richard Pombo in California’s 11th District (pictured to the far left), which is largely based in the Stockton area, and in the East Bay Area.

McNerney besides being candid in his belief that you should hide your positions on the issues if they are unpopular, has got to be one the dumbest candidates for office – EVER.

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

It may be noted on the main FlashReport page this morning, but it’s worth mentioning here as well…the lead SDUT editorial skewers the Escondido City Council over its disdain for private property rights, givingus all another reason to hate the Kelo decision andto support theProtect Our Homes initiative this November. An excerpt:

The busy stretch along Mission Avenue in western Escondido near Quince Street must be a pretty good place for a restaurant. After all, Oliverio and Rosa Ruedas, owners of the El Mexicano Taco Shop, have earned a living there for 21 years. Then again, maybe hard work and good food explain the couple’s ability to survive economic challenges that include the recent shuttering of Kmart, their giant neighbor.

But the Ruedas family is no match for Escondido’s city government. In a troubling abuse of power, the City Council has voted 3-2 to seize the property beneath their business and sell it to a developer whose clients will pay more in local taxes. The Taco… Read More

[This is a ‘weekend commentary’ – so it will be up both Saturday and Sunday.]

In some ways I feel very bad for California Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis, and in some ways I don’t. Let me start with the caveat that, to my recollection, I have never met the man. Which is at least a modest statement about his level of engagement in Republican politics in California given that I am a former Executive Director of the State GOP, and have been a fixture at conventions going back twenty years. Then again this is a big state, and I admit that I don’t hang out in Redlands all that often.

I have heard from a number of mutual friends that on a personal level, Jerry Lewis is a nice guy. And on a personal level, I am empathetic about what the Congressman must be going through. Right now, his professional (and personal) life is under and intense scrutiny with investigations taking place by the federal… Read More

In some ways I feel very bad for California Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis, and in some ways I don’t. Let me start with the caveat that, to my recollection, I have never met the man. Which is at least a modest statement about his level of engagement in Republican politics in California given that I am a former Executive Director of the State GOP, and have been a fixture at conventions going back twenty years. Then again this is a big state, and I admit that I don’t hang out in Redlands all that often.

I have heard from a number of mutual friends that on a personal level, Jerry Lewis is a nice guy. And on a personal level, I am empathetic about what the Congressman must be going through. Right now, his professional (and personal) life is under and intense scrutiny with investigations taking place by the federal government into allegations that Lewis may have used his extremely influential position as Chairman of the House Appropriations (i.e… "spending) Committee to… Read More

OK, you’ve gotta admit — even if you may disagree with Randy Thomasson’s Campaign for Children & Families — that the doctored movie poster is a hoot.

On the other hand, does CCF bring up some good points? More here.

… Read More

Field Poll is out today with poll numbers on the four infrastructure bond initiatives that Governor Schwarzenegger outlined in his January State of the State address this year. None of the bonds are doing especially well. You can read analysis of the poll results at New West Notes and Sacramento Bee.

While it’s not likely there will be a well-funded or organized campaign to oppose the bonds, there will most certainly need to be a clever campaign to pass the bonds in November. And probably, the governor will have to go out and actively – and aggressively – campaign in their favor.

The question is, could Newton’s action-reaction law of motionapply to the governor’s re-elect in November? What reaction (if any) will occur as a result of the governor campaigning to pass the bonds? The most recent Field Poll shows Gov. Schwarzenegger with 85% support among Republican voters – the magical percentage that the numbers crunchers said early on in the year was necessary for him to win re-election. Could that number decline, however, if the Republican governor makes the case for the education or housing bonds? Quite possibly. It’s not… Read More