There are those in politics that rely on polling data and those that rely on instinct and the "feel" of the electorate. I don’t think its a stretch at all to say that the situation for Republicans in general is beginning to "feel" like an improving trend. Of course, we had nowhere to go but up. It’s nice to see the downward slide stop for now.

It all starts in Washington, where the mood of the electorate is set by whether or not we see leadership. The electorate has been very, very dour as of late, butthe President has had his best week in a year and one senses he might be on a small roll right now. Although the basic competency of Congress has not changed, and it is still light years from solving any major problems facing the country domestically, the overall situation seems stable for now. The President’s improving polling numbers validate the "feel" of the current situation.

Here at home, many of the components of a re-election for Arnold Schwarzenegger are in place. He has the opponent he wants, a hardcore liberal who wants to raise taxes, sign job killing legislation and pursue policies that… Read More

Tonight was the must-attend OC Republican Party Annual Flag Day Dinner fund raiser. Tonight’s event was bigger than ever–over 1100 attendees. The dinner also raised about $400,000 for the County Party.

Governor Schwarzenegger was the keynote speaker. He did a good job. He told some funny stories and worked the crowd–two things he has always been good at. He mostly avoided talk about present day public policy issues–a smart move on the part of his staff.

Then came the red meat–talk show host and syndicated columnist Dennis Prager kept the entire crowd in their seats and silent (except for applause) for a 45-minute passionate speech about conservatives vs. liberals and he explained the meaning behind so many things in the news today. At almost any event, especially political dinners the crowd thins as the hour gets later. Not tonight–every one of the 1000+ attendees were eyes front and listening to every word Prager said.

All the statewide GOP nominees (except for McClintock) were in attendance as were most of Orange County’s legislators.… Read More

Willie Brown on Angelides (in today’s Sac Bee):

“…Phil is a smart guy. But he doesn’t look good on TV and doesn’t sound good on radio. They need to keep him in places like Dinuba and Chico, where they don’t have modern communications with the rest of the state and no one can see or hear him."

Phil Angelides campaign button: $1.40 "Phil Angelides for Governor" water bottle: $9.17 "Phil Angelides for Governor" hoodie: $56.07 Willie Brown’s campaign advice for the Angelides campaign: priceless!… Read More

Here are some thoughts that came to mind as I packed this morning for my vacation:

If I were a poor or homeless person in San Francisco, perhaps now would be the time for me to be upset with the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco. After all, the Board has helped to make The City a Mecca for those seeking to live on government assistance by their extraordinary efforts to redistribute wealth. Their latest? Now they have voted to set aside $2 million to fight the effects of the potential efforts to crack-down on the nation’s criminal alien problem. What kind of a welfare state do we live in when the homeless nationals of other countries soak up all of redistributed wealth? Last night at the OC GOP’s Annual Flag Day Dinner, commentator Dennis Prager pointed out that one of the problems that we have is that the left in America is unprepared to call the phenomenon of Islamo-fascism evil. Prager pointed … Read More

How Reagan Won By Losing (From WSJ’s Political Diary)

Ever since the Young America’s Foundation bought Ronald Reagan’s old ranch near Santa Barbara, it has become almost a shrine to old friends and admirers of the Gipper. History was made there, as visitors can still see the tree stump on which Mr. Reagan signed the 1981 supply-side tax cuts that helped set off a generation of largely uninterrupted economic growth.

History was on the mind of many of the foot soldiers in the Reagan Revolution this past weekend as about 70 of them gathered at the Reagan Ranch for a conference marking the 30th anniversary of Reagan’s 1976 primary challenge of President Jerry Ford. The conference took its inspiration from the recent book by Craig Shirley entitled… Read More

In what will be great news for liberals far and wide, I will be leaving on vacation to Great Britain tomorrow morning to return just in time to celebrate America’s birthday on July 4th! The good news is that during my absence, the FlashReport will continue to bring you all of the latest and greatest news on California politics. Nicholas Romero, whom you have seen as a guest editor for this site has been promoted and is now the Managing Editor of the FlashReport. Nick will be editing the main page of the site for the next few weeks, as well as joining the FlashReport Weblog with his own observations and analysis. Congratulations, Nick! I am also pleased to announce that many of our regular contributors from the Weblog have agreed to step up and make sure that this Daily Commentary page updated each and every day, starting with our Central Valley Correspondent, Mike Der Manouel, Jr., who will be posting on this page tomorrow. I’ll still be monitoring my emails (somewhat… Read More

In what will be great news for liberals far and wide, I will be leaving on vacation to Great Britain tomorrow morning to return just in time to celebrate America’s birthday on July 4th! The good news is that during my absence, the FlashReport will continue to bring you all of the latest and greatest news on California politics. Nicholas Romero, whom you have seen as a guest editor for this site has been promoted and is now the Managing Editor of the FlashReport. Nick will be editing the main page of the site for the next few weeks, as well as joining the FlashReport Weblog with his own observations and analysis. Congratulations, Nick! I am also pleased to announce that many of our regular contributors from the Weblog have agreed to step up and make sure that this Daily Commentary page updated each and every day, starting with our Central Valley Correspondent, Mike Der Manouel, Jr., who will be posting on this page tomorrow. I’ll still be monitoring my emails (somewhat… Read More

Last week, when flying from Sacramento to Orange County on a SWA flight, I reported on the ‘notables’ on the flight.

Today’s flight has a different group of interesting characters, though no less notable. Flying with my fiance, Maureen, and me are… State Senator Chuck Poochigian, Assemblyman Chuck Devore, Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher, State GOP Chairman Duf Sundheim, former GOP Chairman Mike Schroeder, Republican Insurance Commissioner Nominee Steve Poizner, and from the Governor’s campaign team – Julie Soderlund and a discovery, that the son of my friend Rich Galen (www.mullings.com), Robert, is working for the Governor’s campaign.

With all of these GOPers, I shouldn’t leave out our token Democrat “VIP” – Assemblyman Tom Umberg.

Somehow I don’t think Umberg is going where the rest of us are headed – the Orange County GOP’s big annual Flag Day dinner (with special guests Arnold Schwarzenegger and talk show host and columnist Dennis Prager, of whom I am a huge fan, and whom I am introducing).… Read More