I read with great interest Karen Hanretty’s two previous posts regarding the Governor, the first theorizing that he will sign an illegal immigrant driver license bill if he is re-elected, and the second his apparent support of single payer health care for California during a second term.

It’s time to put him on the record on both of these issues. As soon as these primaries are over the State GOP Board or Executive Committee needs a commitment from him to oppose both of these issues if he earns a second term. If we can’t get a firm commitment, there isn’t any reason to work for his re-election. The Governor needs to understand who his primary constituency is.… Read More

A friend called me up yesterday, laughing, saying, “Well, I’m sure this is the first and last time I’ll see a lawn sign for a Democrat in your front yard.”

She may be right, unless I continue to live in Oakland where no GOP candidates even bother to file for the mayor’s race (or my assembly district!).

Normally, I’ll just cast a vote and ignore the rest of the campaign (in 2002, I voted for the more conservative candidate in the race for mayor—Jerry Brown).

This time, I’m a little more invested in the race. Not so much on behalf of the candidate I’m supporting—City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente—but because I cannot sit back and allow the wackos in this city install Ron Dellums in the mayor’s office. I do not want to foot his travel bill to Cuba or his self-esteem meetings for the poor kids kicked out of school because they… Read More

This morning I thought I would take a few minutes to share some of my thoughts about goings-on in San Diego County. It’s a crazy time in the county just to the south of my own…

Congressional District 50 – a.k.a. "Oatmeal vs. Acid" What do you do when the Republican candidate in the special election doesn’t excite conservative voters? The only issue on which he seems to be campaigning where he is in line with conservative voters is on the immigration issue, where he has been paid to be hardcore as he has represented (as a federal lobbyist) a hard-line immigration reform group. Bilbray moved into the district. He was tapped by D.C. power-brokers. He defeated a horribly split field of conservative candidates to eek out a plurality, most likely with the help of non-Republican voters. On many issues that I care about, he is only marginally better than the liberal Democrat Francine Busby. And so I read in ‘insider… Read More

This morning I thought I would take a few minutes to share some of my thoughts about goings-on in San Diego County. It’s a crazy time in the county just to the south of my own…

Congressional District 50 – a.k.a. "Oatmeal vs. Acid" What do you do when the Republican candidate in the special election doesn’t excite conservative voters? The only issue on which he seems to be campaigning where he is in line with conservative voters is on the immigration issue, where he has been paid to be hardcore as he has represented (as a federal lobbyist) a hard-line immigration reform group. Bilbray moved into the district. He was tapped by D.C. power-brokers. He defeated a horribly split field of conservative candidates to eek out a plurality, most likely with the help of non-Republican voters. On many issues that I care about, he is only marginally better than the liberal Democrat Francine Busby. And so I read in ‘insider… Read More

From today’s WALL STREET JOURNAL POLITICAL DIARY

Whistling Past California’s 50th District

Republican officials in California are less nervous than their national counterparts about the prospects of holding onto the San Diego congressional seat being filled next Tuesday in a special election. Republicans have been unlucky in the seat ever since the previous incumbent Randy "Duke" Cunningham went to prison for taking bribes and cast a corruption pall over the race to succeed him. The GOP primary was a contentious affair in which a former congressman turned lobbyist named Brian Bilbray came out on top with only 15% of the vote in a divided field. He now faces… Read More

Congressman Gary Miller was the speaket today at the San Bernardino Lincoln Club Meeting in Ontario. Gary hails from the Diamond Bar part of Los Angeles and has racked up Most Consevative Voting record from any California Congressman, several years in a row.

Congressman Miller talked about several subjects of interest. Most telling is his view that the Senate bill giving amnesty to illegals is dead in the House. I hope that is true, but a vote killing it would be nice too.

His comments on ANWR were very eye opening.He pointed out that the National Park Service is studying 700,000 acres in the San Gabriel Valley. See article here.And of course land use will beome an issue. The enviros are also trying to put together a wildlife corrider through Whittier , Yorba Linda etc…

Miller find that interesting because there are more oil wells on the surface originally drille in the 1900’s than there will be in the ANWR proposal. Some pristine environment!

Thanks to Marshall Riley, the chief of the SB County Lincoln Club for the invite.… Read More

What happens if you are a councilman running for Assembly and you vote to take expand the Hustler Casino a day after Larry Flynt and other Casino officials donate $17,000 to your campaign?

Answer: A whole lotof great mail pieces that last couple days. That is what will happen to Gardena City Councilman Steve Bradford in his race for the Democratic Nod in the 51st Assembly District. See article here.

Shouldn’t be a legal problem though. Larry Flynt wouldn’t do something that sleazy.… Read More

One of the hottest legislative primaries in the state has evolved into a close contest with heavy involvement from PACs flooding mailboxes with hit pieces. Sixty-Fifth Assembly District Republican primary candidates are seeing themselves painted in unflattering colors by PACs like the West Valley Young Republicans and the “Committee Against Corruption”. The WVYRs have spent $104,000 so far on independent expenditures (by Meridian Pacific) opposing San Jacinto Councilman Jim Ayres ($42,000), Yucca Valley Mayor Paul Cook ($35,000) and Hemet Mayor Robin Lowe ($35,000), while supporting Banning Councilwoman Brenda Salas ($30,000). The Upland-based Committee Against Corruption has spent $55,000 on the services of Delta Partners opposing Ayres. See the San Bernardino County Sun’s coverage from yesterday.

One might ask why Mayor Cook, a retired Marine colonel with a ballot title that says so, has started to draw fire. As a matter of fact, probably the biggest paradigm shift since my last… Read More