On the main page of the FR today, we linked to this USA Today major story focusing on the relationship between Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and a hedge fund named Cerberus, which raised substantial money for Lewis, and who has also benefitted from a major $1.6 billion dollar project. Congressional Quarterly carried this response to the story from Congressman Lewis:

Lewis Denies Discussing Contract With Donors House Appropriations: Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., today said neither he nor any members of his staff had discussed a defense funding allocation with representatives of a defense contractor or a hedge fund that hosted a fundraiser for Lewis’ leadership … Read More

I remember from playing Scrabble that instead of playing a tile on your turn, you can instead throw ‘back’ all of your tiles, and pick new ones from the bag of unused tiles – a fresh start so to speak. That seems to be what is being advocated by first-term (this go-around) Congressman Dan Lungren (R-Sacramento – pictured to the right). He is advocating that all of the House leadership positions come up for a new vote — right now there is a pitched battle taking place as to who will replace Tom DeLay as the Majority Leader (#2 ranked position, behind the Speaker). This race, though, is touching off two off other races as one of the candidates for leader is currently the GOP Whip (#3),… Read More

The Los AngelesCounty Planning Commission has approved regulations for "pot" clubs. This bake sale is a little differentfrom your mom’s PTA bake sale. The feds say no pot, the state’s voters said why not. See the article here.This is classic conflict between state and national interests, libertarian and traditional conservatives.

Good news for some: JackIn TheBox is open 24 hours.… Read More

As if it wasn’t official before.

Here’s what the anonymous SD Politics Blog is posting about Morrow’s announcement:

On The Issues: “I promise you, I will never vote for a tax increase, and I will fight everyday for smaller government, and less regulation. And as a social conservative, I will also continue to fight for the rights of the unborn, and I will workto preserve and strengthen our Second Amendment rights.”

In The News: The North County Times gave a raspberry to Bill Morrow in Sunday’s Roses & Raspberries section for asking “anti-immigration extremist Mike Chase to join Morrow’s congressional campaign steering committee”. Apparently, anyone who isn’t open to full amnesty but does support secure borders is an extremist. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how a hard-line on… Read More

I can’t think of public sector job I would enjoy less than being a member of the Board of Equalization. But for some reason we keep getting candidates for the job that precludes members from earning outside income.

Assemblyman (and former State Senator) Ray Haynes announced today that he has the support of two key Riverside officials Supervisors John Tavaglione and Marion Ashley. Its not a surprise but demonstrates that someone is paying attention to this sleepy position. Haynes is running against Michelle Steel (wife of California Republican Party Immediate Past Chairman Shawn Steel) a successful businesswoman and key Bush fund raiser.

Both candidates recently announced money raised/in the bank, Steel had the advantage. Both say they have lots of slates lines up–which is a big part of BOE campaigns since they cover such a massive number of voters (there are only 4 regions statewide).

Haynes has the advantage of having been in elective office for more than a decade representing a piece of the BOE district and being a prolific published opinion writer/contributor to newspapers in the region. Steel has sizable… Read More

The Martin Garrick, Marie Waldron and — perhaps Jerome Stocks —thingy (all close friends of "erstwhile" Chief of Staff Duane Dichiara, according to his post) is getting more interesting by the day. This just in from team Waldron:

Marie Waldron Endorsed by Assemblymembers George Plescia & Mimi Walters Major San Diego County Endorsements Add to List of Key Supporters for Frontrunner (San Diego County, CA) – San Diego County Assemblymembers George Plescia and Mimi Walters have officially endorsed Marie Waldron for State Assembly, in what is a clear signal that the leading candidate to replace Mark Wyland is gaining significant momentum. Read the entire release here.… Read More

Every once in a while, a column comes along that really moves you – or causes you to think about something in a totally different way. Today’s Golden Pen Award winner is famed economist Walter Williams. Williams really gets to the core of the problem in Washington, D.C. — and it is not the lobbyists. Yeah, what Jack Abramoff did was wrong, but the solution to stopping this problem does not lie with ‘reforms aimed at lobbyists’ – but rather an introspective look by Congress at itself.

Williams, in part, writes:

Why do corporations, unions and other interest groups fork over millions of dollars to the campaign coffers of politicians? Is it because these groups are extraordinarily civic-minded Americans who have a deep interest in congressmen doing their jobs of upholding and defending the U.S. Constitution? Might it be that these groups and their … Read More

Every once in a while, a column comes along that really moves you – or causes you to think about something in a totally different way. Today’s Golden Pen Award winner is famed economist Walter Williams. Williams really gets to the core of the problem in Washington, D.C. — and it is not the lobbyists. Yeah, what Jack Abramoff did was wrong, but the solution to stopping this problem does not lie with ‘reforms aimed at lobbyists’ – but rather an introspective look by Congress at itself.

Williams, in part, writes:

Why do corporations, unions and other interest groups fork over millions of dollars to the campaign coffers of politicians? Is it because these groups are extraordinarily civic-minded Americans who have a deep interest in congressmen doing their jobs of upholding and defending the U.S. Constitution? Might it be that these groups and their … Read More