If you read the newspapers these days in the Bay Area, you’d think that the liquor store owners in West Oakland were responsible for Oakland’s crime problem. City leaders, who believe that liquor stores are magnets for the bad elements of the city, are leaning on store owners to change their inventory from cheap wine to broccoli. When you drive through West Oakland, there are many, many small independent markets and a noticeable absence of large chain supermarkets. There is no doubt that the amount of liquor being purchased and consumed in Oakland’s troubled neighborhoods is a problem, but it is the shop owners’ problem or the customer’s problems? In a typical Bay Area nanny-government approach to social problems, the government and community groups answer to the problem is to lean on the shop owners and, in some instances, shut… Read More

CRA TAKES BOLD STEP The California Republican Assembly is the State’s oldest Republican volunteer organization. Earlier this week, that groups Executive Committee voted 27-0 to support a resolution demanding the the Governor ‘terminate’ Democrat Susan Kennedy as his Chief of Staff, else they would support withdrawal of the Governors GOP pre-primary endorsement at the State GOP convention this February in the Bay Area. You can read more about this on the main page. Yours truly served as State President of the CRA from 1995-97, and I am still tired from the work (unpaid). But I fondly recall that as an organization, we registered well over 100,000 new Republicans (more than any other GOP group that cycle, including the Womens Fed), our pack donated hundreds of thousands to great candidates, our volunteers walked countless thousands of precicts, and we crowned off the term presenting the coveted Ronald Reagan Freedomfighter award to… Read More

GOP State Board of Equalization Member and "Friend of the FlashReport" Bill Leonard has submitted a mini-column in response to a recent column by FR Blog-Team member Dan Schnur that ran in the Los Angeles Times.

You can read Schnur’s column here. Leonard’s thoughts on the column are below:

Why Arnold Has to Run as a Republican By Bill Leonard A recent column by Dan Schnur argues that Governor Schwarzenegger should run as an Independent. … Read More

The GOP seems to be spending a lot of time weeping and gnashing our teeth over Susan Kennedy. As a committed conservative, and supporter of the Governor, I understand the symbolic issues here. Her presence on his staff is a tough one to digest. But I have a suggestion, once we get over this issue – let’s deal with our REAL political problem. How do we defeat teachers, nurses, firemen, prison guards and cops, politically speaking? I don’t care who the chief of staff is, if we don’t deal with this challenge, none of our candidates can win. As a matter of fact, unless we come up with a realistic strategy soon, we shouldn’t even field candidates for Statewide office. Why put donors, volunteers and candidates through another losing political season? Sure, the Kennedy appointment depresses the GOP base. But even an energized base faces defeat every time against our well regarded adversaries. Not the Democrats. They aren’t well regarded. It’s the teachers, nurses, firemen, prison guards and cops. Any time spent apart from developing a strategy to neutralize and defeat them is a waste of time. My ideas will follow. I would love to… Read More

John Fund pens this in today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail:

Two years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger stood before thousands of supporters outside the state Capitol in Sacramento, waved a broom and told the cheering crowd, "We’re going to clean house!" Voters overwhelmingly backed him in a recall election that swept discredited Governor Gray Davis out of office.

The more things change, the more they remain the same. This week, Governor Schwarzenegger attended a state Capitol ceremony in which Mr. Davis’ official portrait was unveiled. In a gracious statement, the governor extolled the man he replaced as someone he’s come to… Read More

CRP Inland Empire Vice Chairman has said he will resign today at 5 p.m. unless the Governor reconsiders his appointment of Democrat Susan Kennedy as his Chief of Staff.

Ed just sent me the text of his resignation letter:

My roots are deep in California. My family has been in the Los Angeles region since the late 1700’s. I have not always been a Republican. When I first registered to vote, I registered Democrat as all of my family were in the steel mill town of Fontana, CA. I became a Republican in 1980 in order to vote for Ronald Reagan and have been a Republican ever since. I was newly married and the Carter malaize was in full bloom. Reagan offered hope and a vision in a time of despair, that is what drew me to the Republican Party. … Read More

RECALLED GOVERNOR DAVIS GETS PORTRAIT IN CAPITOL Well, the news loves to eat up photo-opportunities like this one. At any other time, disgraced former pay-for-play Governor Gray Davis would have slinked into the state capitol for a subdued ceremony to unveil his ‘official’ portrait to adorn some obscure wall on the ‘old site’ of the capitol. But Gray Davis’ stock is on the rise now, as two of his former Deputy Chief’s of Staff have now taking on two prominent spots as Chief of Staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Chief of Staff to First Lady Maria Shriver. Sound like a nightmare to you? Me, too. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you wanted: Here are two choice quotes for you:

"A gathering such as this usually marks the last page of the last chapter of an administration," she said. … Read More

A couple weeks ago theradical Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a rulling declaring that the Voting Rights Act requirement that election materials be in various languages applies to recall petitions. The case was the succesful2003 recall of Nativo Lopez from the Santa Ana Unified School District Board. See a quick recap here.

A bitter campaign by unions against Wal-Mart in Rosemead has been derailed by that decision. After the city council apporoved 5-0 a development plan for a Wal-Mart, the unions and other Wal-Mart haters went to work. First they defeated 2 or the three incumbents that supported Wal-Mart.

That still left them one vote shy of a majority. So Wal-Mart opponents started a recall against the two incumbent members that weren’t up for election. They collected enough signatures and the election was on until the Ninth Circuit made their decision.

Now, the majority put off the election citing the lack of multi-language recall petitions. See the story here.

For now the liberals… Read More