Last week Democrat consultant Robin Swanson dubbed me Jon “Sherlock Holmes” Fleischman for outing Jerry Brown’s potentially illegal secret meeting with an organized labor boss. That same labor boss is currently providing funding for one of the independent union efforts attacking Meg Whitman and the law requires that no coordination occur. You can read more about it here, but I digress.

Given my new moniker, I now bring you The Case of the Vanishing Tweet.

Last Friday, Jerry Brown tweeted:

“ @JerryBrown2010 <http://twitter.com/JerryBrown2010/status/22299760434… Read More

Today was the final day of the legislative session. For those brave enough, like me, to watch much of the shameful legislation being pushed through by the Democrats – it was almost too much to take. I truly think that we all need to chip in to provide for each Republican legislator to get professional counseling for having had to live through it in person. Mid-day yesterday, Congressman Tom Price (R-GA), the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee in Congress, stopped by my office (we did an interview which you can see on the blog later today). When he came in, I pointed out to him that the State Assembly was debating legislation introduced by Democrats to prohibit employers from using the credit history of a perspective employee as a factor in the hiring decision. He was as outraged as I was.

I did want to share a piece of good news. Much has been written about here on the FlashReport about Assembly Bill 1998 – legislation pushed by an evil coalition of eco-whack legislators and greedy grocers, that sought to both ban the use of plastic bags at grocery and drug stores – and also apply a new state-mandated… Read More

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that 2010 is shaping up to be a very good year for Republicans. Every day there is another article that talks about it (here is today’s in The Hill) — and it should come as no shock to lawmakers of either party that the reason for this trend shift away from Democrats and to the GOP is because of overreach.

Most of the political factors that go into voter decision-making are geared around the national political scene — where Democrats are reeling from a hard-left push. Whether you look at Obamacare (and its significant costs), whether you look at the federal so-called "stimulus" spending which isn’t helping the private sector economy as much as it has been a boondoggle to support the public sector, or whether you look to efforts to create artificial government-created scarcities (like with the "cap and… Read More

This is a crazy week in the State Capitol as tomorrow is the deadline to get bills passed and to the governor’s desk.While many of the bills considered each year are either silly or simply written to correct a mistake created by previous bill, there is one piece of legislation that I’m hoping makes it to Gov. Schwarzenegger.But it is a long shot. AB 378 (Hagman) would clarify what constitutes continuing education for registered nurses.While it seems like this would fall into the “do we really need a bill?” category, the answer is, “unfortunately, yes.”Just look to the political games the California Nurses Association plays (in the name of “patient care”) and you’ll understand why. Recently, lawmakers were alerted to CNA representatives promising continuing education credits to nurses who … Read More

Here is a video of my speech at last weekend’s convention. Thank you all who attended and voiced your support for sending a true fiscal conservative to the Controller’s office! … Read More

See Bradley Benbrook’s "Water’s ‘unseemly’ slate-mail game" running now on Cal Watchdog. If you read one thing today, this should be it. It’s so outrageous I’m not even going to summarize it here. Just rub your eyes on it.… Read More

In terms of business being handled by the Convention, this typically comes from the work of three key committees – Rules, Resolutions and Initiatives. Below is a report on how Rules issues were handled (or not) at the convention…

Delegates took key action at this convention concerning how to deal with the passage of Proposition 14, the terrible ballot measure designed by its proponents to reduce the number of anti-tax, pro-liberty Republicans in Sacramento, and allow more terrible budget deals like last year, which included the single largest tax increase in the history of any state.

Delegates approved key bylaw provisions that were ultimately authored by Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth and Assembly Republican Leader Martin Garrick that are designed to strengthen the party’s position in pending litigation against Proposition 14 (there is unanimous resolve amongst the leaders of the party to try and overturn 14 in the courts, though the best timing to maximize potential for success is still a subject of discussions).

Also important is that a proposal by CRP delegate Luis Buhler to repeal the statewide/district convention… Read More

California is known for the glamorous lifestyles of its famous residents. Open up any gossip magazine and you’ll see pages of images of celebrities frolicking on the beautiful beaches of Malibu, dining at exclusive restaurants in Pacific Palisades, or partying in Hollywood nightclubs. It’s a lifestyle that very few Americans can relate to, but many envy. Conversely, celebrities, like California politicians, can lose touch with the very people they entertain. The perception of liberal bias in Hollywood isn’t inaccurate.

Some celebrities use their fame and influence to lend power to political causes. Such is the case with the California legislature’s attempt to ban plastic bags. Only in a state as celebrity-centric as California could an environmentalist protest in Malibu, featuring actors Julia Louise Dreyfus and Jeremy Irons, lead to a full-scale, statewide ban on plastic grocery bags. While Ms. Dreyfus and Mr. Irons may be accomplished actors, should their latest cause de… Read More