Yesterday former Alaska Governor and GOP Vice Presidential nominee turned national grassroots conservative phenomenon Sarah Palin endorsed the candidacy of Carly Fiorina for United States Senate.

This endorsement is a big boost to Fiorina’s candidacy amongst conservatives — and is a significant blow to the campaign of Chuck DeVore. Fiorina has been striving hard to make the case to voters that she is a conservative candidate — but there is no doubt that she is not as conservative as one of her opponents, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Of course, Tom Campbell completely occupies the moderate end of the GOP spectrum, based on his record on fiscal and social issues.

One of the key necessities of a DeVore primary victory is to paint Fiorina as more of a moderate, and there is no doubt that a Palin endorsement of Fiorina makes that task significantly more challenging.

**There is more – click the… Read More

Yesterday the Poizner for Governor campaign held a press conference via telephone to share their news with reporters (and some bloggers that at least included the CalBuzz boys and yours truly) where they paraded out the principals of their very reputable polling firm, Public Opinion Strategies, to announce that their poll shows that the GOP primary campaign has closed to a ten point race, with Whitman at 38%, Poizner at 28% and the very large remainder of voters being undecided.

Being that this is an internal poll, there is a tendency for those of us who are not affiliated with either campaign to perhaps want to wait for a the next non-candidate sponsored statewide poll to come out. Sacramento Bee reporter John Chang on the conference call even brought this point up. That said, I decided to do some nosing around and I was able to confirm, from solid sources, two other statewide surveys that show this race even closer — in single digits! I was told about a… Read More

FR friend Steve Ding, who is working hard to elect his friend and former boss Richard Pombo to Congress in CD 19 this June (it’s all about the primary in this seat where George Radanovich is retiring) sent me some of the mail pieces that Pombo has dropped. So I thought I would share them. Pombo is in a heated primary with two other credible candidates — Jim Patterson, the former Mayor of Fresno, and State Senator Jeff Denham).

Here are the mailers… (Click on each to see large version.)… Read More

Yes, I know, it’s become cliché but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply.

The 43rd Assembly District, which includes Glendale and Burbank, has not been held by a Republican since my former boss, Jim Rogan, left the seat for Congress in 1996. Rogan was elected in a special election succeeding former Assembly GOP Leader Pat Nolan. In those years, this seat was a bedrock Republican district but an influx of new Americans, primarily Armenian and Latino, have changed the demographics and ideological bent of the district. Additionally, this has become a bedroom community for entertainment industry workers who also sit on the left of the political spectrum.

Today, the district is 2-1 Democrat with another quarter of voters decline-to-state. On the surface, Republicans should not be in the game here but due to a special election triggered by incumbent Paul Krekorian’s election to the L.A. City Council, we have a very unique opportunity.

On April 13th, Republican Sunder… Read More

Yes, I know, it’s become cliché but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply.

The 43rd Assembly District, which includes Glendale and Burbank, has not been held by a Republican since my former boss, Jim Rogan, left the seat for Congress in 1996. Rogan was elected in a special election succeeding former Assembly GOP Leader Pat Nolan. In those years, this seat was a bedrock Republican district but an influx of new Americans, primarily Armenian and Latino, have changed the demographics and ideological bent of the district. Additionally, this has become a bedroom community for entertainment industry workers who also sit on the left of the political spectrum.

Today, the district is 2-1 Democrat with another quarter of voters decline-to-state. On the surface, Republicans should not be in the game here but due to a special election triggered by incumbent Paul Krekorian’s election to the L.A. City Council, we have a very unique opportunity.… Read More

Prayer has always been a component of American history. You need not be a person of faith to know that prayer has influenced our history and that Presidents have honored and called for prayer during times of national crisis. It is ingrained into our national traditions. It is in that spirit that the National Day of Prayer was created by a joint resolution of Congress and signed by President Truman in 1952 to annually recognize prayer’s importance.

Since then, there have been 57 Presidential Proclamations for a Day of Prayer. Last year, all 50 state governors including Governor Schwarzenegger signed similar proclamations encouraging citizens to pray. The Day of Prayer serves to remind all Americans, of all backgrounds, to reflect on the blessings and challenges that have shaped our nation. It is a wholesome call to pray for the well-being of our communities, country, and those serving in our Armed Forces.

Unfortunately, for a small and vocal minority largely comprised of atheists and agnostics, the safe guards in the First Amendment are not enough. A group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation believes that the National Day of Prayer leaves… Read More

I’ve heard a lot of outrageous Big Government stories in my day, but here’s one that wins the prize. LA Times’ Steve Lopez reports that owners of a mom and pop Chinese restaurant in the San Fernando Valley are under deep (and questionable) scrutiny by California state auditors, specifically the Board of Equalization, for allegedly under-reporting sales taxes.

As a candidate of the BOE (2nd district), I can assure you that I oppose tax evaders and cheats. The under-ground economy has disastrous consequences for society – look no further than Greece. However, I am equally opposed to big government harassing small business owners.

Let’s break down Lopez’ facts: 1.The owners, Sander and “Mama” Ho, are the sole workers at the Tasty China, the restaurant under scrutiny. 2.Lopez’ lunch for two, with tax and drinks, came to just over $12. 3.Many customers buy only a $1 carton of white rice. 4.The restaurant is small and rarely filled to capacity. 5.The Ho’s dwell in a one-bedroom North Hollywood… Read More

On occasion I get press releases that are good enough to pass along, verbatim. I got one yesterday from the campaign of Mark Lunn who is running for Ventura County Clerk/Recorder. Lunn, a conservative, currently serves as Chief of Staff to Supervisor Peter Foy — a second career for him, after retiring from the California Highway Patrol.

Lunn’s opponent in this open-seat race (the incumbent is retiring) is none other than Peter Foy’s former opponent in his run for Supervisor four years ago, Jim Dantona. I could devote a whole blog post to Dantona, but that isn’t the purpose of this post. It’s to highlight how Lunn has brought to light, with thorough documentation, how Dantona wants to be elected to an office of public trust, can’t keep his personal finances in order. The example in this release has to do with property taxes. But having been at this for a while, trouble paying one’s property taxes is the big "red flag" for opening up the hood and seeing a lot more trouble.

The moral of this story… Pay your property taxes on time, especially if you want other people to trust you to be their… Read More