I caught up with Assemblyman and U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore as well as Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel in the heart of the State Capitol. DeVore had a lot to say about his experiences making GOTV calls for Scott Brown, the now U.S. Senator-Elect for Massachusetts…

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I’ve listened to all the FOX News pundits tonight, and they have all missedan important point. The reason Scott Brown won is the same reason that Senator McCain could have if his campaign (post-Super Tuesday) hadn’t been manhandled by the “Victory” operation. Like Senator McCain, Scott Brown is his own man, and Brown said it best tonight, “I know who I am, and I know who I serve.” He appeals to Republicans AND independents AND what we used to call Reagan Democrats, (until some wonk or another decided we couldn’t woo them any longer.) Do you know how many non-Republicans worked on Scott Brown’s campaign, and were in the room when he gave his victory speech tonight? If not, I hope you’ll find out. Do you know how many PUMA’s, how many hard working union Democrats, how many pro-life Democratic Catholics, and how many independent thinkers would have worked their tails off for Senator McCain if they hadn’t had to make calls for … Read More

Scott Baugh has served as Chairman of the Orange County Republican Party for over five and a half years. Prior to that he served in the California State Legislator for nearly as long, and was elected by his peers as Assembly Republican Leader. In all of that time, Baugh has given hundreds, if not thousands of speeches.

Tonight, to use Baugh’s own words, he will deliver, "The most important speech of my life."

At 7pm this evening, hundreds of Republicans will converge on the Hyatt Hotel in Irvine for the first meeting of the year for the Orange County Central Committee. Everyone is buzzing as word has spread that Chairman Baugh has been cloistered away — writing, honing and perfecting a speech that… Read More

A Great Choice for Haiti Relief… With the tragic devastation in Haiti on just about everyone’s mind, many may still be deciding how they can help. There are of course several outstanding entities through which contributions can be sent. If anyone is looking for a homegrown organization with very low overhead and a great track record, California-based Rescue Task Force has my highest recommendation.

Started in 1988, RTF was led for many years by two Congressman Duncan L. Hunter staff members. Wendell Cutting passed away a few years ago, but many will remember him from his days as mayor of San Jacinto, president of California Republican Assembly, and — more recently — Hunter’s Congressional district director. Cutting is branded in the San Diego area as the namesake of a handful of continuing awards, given annually to those in the community exemplifying humanitarian efforts and high ethical standards.

RTF continues its relief efforts under the leadership of founder Gary Becks and his daughter Andrea Stone, in most cases with… Read More

Senator Abel Maldonado doesn’t like political parties. He makes that clear over and over again, whether stumping for his "top-two" ballot measure (that limits voter choice, keeps parties and vastly increases the cost of running for office) or now, in his official reaction to the Governor’s State Of The State Address.

As an officer with the Republican Party, I think it shouldn’t surprise anyone that I think that political parties are an important player in American politics, and would like to see my party grow in influence as much as possible, so that we can elect more people to office who support the outstanding policies outlined in our party’s platform.

Republicans believe that the problems we face in Sacramento have been largely created by decades of control of the legislature by liberal Democrats. Abel Maldonado seems to think that the problems in Sacramento are not caused by the Democrats, but by both parties. How you can possibly blame Republicans for our woes, given that we have virtually no input in California public policy (I don’t count Governor post-partisan)?

There are many who talk about the two… Read More

The departure of former Congressman Tom Campbell from the Republican primary for Governor benefits the candidacy of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner at the expense of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Exactly to what degree we will have to see.

First and foremost, I think that Whitman was advantaged in a field where she could run as the only candidate coming straight out of the private sector, challenging two opponents both of whom hold public office. Now, of course, this advantage is gone.

I also believe that Whitman benefited by Campbell’s presence in the race from a gender-perspective, the one woman running against two men.

**There is more – click the link**

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The departure of former Congressman Tom Campbell from the Republican primary for Governor benefits the candidacy of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner at the expense of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Exactly to what degree we will have to see.

First and foremost, I think that Whitman was advantaged in a field where she could run as the only candidate coming straight out of the private sector, challenging two opponents both of whom hold public office. Now, of course, this advantage is gone.

I also believe that Whitman benefited by Campbell’s presence in the race from a gender-perspective, the one woman running against two men.

Finally, I think that with Campbell out of the primary, now means that the ultimate GOP nominee will have to get the voters of over 50% of voters in a closed Republican primary (yes, DTS voters can participate but historically those numbers have been very small). While neither Whitman nor Poizner is a rock-ribbed right winger, clearly Poizner has been posturing his candidacy well to the right of Whitman, whose strong… Read More

Jim Sanders reports over on the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert blog that there is currently a leadership race taking place within the Assembly Republican Caucus. That may be news to many FlashReport readers, though not news to it’s Publisher. I’ve spoken with many members of the Assembly Republican Caucus over the last few days about this, and the dynamics.

That said, to the dismay of all FR readers, I wanted to remind you that while there is virtually no area that is "shielded" from my editorial wit, as a general rule, I do NOT write about the internal politics of the Republican legislative caucuses. Which is to say there would have to be a really good reason to do so, like finding out that a potential candidate doesn’t read the FlashReport each and every day! ;-)

Good luck to all of the potential candidates for Assembly Republican Leader. We’ll let you know how it turns out!… Read More