As we have watched the Governor and legislature go through contortions to try and change California state law in order to qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal payments, I think it is worth stepping back and looking at the tragedy of federal preemption that is taking place, and also the irony of liberals becoming the victim of the larger role for the federal government which they advocate.

The federal government cannot order the states to enact laws in most areas of everyday life, not the least of which is education policy. That is on purpose. When our nation was founded, it was with the idea that our country’s national government would be limited in scope, especially on domestic issues. Remember that the American revolution was all about throwing off the… Read More

State Senator Mark Wyland has just sent a thoughtful and important letter to the Governor and legislative leaders calling for a halt to all of the non-essential gyrations of the state legislature, and for a razor-sharp focus on job creation.

I’ve included the text of the Senator’s letter below. Governor Schwarzenegger would do well to read this, and include this idea in his State of the State Address tomorrow. In fact, I feel comfortable saying that Senator Wyland wouldn’t mind a bit if the Governor embraced this idea and took ownership of it!

The reality is that our fiscal problems are so bad that all of the non-essential work of the legislature during this time amounts to moving deck-chairs around the Titanic. How about focusing on the big hole caused by the iceberg?

Dear Governor and Legislative Leaders … Read More

Major defense contractor Northrop Grumman said it plans to move its headquarters from El Segundo to the Washington D.C. area by 2011. The Washington Post reports the company is looking for a site somewhere around the nation’s capital and plans to identify one in the next few months. This movewill benefit the economy in the D.C. region, but it represents yet one more blow to California’s bruised economy.

"As a global security company with a large customer base in the Washington, D.C. region, this move will enable us to better serve our nation and customers," Northrop chief executive Wes Bush said in a statement. Northrop is the father of the proposed KC-45 tanker, the in-flight refueling aircraft that was the subject of a big fight with rival Boeing, according to the Washington Post.

Read more here.… Read More

George Radanovich’s retirement announcement has sent the Central Valley into a feeding frenzy on news of candidates looking to run to replace him. A solid Republican seat, all of the action for this one will be in the June primary.

So far I have heard from all of the campaigns of the major candidates. There are two potential candidates from the Fresno area, former Secretary of State Bill Jones, and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson. To the North, there are former Congressman Richard Pombo, and State Senator Jeff Denham. Truth be known, any of them would be a fine Member of Congress. Having four of them in the race will make it a real barnburner.

In this election, however, my sense is that old paradigms don’t matter. I don’t think fundraising is going to matter as much, and some of the issues that should really matter a lot won’t matter at all.

As everyone knows, the Central Valley here is the victim of a man made drought, fueled by outrageous Endangered Species laws, and the resulting unemployment is staggering. Hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile ag land remain fallow, threatening and endangering our… Read More

I looked over the state Legislative Analyst’s recent report about the fiscal outlook for next year. I certainly was not expecting any good news, but I at least expected a realistic view of the dire situation the state is in. I was stunned by what I saw. The LAO is projecting a 14.5% increase in expenditures next year over this year. Go ahead, read that sentence again: he is saying the state will spend 14.5% MORE money next year than this year.

In part that is because many of the sneaky "savings" games the Governor and Legislature have played will expire. No more borrowing from cities, stealing from redevelopment agencies, or shifting state employees’ December payday into the next calendar year. At the same time, federal stimulus money will expire and our state’s debt service will soar.

http://www.lao.ca.gov/2009/bud/fiscal_outlook/fiscal_outlook_111809.aspx

To put this into perspective, consider these figures distilled in a recent issue of Political Pulse: In 1990-91 the state spent $1,350 per person. By the current fiscal… Read More

The Center for Investigative Reporting has been around for a long time — but their new endeavor, California Watch, is new the California political scene. At a time when we see MSM newspapers devoting fewer and fewer resources to investigative journalism — especially in politics — California Watch represents an effort at serious watchdog journalism not by the media, but by a non-profit foundation. A longtime friend of this website publisher is the Editorial Director of California Watch — Mark Katches. I met Mark when he used to work at the Orange County Register. It is also noteworthy that another longtime FR friend, Bob Salladay (formerly an ace reporter and blogger with the Los Angeles Times) is onboard advising this endeavor.

I’m quite certain that everyone at California Watch would agree with my observation that this is no right-of-center endeavor. Hardly. That said, shining the light into the farthest, darkest corners of state government is an endeavor that should be applauded, even if many of those shining the flashlights voted for President Obama. I reached out to Mark and asked… Read More

Since our last day of officially publishing the links to top stories in California politics was Friday, December 19 — I thought I would provide FR readers with a quick summary of some of what took place while our FR elves were taking some much needed R&R.

Click through on any links to read the full stories!

Today former Congressman Richard Pombo confirmed to the Fresno Bee that he will be running for Congress in the 19th District seat that will be open next year due to the announcement by Rep. George Radanovich. The Bee is also reporting that former California Secretary of State Bill Jones is making calls to supporters and weighing a potential run.

I have known Richard Pombo for over two decades, and he’s a rock-solid conservative and a good man. He joins a field of candidates that already includes State Senator Jeff Denham and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson (so I am told).

Look for Pombo to try and leverage Denham’s and Jones’ pre-primary support for the Presidential campaign of John McCain last year against them with grassroots types. McCain is one of the least popular politicians (save perhaps for the man that bested him for President) with conservatives.

It will be interesting to see how Pombo’s entrance into the race impacts endorsements from the state’s Republican Congressional delegation. Then again, there is so much anger towards Congress these… Read More