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Jon Fleischman

GOP Legislators: Stand Firm And Don’t “Kick The Can” — Your State Is Counting On You

Today is the last day of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, and it is the final opportunity for the State Legislature to place on the Governor’s desk a comprehensive fix to next fiscal year’s way-out-out-whack budget before we are actually IN that fiscal year. By "comprehensive fix" — I mean a package of cuts and reforms that ensures that state government will be able to make it all of the way to June 30, 2010 without having yet another "fiscal crisis" where we are back at the cliff, again.

Governor Schwarzenegger has been 100% on message since the May 19th Special Election — we need a complete fix for the budget situation — one that does so taking into account that the voters overwhelmingly rejected tax increases to do so.

Legislative Democrats, unbelievably Sunday (in the Assembly) and yesterday (in the Senate) rammed through billions of dollars in illegal majority-vote tax increases for what appears to be the sole purpose of sticking the legislative "middle finger" up at California voters — especially since the Governor has and continues to make it clear that any legislation that hits his desk with… Read More

James V. Lacy

U.S. Supreme Court Wants More Argument In “Citizens United” Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken the unusual step of asking for additional argument in the pending"Citizens United" case. That case is all about a commercially- produced movie by Citizens United, a conservative group,that is critical of Hilary Rodham Clinton, a la Michael Moore.Liberals say it violates the Federal Election Commission rules, specially the McCain-Feingold amendments which really increased FEC regulation of political speech. Part of the McCain-Feingold amendments that regulated "issue advocacy" type campaign speech were gutted by the Supreme Court in the "Wisconsin Right to Life" case. With the request for reargument, now the Court is signaling it may beon the precipice of throwing out the heart of the whole darn law!… Read More

Jon Fleischman

Poizner Memo: Whitman = McAuliffe

In advance of the reporting by statewide candidates of their campaign finance numbers, Poizner for Governor Campaign Manager Jim Bognet sent out a memo to senior campaign supporters. We obtained a copy, and you can open it via the link below. Enjoy the comparisons between Poizner’s main opponent Meg Whitman and former DNC Chairman/failed Virginia Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe…… Read More

Congressman John Campbell

Why I endorsed Meg Whitman for Governor

Anyone reading the Flashreport knows that these are not average times for California. This great state of my birth is collapsing around us, and we need exceptional leadership during these exceptional times. I believe Meg Whitman best fits that bill for 3 reasons:

1) We don’t just need a governor, we need a game changer. Meg has the potential to truly change the political landscape in California. She brings a strong background from eBay, and her capabilities, determination, and character, are exactly what we need. Technical changes, tinkering around the edges or working within the system will not get it done. The next governor must command the stature to lead us to a new place and I believe Meg Whitman can do that.

2) She is not afraid to take an unpopular position in which she believes and then stand firmly by it. Clearly, governance by polling has not worked for this state. We have seen Meg Whitman take a principled stand on Prop. 8, in the face of opposition from her core constituencies in the Bay Area internet community. She will lead… Read More

Bill Leonard

Problem Solving by Delay

Normally, half a loaf is better than none, but under the Capitol dome that kind of logic does not always work. Over the last few days the Democrats have offered a solution to the short-term cash flow crisis but not to the on-going problem of overspending. The Republicans are split, with some advocating the partial solution then returning to the issue of a long-term fix while others argue that the problem is so acute that we do not have the luxury of time to address the problem incrementally. Earlier I was on the side of those suggesting that we agree on what is offered and come back for more debate on the rest of the problem.

However, Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter), who is Majority Leader, brought me up short. During the debate on Friday about the short-term measures, he argued eloquently that preventing the state from issuing IOU warrants was the most important item before the Legislature, and since everyone agreed that the proposed bills would cut spending enough to cover the cash gap, they should be adopted now. Then he shocked me with way too much disclosure of the Democrat strategy by saying that the structural deficit and the imbalance of the current… Read More

Congressman John Campbell

Cap & Tax and more of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid Cabal

Cap and Tax Bill: I write you this to you after one of the biggest votes of my Congressional career. I’m sure you have already heard a lot about this bill that passed by a vote of 219-212 on Friday evening. It is known by a variety of titles, but most commonly as ‘cap and trade,’ ‘cap and tax,’ or ‘the national energy tax.’ I won’t repeat a lot of what you already know. But suffice it to say, this bill will be a disaster for our economy, which is already in huge trouble.

The bill is so bad that it took a full court press from the President, the Speaker, and just about everybody who works in the West Wing to cajole the votes necessary with threats and treats. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) was even brought out of rehab where he is undergoing treatment for substance abuse for this vote, and rumors abound that some members were promised 9 figures of pork for their districts if they voted for the bill.

Why is it so bad? According to MIT, it will result in an energy tax that will, on average, cost American families about $3,000 per year! In addition, according to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis… Read More

Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt

UPDATE – Raid On Local Road Funds Marches On

Note: Thanks to a phone call from Senator Bob Dutton, I stand corrected on my initial posting of this item which claimed the entire San Bernardino County legislative delegation supported raiding local gas tax (road maintenance and repair) dollars.Actually, it was the entire ASSEMBLY delegation from San Bernardino County that voted that way.Only one Senator, Gloria Negrete-McLeod (D-San Bernardino), voted for it. My apologies to Senators Dutton, Runner, Ashburn and Huff.

As of Friday, the state’s attempt to raid the local gasoline tax money cities and counties use for street and road maintenance and repairswas continuing.That’s $288 million in Prop. 42 "deferments", withan outrighttaking of $1.7 billion in HUTA local-share gas tax still on the table.

Let’s review what this would mean if it gains final approval:We would give up our local streets and roads maintenance so they can pay off some state bond debt, prop-up the state’s cash flow and credit ratings, and… Read More

Jon Fleischman

UPDATED: Governor Schwarzenegger and Assembly GOP Leader Blakeslee Responses to Demo’s Passing Majority-Vote Taxes

UPDATED: Governor Schwarzenegger just put out this statement… "I will veto any majority vote tax increase bill that punishes taxpayers for Sacramento’s failure to live within its means," the governor said in a prepared statement. "The Legislature will have a difficult time explaining to Californians why they are running floor drills the day before our budget deadline. We do not have time for any more floor drills or partial solutions. It’s time for the Legislature to send me a budget that solves our entire deficit without raising taxes." ORIGINAL POST:

Last night watching the CalChannel on my laptop was like watching an episode of the Twilight Zone where in some horrible, alternative California, it deosn’t take a 2/3 vote of the legislature to enact tax increases. By a majority… Read More

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