Assemblyman Chuck DeVore sent me his thoughts on the CRP Vice-Chairman’s race, asking that I share it with FR readers. I thought about it a bit, as the FR is not supporting a specific candidate between the three contenders – Tom Del Beccaro, Tom Bordonaro and Jalene Forbis. But I decided to go ahead and print DeVore’s piece, and I have invited the other candidates, if they have a similar ‘third party supporter’ who wants to e-mail something to get posted, they could do so as well. So, here is DeVore’s take: Why I support Tom Bordonaro for CRP Vice Chairman I have been attending California Republican Party… Read More

When the California Medical Association hired Trial Lawyer and former Senator Joe Dunn, it looked like another "friendly" special interest buying into the "alligator theory." Please democrat legislators don’t eat me, but eat the others first.

But it was nice when Joe Dunn, now the newly minted Executive Vice President for the CMA briefed the Directors of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn. Dunn declared Arnold’s Health Plan is presently DOA last week.

First, contrary to what we heard about Speaker Nunez, Dunn says there are few legislators willing to "sponsor" the bill. And, Arnold has re-discovered how to get a whole lot a people across the spectrum mad at him at once. Arnold needlessly took on the public safety [cops] community which gave him hell over pension reform [ an idea he quickly abandoned…but the damage as done in the 2005 Initiatives].

Secondly, Arnold’s biggest prior booster the state Chamber is a rare display of fortitude loudly screamed against the employer mandate. The Hospital Association is ready to fight the 4% tax, the leftist California Nurses Assn are opposed. Blue… Read More

Governor Schwarzenegger’s health-care plan/debacle is raising a lot of concern from free-market oriented groups all around the country. Today’s major column from noted Wall Street Journal editorial writer John Fund, a native Californian, is required reading for anyone following the politics of the Governor’s proposal. Fund not only takes to task the Governor’s healthcare proposal, but really lays him out for having the audacity to call the billions of dollars in tax increase within it "fees" — it belies all credibility.

But if that isn’t enough, in today’s issue of National Review on line, there are not one, not two, but three columns blasting the Governor’s proposal as an embrace of liberalism and as an embrace of big government.

Today’s Golden Pen comes from the San Diego Union Tribune, which rightly points out that the Schwarzenegger Administration should be making plans now to deal with the massive impact of having to properly account of unfunded pension liabilities. There is no doubt that this will create massive red ink for the state, and we should be factoring this into the state’s… Read More

Governor Schwarzenegger’s health-care plan/debacle is raising a lot of concern from free-market oriented groups all around the country. Today’s major column from noted Wall Street Journal editorial writer John Fund, a native Californian, is required reading for anyone following the politics of the Governor’s proposal. Fund not only takes to task the Governor’s healthcare proposal, but really lays him out for having the audacity to call the billions of dollars in tax increase within it "fees" — it belies all credibility.

But if that isn’t enough, in today’s issue of National Review on line, there are not one, not two, but three columns blasting the Governor’s proposal as an embrace of liberalism and as an embrace of big government.

Today’s Golden Pen comes from the San Diego Union Tribune, which rightly points out that the Schwarzenegger Administration should be making plans now to deal with the massive impact of having to properly account of unfunded pension liabilities. There is no doubt that this will create massive red ink for the state, and we should be factoring this into the state’s… Read More

Children in California and the U.S. have bigger problems than spanking and stranger danger.

According to leading child advocacy organizations, as many as 1 in 6 girls will be sexually abused before age 18, and 1 in 8 boys will suffer the same fate. A variety of national statistics show that between 85-92% of all sexual abuse cases involving victims who are minors are perpetrated by someone the child knows and trusts.

While the physical abuse of children upsets us, and cases of abduction like the recent one in Missouri and the case of little Jessica Lunsford scare us, the facts demonstrate that public policy largely ignores a far more prevalent and destructive epidemic of harm to our children.

I sit on two local boards involving prevention of child abuse, and when I talk to adults about preventing child sexual abuse, I can see from the tears in the eyes of both men and women in the crowd that the statistics are accurate. My first campaign press conference in 2006 was at the Calico Center in San Leandro, which conducts the forensic interviews for Alameda County children as young as 2 years old who have been sexually abused. They see hundreds of children per… Read More

Last night, I had the opportunity to sit next to Tony and Audra Strickland at the wedding reception of a mutual friend. Tony, of course, is a former State Assemblyman and was the GOP nominee for State Controller last year. His wife, Audra, currently represents the 37th Assembly District as a member of the California legislature. The wedding was at the stately and amazing Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where there is so much history — this hotel was the epicenter for much of Los Angeles’ rich political and ‘Hollywood’ history (the Academy Awards were held there for many years back in the Golden era of motion pictures. In chatting with Tony, he shared with me that on Friday, he had opened up a campaign committee and will be seeking the Republican nomination to succeed State Senator Tom McClintock in that Ventura County-based district, that stretches up into Santa Barbara County. Needless to say, the Strickland name has become quote familiar to residents in that area, and Tony becomes the immediate front-runner. His recent run for State Controller has helped to keep his name ID ‘current’ in the minds of… Read More

Last night, I had the opportunity to sit next to Tony and Audra Strickland at the wedding reception of a mutual friend. Tony, of course, is a former State Assemblyman and was the GOP nominee for State Controller last year. His wife, Audra, currently represents the 37th Assembly District as a member of the California legislature. The wedding was at the stately and amazing Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where there is so much history — this hotel was the epicenter for much of Los Angeles’ rich political and ‘Hollywood’ history (the Academy Awards were held there for many years back in the Golden era of motion pictures. In chatting with Tony, he shared with me that on Friday, he had opened up a campaign committee and will be seeking the Republican nomination to succeed State Senator Tom McClintock in that Ventura County-based district, that stretches up into Santa Barbara County. Needless to say, the Strickland name has become quote familiar to residents in that area, and Tony becomes the immediate front-runner. His recent run for State Controller has helped to keep his name ID ‘current’ in the minds of… Read More

In a Presidental race, contributions are limited to just $2,100 per person,and no corporate or union funds are allowed. While large donors can still provide funds for "party-building" or "issues advocacy" or "independent expenditures," the use of such funds can be tricky legally, and is qualified in one way or another. The only direct and unequivical support one can give to a candidate for President of the United States remains the $2,100 contribution of personal funds.

Unless you own a newspaper.

The Federal Election Commission has a long-standing rule that exempts newspapers from the prohibitionagainst corporate expenditures in support of a candidate in a Federal election. It is found at Title 11, Section 100.132 of the Code of Federal Regulations, News story, commentary, or editorial by the media, and reads in pertinent part as follows:

"Any cost incurred in covering or carrying a news story, commentary or editorial by any broadcasting station…..newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, is not an expenditureunless the facility is owned or… Read More