Former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte is an early riser, and we’ve already chatted this morning. He said that from telephone calls, e-mails and text messages with his former colleagues, he has not seen Senate Republicans this united in many years. This morning I also spoke with the current Senate Republican Leader, Dick Ackerman, who told me that he expects all fifteen members of his caucus to vote for an amendment to the currently proposed budget that eliminates California’s structural deficit.

Ackerman has given an overview of some of the proposals by Senate Republicans in an exclusive piece for the FlashReport this morning. But as soon as they are officially released, look for the FR to post up all of the detailed reforms and cuts being proposed by Senate Republicans to begin a process of reigning in some of the excessive spending in state government, with a particular eye on some of the more egregious examples of misprioritized spending by Democrats. If the watchers of Capitol politics are looking for telltale signs of Senate GOP unity, you need… Read More

The main page (www.flashreport.org) will be updated around 8:30am, but I wanted to give the early morning blog readers early access to our lead column this morning, which is my State Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman, Senate Republicans Meet the Budget Challenge. It goes over the proposal coming from Senate Republicans this morning.… Read More

Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani made a campaign stop at the Coffee Depot in Riverside earlier today, and loyal FR reader Allen Wilson, who serves as Chairman of Rudy’s efforts in the City of Diamond Bar, was there. He sent over this account of the event, that I thought we would share with FR readers…

The coffee house was huge, not your conventional Starbucks, but big enough to get enough supporters to fill in to hear the former New York City Mayor running for President. The room was packed! Shoulder to Shoulder of supporters for Rudy! Roughly 100 was in… Read More

Here is an exclusive commentary from State Senator Roy Ashburn for FR readers…

Senate Republicans – Standing United Last week fifteen Republican State Senators faced down a political freight train and brought it to a grinding halt. By remaining united just fifteen of the one hundred and twenty California Legislators were able to draw a line in the sand and say “No” to an irresponsible State budget. To compare our ordeal to that of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae might be a bit of a stretch, but there have been times this week when it certainly felt like it. … Read More

Yesterday there were a few MSM articles generated because the State Bar’s "Jennie" Commision gave an unfavorable rating to one of Governor Schwarzenegger’s new judicial appointments, conservative Republican Elia Pirozzi. In response to this rating by the bar, the FR reached out to Steve Baric, the President of the California Republican Lawyers Association for some commentary. As with all attorneys, brevity is not Steve’s longsuit. But he pens a compelling post below…

On its website, the California State Bar states that the mission of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation (JNE) of the State Bar of California is to assist the Governor in the judicial selection process and thereby to promote a California judiciary of quality and integrity by providing independent, comprehensive, accurate, and fair evaluations of candidates for judicial appointment and nomination. A noble mission. However, in practice the above is… Read More

This just over the transom from the office of State Senator Jeff Denham…

Assembly’s Proposed Budget Only Intensifies California’s Fiscal Problems By Senator Jeff Denham, 12th District As a State Senator, I took an oath to uphold the State Constitution. That means a budget that balances every year. I understand that the decisions I make, and the way I vote, doesn’t just impact me. It also doesn’t just affect the 850,000 constituents in the 12th Senate District that I represent. My votes impact everyone one of us who lives in this glorious… Read More

In advance of tomorrow’s picking up of the Senate Budget dance, State Senator Tom McClintock has posted up a fairly lengthy list of suggested places where the State of California could inhale, and then tighten up the belt a little bit. Below is the Senator’s blog post from his Citizens for the California Republican website (lifted with permission) and at the bottom of his comments is a link over to the CFCR website where he has posted up a letter from McClintock to Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman, with 40 suggested reforms for the California budget.

THE NEXT STEP By Senator Tom McClintock … Read More

Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian has received the unanimous endorsement of the Senate Republican Caucus in his race to succeed term-limited democrat Senator Mike Machado.

Aghazarian continues to build momentum in what promises to be the hottest Senate race of the cycle. With a history of running in targeted seats and a strong record of accomplishment, Aghazarian decided to run in the open 5th district and give the GOP it’s best shot at claiming this seat. Aghazarian also brings a battle hardened political team to the table in a race without a strong Democrat candidate.

"Greg is positioned very well for this target seat," said Aghazarian Spokesman Tim Clark. "He has shown a strong ability to win votes from independents and swing Central Valley Democrats. And, he also has the advantage of not having an incumbent to run against."… Read More