[Update: How is this for bizarre? Given Mike Der Manouel’s post below, and the "Steel Watch 3" anonymous e-mail he has reprinted… I just got an email from the Steel campaign, with a cascade of Congressional endorsements… among them… JERRY LEWIS. You seriously can’t make this stuff up – Flash]

I have not endorsed either Tim Morgan or Shawn Steel in the race for California National Committeeman for the Republican National Committee, but whoever is putting out Steelwatch is actually hurting the Morgan Campaign. Here is the latest Steelwatch":

SHAWN STEEL – BIG GAME HUNTER

Shawn Steel wants to be California’s Republican National Committeeman.

But there’s one problem (ok – there’s more than one problem – but we’re only going to talk about one… Read More

Update: Apparently President Calderon is giving his address as I write this, in English! Good for him. That said, below is the text of the memo that was e-mailed from the Speaker’s office to Assembly offices, stating that Calderon’s address would be in Spanish (hence my post below this one).

DATE: February 13, 2008 TO: Assembly and Senate Offices FROM: Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez SUBJECT: Distribution of Headsets for President Calderón’s Address – February 13… Read More

President Calderon of Mexico is about to address the California State Legislature. The Office of Speaker Fabian Nunez has just sent out notification that President Calderon will give his speech in Spanish (non-Spanish speaking legislators will be able to listen, U.N. style, with headsets and the use of a traslator).

I would totally understand and appreciate this if President Calderon did not speak English. But he speaks perfect English (see the video below).

So exactly what point is it that he is making today with this decision?

It would be great if somone could explain it to me. I have no doubt that if Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke Spanish fluently, and he were giving an address to Mexican government officials, in Mexico, he would give it in Spanish.

His predecessor, Vincente Fox, spoke in English when he addressed the California Legislature…

… Read More

Rock-star conservative Republican Congressional candidate Dean Andal has put together his first YouTube video of the campaign. Andal will be carrying the GOP banner against liberal Democrat Jerry McNerney in the Central Valley/East Bay Congressional District (11) that Richard Pombo represented for so many years. Check out the video: … Read More

We thought we would bring you this piece from the WSJ Poltiical Diary E-mail because our own Dan Schnur, FR State Capitol Correspondent, is quoted (or is that re-quoted)?

Why is Mike Huckabee staying in the Republican race even though it is now mathematically impossible to win the nomination?

The answer is: Why not? His base among evangelicals is such that he can do surprisingly well in states like Virginia, where he only lost to John McCain by nine points last night. He builds up more media credibility as a possible running mate for Mr. McCain, who might not want to risk alienating Mr. Huckabee’s socially conservative followers. And the former Arkansas governor clearly enjoys campaigning.

Republicans would be wise not to pressure Mr. Huckabee to leave the race.… Read More

On behalf of the FlashReport, I participate in a weekly conference call with conservative bloggers from around the country. It would be more accurate to say that those conservative bloggers in D.C. get together once a week, and many of us in the 50 call into those meetings.

Yesterday the featured guest was our own FR blogger, Congressman John Campbell.

Rob Bluey of the Heritage Foundation took video, and has uploaded a bevy of videos of highlights of Campbells remarks. I will put one below, but see them all here.

Aren’t we lucky to have John Campbell in Congress? YES!!!

JOHN CAMPBELL ON EARMARKING AS A ‘GATEWAY DRUG’ TO HIGHER SPENDING… … Read More

Since I have been writing about the goings-on in the State Capitol, I have had a policy of NOT writing about the internal politics of our legislative caucuses. It just tends to be a loser all around.

This is significant now because I have received a good number of e-mails from readers asking me to handicap the race to succeed Dick Ackerman as Senate Republican Leader. I got even more of them with Senator George Runner’s announcement that he was not going to pursue the post any longer.

That said, I wanted to share with you that my absence of coverage on this is actually on purpose.

Of course, there are many other bloggers on this site, any perhaps they might weigh in.

I will only say that it is clear that a change will take place well before the budget debate comes to a head.

We look forward to working with the next Senate Republican Leader, as we currently do with Dick Ackerman (and Assembly GOP Leader Mike Villines), towards the advancement of a limited government agenda.… Read More

There is not even one vote in the Assembly Republican Caucus to raise taxes. Period.

I keep reading, on occasion, that every Republican in the State Assembly but one has pledged not to raise taxes. And while that is true, it doesn’t do justice to Republican Assemblyman Roger Niello. I have spoken with this man, and I think it is more likely that I will register as a Democrat than he will support a tax increase.

The confusion, if you want to call it that, stems from the fact that last year when all of Niello’s colleagues signed the Americans for Tax Reform "No New Taxes" pledge, in which each signer commits that they will oppose any attempts to raise taxes on their constituents. Everyone signed it but Niello.

But Niello’s decision not to sign was not because he ever envisions supporting a tax increase, but due to a philosophy about taking "pledges" — he just doesn’t think he should sign them.

But he is not alone. There are a lot of politicians who, for one reason or another don’t want to sign pledges. For the purposes of this blog post, I will simply use California GOP Congressman… Read More