• Pundits have written that one intra-party show-down due to redistricting is a face-off between Republican Congressmen Gary Miller and Ed Royce.  Apparently, however, Gary Miller still hasn’t gotten the memo.  We’ve been nosing around and no one can tell whether Miller is actually going to challenge Royce or not.  While Royce  has been his usual Energizer-Bunny self, racking up endorsements and holding high profile events, Miller’s side of things has been dead silent, causing many to question whether Miller is actually going to run at all.  Miller’s website still touts his endorsements from his 2010 run.
• Federal Election Commission reports have come out and in the latest reporting period, Miller pulled in $54,789, leaving him with $1,007,753 in the bank.  During that same period of time Royce raised $352,878, and has $3,048,573 in the bank.  In reviewing Royce’s report, it is impressive that nearly $200,000 of the funds he’s recently raised came from individual donors (with about two-thirds of that coming from the OC, but also a third coming from Los Angeles County).  This is significant because local donations are a strong measure of contemporary community support.  Then again, Miller is amongst the wealthiest Members of Congress, so he might be his own most significant local donor in the end.  In the meantime, none of Miller’s haul this reporting period came from in-district.
• It is hard enough getting people to sign initiative petitions in front of a shopping center.  It is infinitely more difficult when some union goon is screaming that if someone signs, they will be the victim of identity theft.
• Congratulations to FR friend Marty Wilson on his new position at VP for all things political with the California Chamber of Commerce.  Wilson replaces Rob Lapsley, who was tapped for the top spot over at the California Business Roundtable.
• Sacramento Bee reporter Darrell Smith penned an article yesterday about AB 22, legislation that, with a  few exceptions, prevents someone hiring for a position from using someone’s credit history as a factor in their decision making process.  Seriously.  The legislation passed on largely party line votes in the Senate and the Assembly (not one Republican voted for it, though a few Democrats voted against it.  In reading through the article, never once does it address the main reason why Republicans voted en masse against the bill.  It is an immoral mandate from the government on a private property owner.  If you are a business owner looking to hire someone, the more information you can gather to make an informed decision, the better, one would assume.  But even that is not the point.  The point is that that once again Sacramento Democrats are butting into private business transactions and decisions where they lack the moral authority to do so.
• There is a group out there that is cleverly called the Small Business Majority.  Their motto is, “Small business driving practical policy.”  They supported and continue to support Obamacare.  And they also support AB 32 regulations.  This front group should have as its motto, “small business supporting policies that shut down small business.”
• Marty will have his hands full at the CalChamber.  While a bit moderate in his ideology (although after seven years of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marty actually seems more like Attila the Hun than ever), he is not moderate in his temperament or tactics.  We’ll see how he does over at the Chamber where President Allan Zaremberg tends to position the Chamber as Vichy France to Jerry Brown’s Germany.
• On Monday I had a chance to moderate a panel at a day-long symposium celebrating the 100^th anniversary of Californians amending the State Constitution to include the initiative, the recall, and the referendum.  For anyone who has any doubts about whether this was a bipartisan one, when I needed a glass of water, the guy sitting next to me, Harvey Rosenfield, filled my glass.
• I was actually disappointed to see Governor Brown veto a piece of legislation by ultra-liberal San Francisco Senator Mark Leno.  SB 914 would have required law enforcement to get a warrant before they could start going through the cell phone of someone they arrest.  The bill was passed overwhelmingly by the legislature with broad bipartisan support.  In his veto message, Governor Brown said that this issue was better left in the hands of the courts.  What kind of flawed logic is that?
• Speaking of the CalChamber, they recently sent out a press release entitled, “Final Tally on Job Killer Bills: Governor Vetoes Four; Signs One Into Law.”  Boy to read this, you would think that private sector job creators, large and small, fared well this legislative session.  The actual reality is that the CalChamber selected only a small number of the job killing bills for special recognition, and many of those were DOA to begin with.  It would be more helpful if the Chamber simply listed say the 50 worst bills for job creation signed by the Governor this year.  At least that would set the right tone, and not create a misperception about Brown’s hostility to private sector job creation.
• Last month Attorney General Kamala Harris reported a $5,000 contribution towards her re-election from Republican tycoon Donald Trump (h/t Scott Lay).  In some corners it is said that Trump is contemplating an independent run for the Presidency.  The only friend I have who said he wanted Trump to run for the Presidency nearly barfed up a lung when I emailed them about this contribution.  I guess we’ll know that 5k was well placed if Ms. Harris crosses President Obama and endorses a Trump bid.  Don’t hold your breath.  Trump, you’re fired!

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 13th, 2011 at 8:04 am and is filed under Blog Posts.