In general, the FlashReport as a publication doesn’t endorse candidates. There have been rare occasions, but right now I can’t even think of one. We did endorse John Shadegg in his run for Majority Leader of the House of Representatives. Shadegg didn’t win that election, but he really was never in the hunt – he joined late, as the conservative candidate for GOP leadership, and his candidacy shaped that debate.
The vast majority of the FlashReport’s many, many thousands of site visitors are not from Orange County, let alone from the 35th State Senate District, which hugs the coastline of one of California’s most populous, and Republican Counties. This coastal legislative seat, which stretches from Seal Beach on the Los Angeles border all of the way down to the southern-most end of the county, is the site of a special election. State Senator John Campbell was elected a few months ago to fill out the unexpired term of Congressman Christopher Cox, who was tapped by President Bush to serve as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
There are two GOP candidates vying for what is a safe Republican seat — State Assemblyman Tom Harman and Dana Point City Councilwoman Diane Harkey. This is a stark contrast is there ever was one. The FlashReport strongly encourages a vote for Diane Harkey in this race.
Tom Harman was elected to the State Assembly in 2000 for one reason – because he enjoyed the support of Democrats. You see, when he was elected, it was during the only election cycle when the now-defunct "open primary" measure was in existence. Under that system, all voters (regardless of their party affiliation or lack of one) were able to cast a vote for any candidate on the ballot, with the top vote-getter of each party going on to the general election. In the case of Harman’s election — we were able to actually do an analysis of the vote and confirm that his primary opponent Jim Righeimer was the actual choice of Republicans to be their nominee, but Harman was able to get enough cross-over votes from Democrats to clinch the nomination. The good news is that right after the 2000 cycle, the State Republican Party was successful in taking a case all of the way to the United States Supreme Court and had the open primary measure overturned as violative of the rights of political parties to choose their own nominees. Nevertheless, we were stuck with Harman.
That said, Tom Harman has been no friend to conservatives or the conservative movement. He has more or less been his own form of "maverick" Republican – but never do you see him exhibiting any vocal passion for conservative values or ideals. Whether on issues of size and scope of government, the right to life, the second amendment or a myriad of other issues – I have never seen Harman lead on those issues.
Harman likes to tout that if you look at his voting record, that he votes pretty good. You know, when you are in the minority party, the measure of how good of a conservative Republican you are is not based on whether you more-or-less vote with the pack, it is measured on how much heavy lifting you do to elect fellow Republicans. And, more importantly for the FlashReport, are you weighing into GOP primaries and endorsing strong conservative candidates for office. I am sorry to say that having Tom Harman represent Republicans in the legislature has been a disappointment, and has proven what those of us have said all along about the open primary – it was and did produce in the case of Tom Harman a legislator who is not a conservative, and not a GOPer in the sense that most of us would define one. He certainly does not deserve a promotion to the State Senate where only two votes (on the current numbers) are needed by Democrats to achieve tax increases by a two-thirds vote… and Harman has a lot of friends on the Democrat side of the isle.
In this case, we have a tremendous contrast between Harman and his challenger, Diane Harkey. Harkey comes to this race as a successful businesswoman, and as a strong values-oriented conservative candidate. I had the opportunity to have lunch with her not too long ago, and was very impressed with her ideological consistency as a conservative, and was particularly impressed with her thoughtful approach to considering issues. Clearly this is someone who has a strong grasp of the issues. She really would be a great member of the State Senate, and a leader who will champion the cause of limited government.
The battle has evolved into more or less a "good vs. evil" situation with virtually every elected Republican in Orange County endorsing Harkey, with the prize being an opportunity to elected an articulate and principled conservative to the State Senate. There is a reason why Congressman John Campbell penned his endorsement of Harkey in the FlashReport yesterday — Campbell clearly sees Harkey as someone who will carry on his legacy in the State Senate as a fiscal hawk, and a real conservative.
If you are a voter in this district, or know someone who lives in this district, urge them to make a real difference, and cast a vote for Diane Harkey!