Check THIS out, which just came over from Assemblywoman Parra. In all of my years of political involvement, I have NEVER seen a joint statement released by a Democrat Assemblymember, and two former Assembly Republican Leaders… Amazing… (both the instance, and the circumstances…)

From reading the statement below, it seems like Democrat angst should be focused on State Senator Dean Florez, for his work in opposing Nicole Parra. At the end of the day, who can blame Parra for wanted to get a little "pay back" for that kind of treatment. Of course, it is a bit poetic that the opportunity to "return the favor" comes in the form of working against the Senator’s mom (yes, as in mother), who is the Democrat torch bearer in the race to succeed Parra…

Read it and disbelieve…

STATEMENT

Assemblywoman Nicole Parra Assemblyman George Plescia Congressman Kevin McCarthy… Read More

It seems like just yesterday, but are we really celebrating the 10th anniversary of the successful campaign to pass the Proposition 227 to end bilingual education in California in favor of English immersion programs? The campaign we called English for the Children.

It seems like just yesterday when I got a phone call from my friend and political mentor at the time Lorelei Kinder. Lorelei, who is passionate about the education issue (I can still her rolling quotes from her friend and senior education official in the latter part of the Reagan Administration, Chester “Checker” Finn, off of her tongue). Lorelei asked me if I would be interested leaving my position (at the time I was a special assistant to then State Senator John Lewis) and go to work as the Campaign Coordinator for the fledgling Prop. 227 effort. I took her up on the idea, and soon found myself having a meeting with the impressive genius (literally) of this ballot measure campaign – successful Silicon Valley… Read More

This morning Senate and Assembly Republicans held a news conference at the State Capitol to announce a formal proposal to institute state government spending limits.

An overview of the elements of their proposal: Establishes A Spending Limit Enacts a strict spending limit that restricts spending growth each year to the combined percentage change in the state’s population growth and inflation, currently averaging about 5 percent.

Establishes a prudent Reserve Fund

Creates a Special Reserve Account that may only be spent when revenue falls below the spending limits for a given year, subject to a two-thirds vote. The maximum amount that can be accumulated in the new Special Reserve Account may not … Read More

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, taking a much needed rest from running California into a $15 billion dollar deficit, weighed in on the oil/gas price crisis by emphatically stating his opposition to offshore oil drilling. The Governor, steadfastly refusing to believe that increased supplies of a commodity results in lower prices for that commodity, proclaimed his knowledge superior to that of 5,000 years recorded history, in which, in every instance, increased supply of a commodity has resulted in lower prices!

No wonder California is in such great shape!

Update: 11:05 pm – I just saw Arnold on TV explaining his position on drilling. I want to report that he is even more incoherent on his position on this issue than on the State budget.… Read More

Bonnie Lowenthal, the 54th AD Democratic nominee and Long Beach City Council Member has plan for health care. It is pretty simple. Make the taxpayers pay. This time it was the taxpayers in Long Beach that appeared to have paid.

Poor Bonnie Lowenthal went to a John Kerry event at the airport in 2004. Like Gerald Ford, She slipped and fell. She apparently hurt herself and instead of being made fun of by Chevy Chase she filed a claim against the City of Long Beach.

See in Long Beach appearing at a campaign event is somehow considered related to her work as a council member. Again, partisan political events were part of her “work”. As a result, she got lifetime medical for the injury and 10K. Not too shabby.

Obviously, Lowenthal was hurt. But why not file a claim against the Kerry Campaign? Or the plane manufacturer for building an aircraft with slippery steps? Or someone other than the taxpayers of Long Beach? Did she have medical insurance at the time? Questions will need to be answered before November.

Also posted on Red County… Read More

It seems like just yesterday, but are we really celebrating the 10th anniversary of the successful campaign to pass the Proposition 227 to end bilingual education in California in favor of English immersion programs? The campaign we called English for the Children.

It seems like just yesterday when I got a phone call from my friend and political mentor at the time Lorelei Kinder. Lorelei, who is passionate about the education issue (I can still her rolling quotes from her friend and senior education official in the latter part of the Reagan Administration, Chester “Checker” Finn, off of her tongue). Lorelei asked me if I would be interested leaving my position (at the time I was a special assistant to then State Senator John Lewis) and go to work as the Campaign Coordinator for the fledgling Prop. 227 effort. I took her up on the idea, and soon found myself having a meeting with the impressive genius (literally) of this ballot measure campaign – successful Silicon Valley… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail… OUCH.

No Message, But Please Accept this Toy

My sources at the Republican National Committee say they are stunned by the dropoff in contributions this election cycle, but a big part of the problem is an absence of an agenda. It’s getting harder and harder to finish this sentence: "Vote for Republicans in November because…" The Republican campaign committees are getting more angry mail than checks as a result of failing to stop earmarked spending and the GOP’s recent failure to support President Bush’s veto of the inexcusable $300 billion farm bill.

So instead of a message this fall, the GOP is trying to promote donations with a new stuffed… Read More

[Meredith’s post below this one reminded me that I had intended to write on this earlier. I guess it’s "pile on Jack Scott" day…] About a month ago, State Senator Jack Scott was "hired" to be the new Chancellor of the California Community College System, said employment to begin at the end of the year. Shortly after his appointment to this post was announced, Scott tendered his resignation as Chairman of the Budget Subcommittee on Education (The Bee’s Capitol Alert carried it here – registration req’d).

At the time, Scott’s spokesperson said that the Senator, "didn’t want any possible appearance of a conflict of interest."

I guess its time to ask the obvious question — if Scott resigned from a budget subcommittee because a conflict of interest (I can’t think of a bigger one than having accepted a job at the end of your term from a public agency that is heavily… Read More