Sometimes, you just have to ask yourself, “What are they thinking?” Last week, Assembly and Senate Republicans held a joint press conference to introduce their proposals to solve California’s $20 billion state budget deficit. Give legislative Republicans credit for pro-actively tackling the state’s fiscal crisis. (Sacramento Bee columnist Steve Weigand praised the effort here.) Loyal FR readers will recall that I have written about the need for Republican lawmakers to stake clear ground in the budget debate. Then, I read the first bullet point:

Combat Waste, Fraud and Abuse in State Government – This proposal would strengthen the California Whistleblower Protection Act

My friend, conservative Assemblywoman Mimi Walters, is in the political fight of a lifetime, running for an Orange County State Senate seat open due to the departure from the legislature of Dick Ackerman, my State Senator. Walters is running against Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu, who is spending a LOT of money sending out negative mail, and has a particular nasty commercial trashing Mimi that is running heavily on cable television. In that spot, the announcer hurls what is a scathing attack in Republican Orange County — “She voted to put liberal Democrat Fabian Nunez in charge of the Assembly… Twice!” Is it true? Did she? No. But read on… But I will say up front that Mimi did something that every other Assembly Republican has done… Buckle up your seatbelt for this information that I am going to share, because it makes one scratch their head to hear that this actually happens in the State Assembly…

Let me start that by saying that in Washington, D.C., the vote to… Read More

This really just happened. He came from near the east side pond. I guess this confirms that Bonnie must have kissed her frog. Alas the Capitol security had to subdue and take the would-be Prince away before he could enter the building…

see previously the Bee’s caption contest featuring Bonnie pictured with her frog.… Read More

It is never a good thing to talk about elections in the middle of an election. I already know that, if there are responses to what I write, they will be mostly ad hominem. The conservative movement, however, is worth the criticism. As a political force, the conservative movement is dying in California, and it is dying because too many of our conservative leaders have allowed their personal agendas to trump the principles they claim to espouse.

Let me first explain what I mean. I don’t count consultants as conservative leaders. They will pick up the cause of whoever writes the check. One problem is that too many activists confuse consultants with principle. They believe that political consultants actually believe in more than the fifteen per cent they collect from their clients. The fact is that consultants serve candidates or their pocketbook, not causes. They are an important part of the political process but they cannot drive it. They have to feed their family first, and that need too often trumps principle.They are the tacticians, they are not the leaders. The two cannot be confused if we ever wish to create a… Read More

It is never a good thing to talk about elections in the middle of an election. I already know that, if there are responses to what I write, they will be mostly ad hominem. The conservative movement, however, is worth the criticism. As a political force, the conservative movement is dying in California, and it is dying because too many of our conservative leaders have allowed their personal agendas to trump the principles they claim to espouse.

Let me first explain what I mean. I don’t count consultants as conservative leaders. They will pick up the cause of whoever writes the check. One problem is that too many activists confuse consultants with principle. They believe that political consultants actually believe in more than the fifteen per cent they collect from their clients. The fact is that consultants serve candidates or their pocketbook, not causes. They are an important part of the political process but they cannot drive it. They have to feed their family first, and that need too often trumps principle.They are the tacticians, they are not the leaders. The two cannot be confused if we ever wish to create a… Read More

I was going to write this anyway, but since the Bee ran a story with my comments about Tom McClintock today, I figured I better get a correction out as quickly as possible. You would think that after 15 years of dealing with the press, I would know better how to talk to the press. But I guess I don’t. So I am going to issue the correction that the Bee never will to the comments I made to the reporter.

It is no secret that Tom and I have had our set of disagreements over time, mostly over strategy. I endorsed Schwarzenegger in the recall, mainly because I believed (and still believe) that since conservatives started the recall, we had to finish it with a victory. At the time I endorsed Schwarzenegger, he was tied with Bustamante, and since I believed that Tom couldn’t raise the money to win, I did what I believed was in the best long term interest of the conservative movement. I have been less than underwhelmed with the gratitude that the Governor has shown for the huge risk that I took in my own political career on his behalf, but I didn’t do it for him anyway, so I don’t take his ingratitude personally. The only bad part aboutthe… Read More

I have gotten a few notes from folks asking me why I did not talk about the State Senate in my earlier post on how Republicans should not participate in coronating Democrats as Speakers.

To be honest, I didn’t leave out the Senate for any reason other than it is the Assembly that votes for a Speaker tomorrow…

That said, Republicans in the State Senate also need to change how they do things. Apparently, over there, there’s an actual roll call vote for President Pro-Tempore where GOPers have for some time been voting for the Demcrat. Ugh!

When the vote comes up for Steinberg, Republicans should be placing Dave Cogdill’s name into nomination. He will lose, but that’s to be expected. But having Republicans vote for a Republican, and not a Democrat, is the right thing to do for all of the reasons outlined in my earlier post.… Read More

Last week, the California Department of Fish & Game issued a permit for work on the 241 toll road completion — specifically on environmental mitigation measures.

It comes on the heels of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announcing completing the 241would not threaten endangered species, and of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration saying it would not threaten the steelhead trout (which no one has really seen in that vicinity, anyway).

Dan Silver of the Endangered Habitat League dismissed the decision as "procedural and routine."

Yeah.

And if Fish & Game had denied the permit, does anyone think Mr. Silver would dismiss it as "procedural and routine"?

Not hardly.

He and the rest of the anti-241 enviros would be trumpeting it from the roof tops as "more prof" that finishing the 241 will turn that section of South OC into a wasteland.

Instead, the F & G, F & W and NOAA announcements have been greeted by crickets from Environmental Left, and received near-cricket treatment… Read More