On Earth Day (that’s Apr. 22 for those of you still not on the eco-train), I spoke in Beijing. While there, I spent time with both U.N. and Chinese government officials, as well as Chinese business leaders, who told me that highly placed members of the DNC have spent a great deal of time in China, telling them that Democrats will win the White House in November and singing the praises of Senator Obama.

During the course of my visit, I made it very clear that I am a McCain supporter, and they listened intently to a side of American politics they are not hearing from other visitors from the U.S. What a pity.

Reading about our next President in American newspapers is not the way a nation of 1.3 billion people should meet him. There were some heavy hitters at the Summit at which I spoke, and my personalized stories of Senator McCain were the first they had heard.

[Hey, RNC…it’s only a 12 hour flight to Beijing, and even in economy class, it’s not that bad! Getty up!]

I can tell you that… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog] This letter from Orange County Employees Association General Manager Nick Berardino went out yesterday to OCEA member.

It’s message: vote for Harry Sidhu in the SD33 GOP primary.

While the letter seems worded so as not to inflict collateral damage to Sidhu with conservative GOP primary voters, one can almost picture the "Sidhu is the union candidate!" hit piece coming to an SD33 mailbox near you.

For example, the letter states:

"Also, Harry has been a strong opponent of privatization-oriented ideas in which a public agency might divest itself of property to the enrichment of the few while the citizens are left holding the bag."

Nick is a great guy and a friend, but this probably does Harry more harm than good.

Both the Sidhu and Mimi Walters campaigns are have sent out mailers accusing each… Read More

What a day–a late night for east coast return-watchers!

Drudge leads this morning with links to several really useful political news sources that deserve repeated mention here. Politico, MSNBC, Time and ABC all publish "first read" items that are very similar to the Flash Report version 1.0 — an email or basic web posting chronicling the days news, spin and political happenings.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) makes news by telling it like it is to members of the House GOP prompting one to call the speaker a less-than-nice name. Also telling it like it is, the Club for Growth shares some differences of opinion with the NRCC, from today’s Roll Call (unfortunately, subscription required). The Gingrich-Politico piece is here.

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) is… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog]

The long, strange political saga of Janet Nguyen has taken another curious turn.

She is being sued in small claims court by the man who quarterbacked her recount effort in the wake of the Feb. 2007 special election: veteran GOP operative Jimmy Camp.

The reason: Janet’s refusal to pay Jimmy the final $2,500 of the $10,000 win bonus he was promised if she won the recount.

Jimmy has been working in OC and California GOP politics for close to twenty years. he has worked with a laundry-list of candidates, elected officials and movers-and-shakers. He is roundly liked, admired and respected.

Why stiff him?

Leaving aside the wrongness of refusing to pay someone what you owe them…but forcing Jimmy Camp to go to court to in order to get paid? Why confirm the persistent criticism that Janet isn’t ready for prime time with this display of political pettiness and immaturity?

Obviously, Janet can bank on this… Read More

Here’s some great "Economics 101" from Frank Schubert on gas prices. Meet Mr. Supply and Mr. Demand….… Read More

I was in my car this afternoon (contributing to my carbon footprint) when my State Senator, Dick Ackerman, called me with the news — Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata had "called off" of the recall of Jeff Denham. Or, to be more precise, Perata announced the suspension of the political campaign to pass the recall measure.

Now that I am back at my computer, I went online and was able to read Senator Perata’s "spin" on his decision…

ENTER THE SPIN ROOM…

Perata’s statement reads, in part:

A long stalemate is the last thing we need. Without a budget – we run out of cash – the richest state in America gone broke!

We won’t be paying our bills – and we won’t be giving our schools, our emergency rooms and our police the resources they need.

So I met with Republican Leader Dave Cogdill – and I asked him how we could clear… Read More

Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill negotiated an end to the Denham Recall today.

That is the first major victory for the new Republican Leader.… Read More

Study: 25% of LA’s Welfare Goes to Undocumented Immigrants

L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich says the county spends more than $1 billion a year on benefits to undocumented immigrants.

According to new data from the Department of Public Social Services, nearly twenty five percent of Los Angeles County ‘s welfare and food stamp benefits goes directly to the children of undocumented immigrants, at a cost of $36 million a month — for a projected annual cost of $432 million.

"The total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers far exceeds $1 billion a year – not including the millions of dollars for education," said Antonovich.

"With $220 million for public safety, $400 million for healthcare, and $432 million in welfare allocations, illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers."

The supervisor said, in March, undocumented immigrants collected over $19 million in welfare assistance and over $16 million in food stamp allocations.… Read More