I am sad to read that this morning William F. Buckley, Jr., passed away. Buckley played a key role in the intellectual establishment of the modern conservative movement, as a pioneer during the pre-Reagan era when his voice, and that of his publication, National Review, were literally a voice in the wilderness.

Over the years I had many opportunities to chat with Mr. Buckley, who was instrumental in the founding of Young Americans for Freedom, the conservative youth organization in which I was extremely involved during my college days.

Rest In Peace, my friend.

There is a short blurb up on the National Review website, but look for a lot more as news of Buckley’s passing becomes widespread…… Read More

Amidst the "Run, Tom, Run" furvor that has sparked up and down California at the prospects of conservative icon and State Senator Tom McClintock entering the GOP primary in the 4th Congressional District (where John Doolittle is retiring), one prominent conservative isn’t too fond of the idea. Jeff Flint, proprietor of Red County’s Placer blog says he’d vote for Tom in a general election, but that’s it. He pens a lengthy commentary this morning, entitled Thanks But No Thanks, Tom.… Read More

With last weekend’s convention, the state budget back-and-forth, and the presidential race, I missed the chance to comment on something the Governor has been pushing pretty aggressively: the continuation of Operation Jump Start.

If you’ll remember, that’s the code name given to the mission assigned to the National Guard to temporarily help secure the border while thousands of additional Border Patrol agents are hired and trained. In 2006, when the federal government announced the mission, Governor Schwarzenegger wanted guarantees that California’s Guard troops would still be available to assist during disasters here, which he received. The Governor then agreed to the mission and since then, National Guard troops have been supporting the Border Patrol along our border with Mexico.

And from what I have been told, the mission has been working. Illegal border crossings are down. Arrests are up. Drug trafficking has been reduced.

The mission was scheduled to end this coming July, but the feds are apparently only about halfway toward their goal of hiring and training 6,000 more agents.

Governor Schwarzenegger has urged President Bush to continue… Read More

Today we feature a "Guest Commentary" — which is actually the prepared text of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner’s address at last Friday’s Dinner Banquet at the California Republican Party Convention. I thought it might be interesting reading, especially given that Poizner is often spoken of as a potential GOP candidate for Governor in 2010…

REMARKS TO THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY FROM INSURANCE COMMISSIONER STEVE POIZNER

Let me start off by saying, “Thank you members and friends of the California Republican Party for helping to defeat Proposition 93.”

Without your support and hard work, we could never have taken on the entrenched special interests in Sacramento, and won.

We all know that Prop 93 wasn’t about reform – it was about power,

…the naked desire of a few to keep their power.

And that’s why defeating Proposition 93 was so… Read More

Today we feature a "Guest Commentary" — which is actually the prepared text of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner’s address at last Friday’s Dinner Banquet at the California Republican Party Convention. I thought it might be interesting reading, especially given that Poizner is often spoken of as a potential GOP candidate for Governor in 2010… REMARKS TO THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY FROM INSURANCE COMMISSIONER STEVE POIZNER

Let me start off by saying, “Thank you members and friends of the California Republican Party for helping to defeat Proposition 93.” Without your support and hard work, we… Read More

Jeff Miller is an amazing guy. Despite growing up in Tehachapi (Phil Wyman is from there) and serving in the Navy (no further comment needed) he has done quite well. People can overcome amazing obstacles when they work hard. Sometimes this blog has too many press releases posted but I thought it was best to show you what the Republican Governors Association put out yesterday. This Jeff Miller is not running for the Assembly in 2008 but he is the Jeff Miller responsible for several of the people in the Assembly being there right now. Miller is one of the most influential people in California politics. Now they are starting to see that across the country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:Chris Schrimpf,202-367-8385… Read More

If you are in D.C today., and have no lunch plans… Swing on by the Four Seasons where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is holding a fundraiser for his "California Dream Team" Political Action Committee. The price for this particular "cashectomy"? A cool $12,500 per person. See the attached invite and summary. For that price, I hope there is some polenta on the plate!… Read More

Having expected there might be some delays in voting yesterday at the Republican State Convention in San Francisco, where I served as a delegate, I made the wise decision to stay overnight in town so I would not have to be rushed or miss a flight after the voting took place Sunday morning.

So this morning, I rose to read the San Francisco Chronicle andits front page news section above the fold story "Medi-Cal in Crosshairs" by so-called reporter Tom Chorneau of the Sacramento Bureau. The long article, with color pictures, described the "plight" of a hemophiliac who, under a proposed plan by Governor Schwarzenegger must file eligibility forms quarterly instead of annually or semiannually to continue his treatments. He is afraid the new forms "might get lost in the mail." The article depicts a man injecting himself with plasma while his mother, in a purple t-shirt,tensely watches the procedure. Itincludes a picture of theGovernor and his contact number for readers to "Get Involved." It continues to page 10 and includes contact phone numbers and email addresses for the… Read More