From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail: Quote of the Day "Arnold Schwarzenegger, secretary of homeland security. Or, perhaps, ambassador to the United Nations. Hey, you heard it here first. As he locks up the GOP nod, John McCain and his deputies are talking boldly this week about redrawing the electoral map into one where California lights up red on Nov. 4 for the first time in 20 years. The Golden State’s 55 electoral votes falling into the GOP column would pose a virtually insurmountable challenge to Democrats, no matter who wins that party’s nod…. [T]here is one way for McCain to make the Golden State a red state, or at least give it an honest shot. And he’s just sitting there in Sacramento, waiting to be asked" — National Journal columnist John Mercurio… Read More

Today Senator John McCain spoke to members of the Council for National Policy (CNP). The group is made up of influential conservative leader types from around the country.

I just spokewith someone who saw McCain speak to the CNP who told me that in response to a question from one of the members, asking the Senator if he supports three ballot measures in states this November to ban same-sex marriage, one of them being here in California, McCain was unequivocal: "YES."

(For those confused because we already passed Prop. 22 here in California, this measure in November would be an even stronger measure to codify marriage as being between and man and a woman.)… Read More

From "Mr. Murphy" over Red County San Diego a few minutes ago:

"I hear Maxine Sherrard, Democrat nominee in 2006 in the 78th Assembly District, filed today. Not to sound like a teenage girl, but ‘it’s on’. The candidates are Ricassa (a Filipina who is probably the most electable but who has no track record of raising money), Block (a white liberal’s liberal, with some serious baggage), Arabo (raised a good deal of money but even though he is leaping to the left of the left, I don’t see a former aide to Congressman Brian Bilbray getting out of a Democrat primary), and Sherrard. Look for a nasty race. It’s not just that these candidates all represent very different segments of their party, but that they all actually dislike each other from what I can tell. This was the best chance in the state for a Democrat pick-up, but by letting these candidates race to the left for the last several months I just don’t see it happening."

I would add that no Republican filed against GOP nominee John McCann.… Read More

"Lifted" from State Senator Tom Harman’s latest e-newsletter:

A Loophole by any other name is still the same After years of reckless spending and special-interest pandering, the liberal majority must now face their comeuppance in the form of a massive budget deficit. So they turn their focus to closing "loopholes." But there’s just one problem: The folks up in Sacramento have a very different notion of what constitutes a "loophole" than do the rest of us. The biggest "loophole" in California, according to state Legislative… Read More

AD 80 on again – off again candidate, Lupe Ramos Watson, is out.

Tomorrow, Gary Jeandron will become the unopposed Republican nominee for Assembly.

Now, for the next three months Gary will be able to fundraise and campaign while the Democrat candidates tear each other apart. And from what I’m hearing, it’s going to be a Democrat Battle Royale.

Since the day he announced Gary has been a juggernaut. He’s a well respected former police chief of Palm Springs, current school board member and even a marriage and family counselor (what a guy).

HIs fundraising is better than all the Democrats combined and his work ethic is second to none.

Jeandron is on a roll – and clearing the Primary is just another sign of his strength.

Anyone who knows me, knows my obsession with AD 80 (my old district). I’m very comfortable Gary… Read More

H. Walter Croksey, member of the Second District Court of Appeals, ruled today that homeschooling is not consistent with California Education Codes, subjecting parents of home schooled children to criminal penalty. Read it here. Unbelievable.… Read More

You have to love the mindset of liberal Democrats like Don Perata, the outgoing State Senate President Pro-Tem. For years and years, they (Democrats) have overseen a huge expansion of the size and scope of state government spending, without regard for the inevitable result — that eventually the proverbial chickens would come home to roost and we would be left where we are right now — with current state spending vastly exceeding anticipated tax revenues. This situation that we are in, which is mostly the doing of Perata and his liberal Democrat colleagues (since it takes a 2/3 vote to pass a budget, Republicans to share some "partial credit" for our situation), is a horrible one. But it should be crystal clear that there is only one responsible course of action to an overspending problem, and that is to cut spending back to levels that the state can afford. Of course, being liberals, Perata and company can’t understand why we should simply saddle Californian’s with higher taxes so that we can "increase state revenue" to match our overspending. It must be so easy to be a liberal. After… Read More

FlashReport Exclusive…

Ending months of speculation that he may enter the fray himself, Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-77) will announce — at a press conference to begin in about 30 minutes — his endorsement of Duncan D. Hunter (left) for the open 52nd Congressional District seat. Hunter will also name Anderson as campaign chairman.

Anderson confirmed the news with me this morning as he was leaving Sacramento to attend the 11 a.m. press conferencein La Mesa. The announcement is a significant coup for Hunter, as Anderson has long been considered by many a potential leading contender for the seat. The 77th Assembly District overlaps much of the 52nd congressional area, including nearly all of the major communities. Hunter, a Marine Corps captain, recently returned from a stint in Afghanistan, and since then has been campaigning for the seat being vacated by his father, 14-term Congressman Duncan Hunter. "Captain Hunter is the true… Read More