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

Last weekend, the California Republican Party held its biennial convention at the Hyatt Embarcadero in downtown San Francisco. This particular convention had a lot of aspects to it, and so I will be penning a few different commentaries touching on different aspects of it. Today I will talk a little bit about an important step that the CRP’s Board of Directors took in professionalizing party financial operations, but this week I will also bring you: 1) An in depth look at the race that just took place for Republican National Committeeman. Of course, FR readers know how the story ends, with Shawn Steel’s election, but there’s a lot more to tell! 2) The CRP has adopted a new Platform to take us through the next four years. It is more comprehensive than ever. What does it say? How did it come about? We’ll go into those details! Finally, as more of a hybrid of what used to be our "Winners & Losers of the CRP Convention" that we used to run, we’ll highlight some folks who had a particularly notable convention. Of course notoriety swings two ways… –… Read More

It has been my observation that you can tell much more about people when they lose an election than when they win.

When you win it is easy to be involved in the community. Showing up at public events is a source of pride. You won. "Look at me. I’m cool. The others just could not compare to me."

When a candidate loses they often take it very personally. Some tend to hide. The good people do a complete self and organizational evaluation. From that they find some other way to contribute to the community. Most of the time there are some harsh feelings. Sometimes they go away with time. Sometimes the grudge lasts a life time.

I’m certainly not going to ever argue that a candidate or former candidate should ever give up the fight for what they think is right. However, at some point the election is over and you just need to move on.

My most recent reminder of this comes from former Hesperia School Board Trustee Nellie Gogley.

After she lost her re-election bid (came in last)… Read More

Last weekend, the California Republican Party held its biennial convention at the Hyatt Embarcadero in downtown San Francisco. This particular convention had a lot of aspects to it, and so I will be penning a few different commentaries touching on different aspects of it. Today I will talk a little bit about an important step that the CRP’s Board of Directors took in professionalizing party financial operations, but this week I will also bring you: 1) An in depth look at the race that just took place for Republican National Committeeman. Of course, FR readers know how the story ends, with Shawn Steel’s election, but there’s a lot more to tell! 2) The CRP has adopted a new Platform to take us through the next four years. It is more comprehensive than ever. What does it say? How did it come about? We’ll go into those details! Finally, as more of a hybrid of what used to be our "Winners & Losers of the CRP Convention" that we used to run, we’ll highlight some folks who had a particularly notable convention. Of course notoriety swings two ways… –… Read More