Among conservatives, the leading GOP presidential choices have become a lesser-of-the-evils option at a more significant level than anytime I can previously remember, not the least of which is due to a competitive Super Tuesday, but also because both McCain and Romney have — to die hards — "questionable philosophical credentials."

Perhaps only fodder in the final day, but check out the missives from some stalwart conservatives to ensure indictments of their "non-choice" of a candidate. The first from former Assemblyman and current ED of the Council for National Policy Steve Baldwin…on Romney:

Well, we tried, but the news is out. We beltway conservatives, radio talk show hosts, conservative columnists, and other assorted "Movement" leaders have tried hard to keep this info from the grassroots but I guess we failed on this one count. We’ve known for years that Romney unilaterally instituted gay marriage in Massachusetts — which, yes, we do acknowledge is probably the single worse action by an elected official in 100 years in terms of undermining America’s Judeo… Read More

The dynamics of the race for the 71st Assembly District have changed dramatically in the last few weeks. The 71st takes in a large parts of Orange County and parts of Riverside County.

Until just a few weeks ago there were four candidates (three of whom were from OC). Now there are just two, Neil Blais a Rancho Santa Margarita councilman and Fire Authority Board Member from Orange County (a Probolsky Research client) and Corona councilman and Transportation Commissioner Jeff Miller from Riverside County. Both candidates are members of their respective county Republican Central Committees.

There has been a fair amount of back and forth regarding the two campaigns finances, so I thought I would set the record straight with some factual analysis of the race.

FACT: Neil Blais raised $124,714 in individual contributions during the latest period. That is without any loans – personal or otherwise. Jeff Miller raised $90,019

FACT: Neil Blais also loaned his campaign an additional $100,000 – like most winning GOP Assembly candidates have done in the past.

FACT: Jeff… Read More

I was pretty surprised with Bill Simon, fresh off of his close friend Rudy Giuliani’s campaign, joined the McCain campaign as a senior member of their policy team. So, the onus is now on you, Bill. Good luck.

OK, with that said, Bill Simon makes his case for why YOU should support John McCain:

Just to follow on Jon’s commentary this morning and the news of today’s Field poll…the one thathas Prop 93 losing at 46% "no" and 33% yes after being 39-39 10 days ago.

2 pieces of mail I’ve received from the "Yes" side have been prominently featuring firefighters on the front side of the mailer,They usethe same font below as the Guv’s piece that Jon mentions as Republican mailer #1. "Limit legislators terms" "Yes on 93" with firefighters pictured above. A shameful effort by 93ers to use the firefighters heroic figure status among the public for this play.

On the back it quotes a past president of the fire chiefs "Yes on 93 means the voices of firefighters on the front lines will be heard when crucial budget decisions are made in Sacramento." Whaaaat? So you’re saying they’re not heard now…and this phony term… Read More

See Part 1 on Romney in the post below.

Part 2 from man’s man, conservative adventurer Dr. Jack Wheeler on McCain:

HOW THE CLINTONS WILL DESTROY JOHN MCCAIN The number of fellow Senators who think John McCain is psychologically unstable is large. Some will admit it publicly, like Thad Cochran who says, "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine."

Others relate times when McCain screamed four-letter obscenities right in their faces in the Senate cloak room, like Dick Shelby, Rick Santorum, or Jim Inhofe. "The man is unhinged," one Senator told me. "He is frighteningly unfit to be Commander-in-Chief."

That John McCain is clinically nuts is scary enough. What worries a small group of GOP Senators and Congressmen even more is a deep and dark skeletal secret in McCain’s glorified past to which they are privy, and which… Read More

Bill Leonard, a conservative leader in the state for over 2 decades and currently a member of the State Board of Equalizaztion has endorsed Mitt Romney for President. Below is his statement.

I have decided to support Governor Mitt Romney in tomorrow’s Republican Presidential Primary and invite you to join me.

After 24 years as a legislator, I thought I knew how government worked. Yet, the last five years as a constitutional elected official in an executive branch agency has taught me that I did not know as much as I thought before. With all due respect to the Senators McCain, Obama and Clinton, our next President needs to be a former Governor and Governor Romney is the right one in many ways.

Executive power is quite different than legislative power. Being the person with whom the buck stops demands and defines leadership in ways that being one of a hundred or more does not. Governors give the best clue about how they will lead the nation by their service in their state. In this way, I knew that President Reagan would be better than President Carter because I… Read More

Off the transom (a busy day, so bear with me – the CfG release is online here): Today, the Club for Growth PAC endorsed former State Senator Thomas “Rico” Oller in California’s Fourth Congressional District for the open seat left by retiring Republican Congressman John Doolittle. As a State Senator from 1997 to 2004, Rico Oller was an outstanding defender of taxpayers, consistently voting against state budgets because they spent too much, taxed too much, and in one case, didn’t cut taxes enough. If there was a tax increase being proposed, taxpayers could count on Rico Oller to be in the thick of the fight, making the case against it. … Read More

One piece of mail (and several autodials some of which were very, very difficult to understand) hit the Dichiara mailbox today.Paid for by the Republican Party, its sort of a slate. Both Valerie and I liked it… it hits all the things that get our attention: McClintock, Poizner, Wilson statements and a whack at "Proposition 93 a Democrat Sponsored Sham". Well done art.. I think it is a JohnsonClark piece. B+, and good timing on delivery.… Read More