Arnold Schwarzenegger, you ran for Governor as a strong supporter of term limits and an opponent of career politicians who are too often disconnected from their constituents. Time is running out for you to stand by his words of support for term limits and oppose the deceitful scam known as Proposition 93. The closer to election day you come out against 93, the less impactful your opposition will be…

You made a very clear case – that there needed to be a package deal. That you could support term limits reform of some sort, but only if it was tied to the legislature placing a fair redistricting measure on the ballot along with it. Of course, they did no such thing.

I know that you care a lot about what newspaper editorial boards think about major policy matters – so I am sure that you know that 14 newspapers – including the San Jose Mercury News, the Sacramento Bee, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Fresno Bee, the Riverside Press Enterprise, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Modesto Bee, the Bakersfield Californian, the Orange County Register, the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, and the San Bernardino County Sun have already… Read More

In an email to me Duane DiChiara expressed some passing interest in my last post on the Orange County election reform legislation that referenced election "reform" restrictions in ancient Rome. His email inspired me to jot down a few more items herein that might cause political reformers to think some of their ideas may not be so new.

Take, for example, the Freedom of Information Act, or as it is known more appropriately in California, the Public Records Act. Reformers passed these laws in the post-Watergate era to try to make government more transparent, of course, to help the public gain access to government writings.

Government writings, chronicling of events, and public access to them, however, are nothing new.The keeping of official records was an early feature of the Roman state, over 2,000 years ago.Butdo you know why they kept these records? Because the Governmentcould take no formal action without first formally ascertaining the will of the gods, which required the keeping of records. Thus, government records were a matter that also involved religious authorities, who kept an annual register ofgovernment… Read More

The Pew Research Center has published the report Internet’s Broader Role in Campaign 2008

It is a good read for anyone interested in politics. Taking the information that it provides and extrapolating it out a few cycles tells us that campaigns and elections are going to be very different in the future.

Several months ago (prior to the strike by writers) I came to the conclusion that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is one of the best sources of political news. Stewart is not only funny — he gets guests that seem to track with Tim Russert.

The evening news and a massive television buy alone is not what wins campaigns any more. It is a constantly changing environment that political professionals need to recognize.

Two things this report does not cover that are important.

First, while the internet may be a great way to reach younger voters. To be honest, most of the time I am not trying to reach younger voters. I would rather have the over 60 crowd any day of the week. They actually… Read More

On this quiet Sunday morning, be prepared to be blown away with the latest and one of the most evil ideas that has come along for the expansion of the Nanny State… The following is penned by longtime FR friend Bill Leonard, who serves as a member of the California State Board of Equalization…

Pry the Thermostat from My Cold, Dead Hands By Bill Leonard

I have written about the number of people leaving California for any number of reasons— high taxes, traffic congestion, poor public schools, burdensome business climate—but yesterday came word of a new one: the cooler cops. The California Energy Commission is proposing in its Title 24 regulations that newly installed heating and cooling systems in… Read More

On this quiet Sunday morning, be prepared to be blown away with the latest and one of the most evil ideas that has come along for the expansion of the Nanny State… The following is penned by longtime FR friend Bill Leonard, who serves as a member of the California State Board of Equalization…

Pry the Thermostat from My Cold, Dead Hands By Bill Leonard I have written about the number of people leaving California for any number of reasons— high taxes, traffic congestion, poor public schools, burdensome business climate—but yesterday came word of a new one: the cooler cops. The… Read More

Longtime GOP Activist Patrick Moir, who toiled here in the Golden State for many years, now calls Nevada home. He sent this missive over, worthy of sharing with FR readers…

As Sunday night comes to a close, I’m in my house in Las Vegas reviewing the upcoming week and next weekend and realize that the Nevada Caucus is coming up on Saturday. I have received nothing from the Nevada Republican Party about the caucus, its location or how it works. I visited their website after seeing a small ad in the local paper and learned that I need to go to a high school a few miles away "for my precinct caucus."

I’m also surprised candidates have so little interest in my vote. As a 3 of 4 Republican male (I didn’t vote in the city general election that had only a municipal court judge on the ballot in Summerlin), I would expect to be contacted as much as Shirley Horton’s campaign spoke to people in the 2004 election, but I have… Read More

Red County 2.0… The Red County network has upgraded, with a new format and new locations for the regional blog sites. Something dubbed 2.0. Ok, I’ll buy that. It also means a new URL for the local SD site. Take a look…when not posting there myself, it’s my second choice every day for the latest insider political news…after FR of course! You can check out Red County SD and its localized content here

Sheriff La Suer?… Is the former “number two” at the Sheriff’s Department eying the seat? Jay La Suer, also the immediate past 77th AD assemblyman and prior to that a 10-year member of the La Mesa City Council, is said to be doing just that. Once considered a possible contender for Duncan Hunter’s open congressional seat, La Suer has endorsed Hunter son Duncan D. for the spot. Short of waiting for an open senate seat from a termed-out Dennis Hollingsworth, the one-time undersheriff has few prospects if interested in another office.

Roger Hedgecock… Read More

The Wall Street Journal weighs in today on the Governor’s ridiculous health care plan (link might require registration) and really furthers my argument that the State Republican Party needs to actively and publicly oppose tax increases by asking each member of the State Assembly and State Senate to agree to a no new taxes pledge.

Besides blowing up the Governor’s call for tax increases related to his health care plan for the November ballot, the Party should also begin the process of raising money to overturn the ridiculous Sinclair Paint decision, which allows "fees" to be levied in lieu of taxes. Look for the Governor’s "solution" to the budget crisis to be laden with "fees". The State Party should try to qualify a ballot initiative to run in November to treat fees the same as taxes.

The Governor left the State GOP in a mountain of debt, crippling its ability to operate this year. He ignored downballot candidates and refused to campaign for McClintock and McPherson. It’s time to return the favor.… Read More