Okay, so I was one of the idiots that thought Arnold Schwarzenegger would be the answer to the State’s problems. I confess my transgression, and beg forgiveness. After riding a historic recall wave in 2003, fueled largely by support from the State Republican Party, we went along with the "refinancing" of the Davis mess with a $15 billion bond. Then the Governor signed historic Workers’ Compensation Reform, his only significant public policy achievement. Then he gave a great speech at the Republican National Convention but it was clear by then that he was his own entity, not the head of the State Republican Party.

His failed 2005 ballot initiatives were courageous and necessary, but his conduct since that defeat has been political cowardice at best as he himself has become a "girly man". He’s allowed state spending to rise faster than it did under Gray Davis. He was re-elected against a weak candidate in 2006 and put the State GOP millions in debt to finance his landslide, all while ignoring down ballot candidates. He was rude and dismissive of the Republican leadership in 2006 and signed some of the most insulting… Read More

This was recently post over at The Corner (maintained by National Review Online):

Cutting Taxes Is Critical [Victor Davis Hanson] The candidates haven’t had much discussion about why they should cut taxes as much as possible. The Bush tax cuts created more, not less, revenue. They were slurred only because spending during the first term vastly outpaced the rate of inflation — in part due to the wars, the dislocations from 9/11, and new entitlements (e.g., prescription drugs, No Child Left Behind, etc) that led to rising deficits. Tax cuts have to be coupled with either spending restraint or cuts, or the additional revenue gained is forgotten when sums far vaster are spent.… Read More

FlashReport readers need to hold onto your desk chairs as we share with you some disturbing and terrible news. We have learned from VERY reliable sources that the Governor is about to ENDORSE Proposition 93, the Fabian Nunez "Big Lie" Term Limits Weakening Initiative. Yes you read that correctly — counter to the many commitments that he has publicly made to the opposite effect, the Governor is about to bail on his apparently untruthful position in support of California’s existing term limits laws.

I think that perhaps the worst part about the Governor doing this (worse than going back on his word, and worse than opposing the official position of his own party) is that according to my same VERY reliable sources, this endorsement has nothing to with the underlying policy issue of term limits. Rather, that the Governor is endorsing Nunez’ self-serving measure in return for Nunez’ support on the health care/tax hike package. Actually, my sources tell me that the Governor actually wants Nunez to stay in place in order to have his help to raise money and campaign next year for the health care/tax hike plan. This may sound… Read More

Xavier Alvarez, the water board member on trial for lying about earning the Medal of Honor has never watched an episode of Law & Order. He may face another charge of lying about being a Medal of Honor winner, because he was taped about it get this at an endorsement hearing of the Pomona Police Officers Association.

As I’ve pointed out before most Medal of Honor winners are awarded the honor posthumously. And those thatare still aliveleft many heroes behind so they never brag about it.

Alvarez should resign in shame. What you do say can be used against… 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 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