Today was the day the $3 million of the CRP’s Victory ’06 massive debt was due. Yesterday the current CRP Board got an extension on the $3 million dollar portion of the $4.5 million oweduntil…….. August. Or so I’m told by four non-CRP board members that have all told me the same story.

What will be different in August? The CRP will have paid about a half a million bucks in interest. The real question is when will the Governor keep his pledge to pay this debt rather than keep raising money for his own fund.

By the September CRP Convention we will only havethe shirts on our backs—if we’re lucky.

You can see my last post on this that has links to the Victory ’06 debacle here.… Read More

Are you a Republican candidate running for President of the United States? If so, have I got an offer for you! I would like to offer my services as a delegate or alternate delegate for your candidacy at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis next Summer. There’s only one catch — I cannot endorse you, nor work towards your winning the GOP nomination. Believe it or not, that is the only ‘pitch’ available to myself and the other elected officers of the California Republican Party!

As the Vice Chairman, South, for the CRP, our bylaws prohibit my endorsing or helping a candidate in a contested Republican primary. A few of my colleagues don’t have to worry about this — the Chairman along with our National Committeemembers are automatic delegates for the RNC Convention. The rest of us are not so lucky. If you would like to submit the names of some or all of the State GOP Officers as delegates, speaking on behalf of my colleagues (without asking for permission), I am sure they would be pleased to serve.

(For those new to the process here in the… Read More

Are you a Republican candidate running for President of the United States? If so, have I got an offer for you! I would like to offer my services as a delegate or alternate delegate for your candidacy at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis next Summer. There’s only one catch — I cannot endorse you, nor work towards your winning the GOP nomination. Believe it or not, that is the only ‘pitch’ available to myself and the other elected officers of the California Republican Party!

As the Vice Chairman, South, for the CRP, our bylaws prohibit my endorsing or helping a candidate in a contested Republican primary. A few of my colleagues don’t have to worry about this — the Chairman along with our National Committeemembers are automatic delegates for the RNC Convention. The rest of us are not so lucky. If you would like to submit the names of some or all of the State GOP Officers as delegates, speaking on behalf of my colleagues (without asking for permission), I am sure they would be pleased to serve.

(For those new to the process here in the… Read More

My brother, Rick, went to his local AT&T Store yesterday in San Francisco, and missed getting his new iPhone by just a few people. Well, determination is a strong suit for Fleischmans, and he was at a local Apple Store at 8am this morning, and now has his 8 gig iPhone. He’s already loaded Star Wars into it!

While we have determination in common, we don’t share our politics. To prove the point, when he was showing it to me just now, he got an email… From Michael “Sicko” Moore. Blech!… Read More

Talk about "all politics being local" — this takes it to the extreme. This morning I walked over to my local Einstein Brothers bagel shoppe where Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani made a campaign swing. I grabbed the FlashCam while headed out the door, and so I have the following edited nine-minute ‘work of art’ for interested FR readers. I hope you enjoy it!Not visable on the video were a few "FR friends" that were ‘working’ the event — Deputy Campaign Manager Anne Dunsmore was traveling with the Mayor, the hard working California staff team of Brett Lowder and Eric Beach, and who was driving Rudy’s cool blacked-out SUV? None other than Erik Weigand from Assemblyman Jim Silva’s office!… Read More

Cross Posted at Red County SD….. Keith Barnett, executive director of Adam Smith of California, shot the following over to me regarding Jerry Sanders’ visit to the organization’s breakfast meeting this morning in Mission Valley. About 40 turned out to hear Sanders….

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders received a standing ovation this morning as he accepted the Adam Smith Award for Fiscal Responsibility. Judging by the importance of City Council candidates Phil Thalheimer (District 1) and Carl DeMaio (District 5) attending today’s Adam Smith of CA meeting, it is safe to say they are committed to stand beside the Mayor in reforming City Hall.

This next budget year San Diego will be eliminating over 600 positions in city government (I refer to them as positions, not employees, because most jobs are presently vacant). Sanders spoke to the fact that SD has added 2,000 employees in the last ten years, yet has failed to see an increase in service. Most San Diegans would argue that service has in fact declined. The Mayor… Read More

As San Bernardino County’s population continues to grow, the region’s clout and influence in the State Legislature is increasing as well. Perhaps the most significant victories of the last election cycle occurred in Republican Party primaries for seats in the State Legislature. Among the 2006 victories San Bernardino County residents can be proud were the surprise wins of Yucca Valley’s Paul Cook for the 65th Assembly District and Hesperia’s Anthony Adams for the 59th AD. Both Adams and Cook replaced non-San Bernardino County incumbents (The 65th was held by termed-out incumbent Russ Bogh of Riverside County and the 59th was held by Dennis Mountjoy of Los Angeles County). Thus, the victories of Anthony Adams and Paul Cook increased the number of lawmakers in the State Capitol who call San … Read More

I’ve known Richard Pombo since before he ever a Congressman. He’s a great guy, with a lot of integrity, and there isn’t a dishonest bone in his body. That said, by the time the onslaught against him was over in Congressional District 11 last November, Pombo was out of office because of a lot of accusatory voter communication that made it out like Richard was tainted by a rather iffy connection to the now-imprisoned Jack Abramoff. Pombo is a great example of how it is perception, not reality that often times matters the most in the arena of politics. To be honest, I don’t really know Guy Houston (pictured to the left) too well. We’ve met a few times, and I find him to be quite pleasant. He’s a good conservative, and he has some great people on his staff. Like the rest of us, he has seen Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, I’m… Read More