By Senator Tom McClintock:

The public policy farce that the “Green Governor” unleashed with AB 32 (the so-called “greenhouse gas” law) continues. Using their newly granted power to slash carbon dioxide emissions, the California Air Resources Board (all Schwarzenegger appointees) has mandated that every gallon of gasoline sold in California must contain at least 10 percent ethanol by 2010.

First, a few basic facts. Californians use about 15 billion gallons of gasoline a year, meaning that the new ten percent CARB edict will require about 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol. Corn is the most common ethanol-producing crop in the country, yielding about 350 gallons of ethanol fuel per acre. That means converting about 4.3 million acres of farmland to ethanol production, just to meet the California requirement. But according to the USDA, California currently has only 11 million acres devoted to growing crops of all kinds. Get the picture?

The entire purpose of this exercise is to reduce the… Read More

By Senator Tom McClintock:

The public policy farce that the “Green Governor” unleashed with AB 32 (the so-called “greenhouse gas” law) continues. Using their newly granted power to slash carbon dioxide emissions, the California Air Resources Board (all Schwarzenegger appointees) has mandated that every gallon of gasoline sold in California must contain at least 10 percent ethanol by 2010.

First, a few basic facts. Californians use about 15 billion gallons of gasoline a year, meaning that the new ten percent CARB edict will require about 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol. Corn is the most common ethanol-producing crop in the country, yielding about 350 gallons of ethanol fuel per acre. That means converting about 4.3 million acres of farmland to ethanol production, just to meet the California requirement. But according to the USDA, California currently has only 11 million acres devoted to growing crops of all kinds. Get the picture?

The entire purpose of this exercise is to reduce… Read More

So NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has left the GOP.

So what?

Certainly, he didn’t leave because the Party and its leadership have been too conservative.

In fact, conservatism is nowhere to be found in this Party, which is why it is sinking like a rock all over the country, led by the President and his head scratching commitment to an unworkable amnesty bill.

Bloomberg could and will be a formidable candidate because he is a problem solver and "fixer" – precisely what people want. Voters are less committed to party and ideology than in many years because of corruption and failure by Democrats and Republicans over the last few years. For the Republicans, this represents a breathtaking fall from their previous status as majority Party in Washington.… Read More

Today I am pleased to present a guest commentary from FR reader Gary Aminoff. Gary is the President of the San Fernando Valley Republican Club, and also serves as Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Republican Party. I hope you enjoy his column…

ETHNIC GRADUATIONS ARE ANTI-AMERICAN by Gary Aminoff When I attended UCLA it was a multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural campus. There were students from nearly every country, every religion and all races. Yet, most students thought of themselves as Bruins and as Americans. We were all graduated in a single commencement ceremony which made us feel we were all part of a single community

John Leo, in the City Journal, writes an article entitled, … Read More

As an update to my earlier post, my further research indicates the following:

As might have been expected, theSF Chronicle is out to lunch on several points. Yet, that hasn’t kept many folks — including those in the GOP — from reacting to it, creating much grist for the mill. Thus, I stand by my decision to create an avenue for readers to discuss it and for the party to set the record straight.

Some key points:

It is factually inaccurate, as has been reported and repeated, that the applying employer for the work visa in question must signify that no citizen is qualified for the job.

The State GOP’s deputy political director has yet to be hired.

Chris Matthews did not work for the State Republican Party in 2003 or2004, he worked for the San Diego County Republican Party since 2003. He alsoworked in Great Britain for the Conservative Party and inCanada.

Matthews is currently working on a TN visa as a management consultant, helpingwith organizational management and networking.… Read More

3:40pm: Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi has turned down the raise.

2:00pm: Senator Abel Maldonado has turned down the raise. __

Yesterday the ‘independent commission’ that does such things approved a modest pay raise for State Constitutional Officers and Legislators.

I saw that Orange County Democrat Senator Lou Correa is turning down his raise.

Which makes me wonder how many REPUBLICANS are saying no to the pay increase. So if you are reading this, and you are Governor Schwarzenegger, Insurance Commissioner Poizner, BOE Members Michelle Steel or Bill Leonard, a Republican Senator or Assemblymember, or a member of the staff of any of the above, and you want to share with us whether you (or your boss, as applicable) are taking the raise or not, we’ll start to publish the results on this page!

You can post a comment,… Read More

AB 951 is Big Government. TheGovernor should veto it and shameon theGOP Lawmakers that voted for it. Yesterday, The Senate passed AB 951. This bill rushed through both houses with an emergency clause will ban all alcohol in open OR closed containers on boats on the state controlled portions of the American River during long holiday weekends. Now what outrages me about this bill are thequestions never asked by the Republicans. Many of which foolishly voted for the bill. If you can believe this, the legislature is saying that if you have a party on a boat or raft the Thursday before a big holiday and leave a couple cans of beer that no one drank on it, the next day you are breaking the law! … Read More

Link to UPDATE above.

The California GOP’s hiring of Canadian Christopher Matthews as deputy political director has a few folks in a tizzy.Especially considering Matthews’ special work visa application purportedly requires the employer to signify that no U.S. citizen is qualified to do the job, the concern is understandable.

Further, the hiring is in addiiton to the State GOP’s earlier engagement of Michael Kamburowski, an Australian citizen, as chief operations officer.

These guys are in the country legally, working legally. So, what’s the big deal? Well, some suggest that the positions, given their nature, should at least be filled with folks that can vote.

Instead of sweeping these kinds of debates under a rug — which, by the way, surprisingly leads people to say they are being swept under a rug — let’s get the discussion in the open. I won’t weigh in on the matter, as much as… Read More