Cross-posted from Red County/OC Blog.

Another Republican Party of Orange County Flag Day dinner has come and gone. 1,100 people attended this year’s event and the OC GOP raised $300,000.

This year saw a continuance of the parade of presidential hopefuls who have become a staple for the yearly dinner, in the former of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. You can read account by Martin Wisckol (here and here) and Larry Gilbert.

Giuliani’s Speech I haven’t picked a horse in this race — at least among the four front runners (Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain and Fred Thompson). I find it difficult to imagine a scenario in which I would vote for Rudy Giuliani in the primary, and his speech last night didn’t change that.… Read More

Last night Orange County Republicans filled the main ballroom at the Irvine Hyatt Hotel to capacity for the 8th Annual Flag Day Celebration fundraising event. The "big winner" of the evening was OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh, who spearheaded a major effort to sell out this event, succeeding as over 1100 Republicans were on hand to hear from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The event raised over $300,000 for the party, and gave Giuliani the coveted opportunity to bring his message to the single largest annual gathering of GOPers in America’s most Republican county.

My colleague, Matt Cunningham, a FR Orange County blogger on this site, and the proprietor of the venerable Red County OC Blog (where I am a blogger as well) was at this dinner as well (digital camera in hand) and he’ll be cross-posting his take on the event, for you to read all about it. Fellow FR bloggers Adam Probolsky, Ray Haynes, Adam Aleman and Jim Lacy were also on hand, and perhaps we’ll hear from them as well.

I am leaving right after I post this commentary to travel up to Santa Barbara where I will be touring the Reagan Ranch in advance of a major event… Read More

Last night Orange County Republicans filled the main ballroom at the Irvine Hyatt Hotel to capacity for the 8th Annual Flag Day Celebration fundraising event. The "big winner" of the evening was OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh, who spearheaded a major effort to sell out this event, succeeding as over 1100 Republicans were on hand to hear from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The event raised over $300,000 for the party, and gave Giuliani the coveted opportunity to bring his message to the single largest annual gathering of GOPers in America’s most Republican county.

My colleague, Matt Cunningham, a FR Orange County blogger on this site, and the proprietor of the venerable Red County OC Blog (where I am a blogger as well) was at this dinner as well (digital camera in hand) and he’ll be cross-posting his take on the event, for you to read all about it. Fellow FR bloggers Adam Probolsky Ray Haynes, Adam Aleman and Jim Lacy were also on hand, and perhaps we’ll hear from them as well.

I am leaving right after I post this commentary to travel up to Santa Barbara where I will be touring the Reagan Ranch in advance of a major event… Read More

[Yesterday, the FR posted about news of an impending release of Republican legislators’ encouragementof former U.S. Senator and Law & Order actor Fred Thompson to enter the race for the presidency. Thanks to Senate Republican Caucus ChairmanGeorge Runner, the FR can now share with readers the actual letter of encouragement signed by nine members of the Senate and Assembly.]

An exerpt from the letter of encouragement to Fred Thompson (also attached below):

"Americans are looking for a leader to serve as our next President with a proven record of limiting the size and scope of government. Americans trust in political institutions has been jaded by broken promises of reduced spending and lowered taxes.

"Your… Read More

Enjoy your weekend. I am. Look for more insights and commentary tomorrow in this space.

Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?

Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.… Read More

Wishin’ for Wi-Fi in San Diego… The prospects for SD going the wireless way of some other big U.S. cities have been seemingly slim, yet Matt Potter provides some hope in the Reader this past week. "It turns out," Potter writes, "that the City has been quietly negotiating for at least six months with EarthLink Municipal Networks, the Atlanta-based firm that is building systems in Philadelphia and San Francisco, among other cities."

Potter also indicates that the Earthlink system in Philly is"a lot cheaper than the rates offered by San Diego cable providers Cox Communications and Time Warner, who are said to be gearing up to fight any kind of similar arrangement that might emerge here. Verizon Wireless and other mobile carriers who offer data services equivalent to Wi-Fi can also be expected to lobby against free or low-priced service plans."

Unlike the Wal-Mart debate, where the SD City Council majority can’t see the point of providing lower prices to their constituents, this fight won’t be influenced by labor as much as it will be by long-time area… Read More

The FlashReport has learned that within the next day or so there will be an announcement of state legislative support for a still-possible Fred Thompson candidacy for the presidency of the United States. On the final day of session this past week, Republican legislators were circulating a letter of "encouragement" for Thompson to join the race for the White House. All but one of these aren’t endorsements — yet — but the FR presumes they would become endorsements when/if Thompson makes an official announcement (the exception is Assemblyman Chuck DeVore who was the first to figuratively endorse the former U.S. Senator from Tennessee publicly last Thursday).

The list of those legislative Republicans "encouraging" Thompson are:

Senator Sam Aanestad… Read More

As we go into a quiet weekend, with all of America comforted by the fact that Paris Hilton is back behind bars, we’re left to contemplate the aftermath of the so-far unsuccessful attempts by President Bush, Teddy Kennedy and others to push through the federal immigration amnesty package.

A couple of weeks ago, it looked like passage through the Senate, while a rocky road, was a likely one. But over the last couple of weeks, despite a barrage of misleading messaging from the White House and other sources, somehow trying to say that amnesty isn’t amnesty, enough GOP Senators came together (whether through enlightenment, impact from an intense grassroots lobbying effort, or a combination of the two) to prevent the matter from coming to a final vote in the Senate. Second only to the fact that this ill-advised bill was so strongly supported by a Republican President to whom I devoted the 2000 election cycle when I worked as Executive Director of the California Republican Party was the rhetoric coming from the otherwise reliable stable of conservative/libertarian thought over on the Wall Street Journal editorial board. This fine group… Read More