[Cross-posted from Red County/OC Blog]

Did you hear about the fund raiser House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did for the Democratic Party of Orange County last month?

Don’t worry if you didn’t — it never happened because Loretta Sanchez put the kibosh on it.

According to local Democratic insiders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was supposed to come to Orange County last month to headline a fund raiser benefiting the Democratic Party of Orange County. All the arrangements were in place for an event that would have raised an enormous sum of money to fund the DPOC’s ambitious plans for strengthening its presence county-wide and contest OC GOP inroads in central OC.

In other words, good news for OC Democrats, bad news for OC Republicans.

Unfortunately for the DPOC, Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s ego got in the way.

Sanchez adopted a proprietary view of the… Read More

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that a military reservist, Eric Egland, is seriously looking at running against Congressman John Doolittle in next year’s GOP primary in the 4th District. FR readers know that Doolittle has been at the center of controversy stemming from his wife Julie’s professional relationship with the now-imprisoned lobbyist-turned-crook Jack Abramoff, the Doolittle’s personal friendship with Abramoff, and the fact that in a rather public and high profile way, investigators with the FBI are looking very closely at the Abramoff/Doolittle connection (fairly recently a subpoena was served on the Doolittle home, where Julie has her home-office).

No on has accused either the Congressman or his wife of criminal wrongdoing. That said, when you are in elective office, and are seeking re-election, you aren’t in a court of law, but rather a court of public opinion. Given the poor publicity that Doolittle has received, and given the sour-taste in the mouths of voters from actual proven corruption on the Hill (Duke Cunningham, et.al), it is unclear whether the public will make a distinction between the convicted, and the accused, or… Read More

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that a military reservist, Eric Egland, is seriously looking at running against Congressman John Doolittle in next year’s GOP primary in the 4th District. FR readers know that Doolittle has been at the center of controversy stemming from his wife Julie’s professional relationship with the now-imprisoned lobbyist-turned-crook Jack Abramoff, the Doolittle’s personal friendship with Abramoff, and the fact that in a rather public and high profile way, investigators with the FBI are looking very closely at the Abramoff/Doolittle connection (fairly recently a subpoena was served on the Doolittle home, where Julie has her home-office).

No on has accused either the Congressman or his wife of criminal wrongdoing. That said, when you are in elective office, and are seeking re-election, you aren’t in a court of law, but rather a court of public opinion. Given the poor publicity that Doolittle has received, and given the sour-taste in the mouths of voters from actual proven corruption on the Hill (Duke Cunningham, et.al), it is unclear whether the public will make a distinction between the convicted, and the accused, or… Read More

Earlier today, I dropped by a District Office Open House for my Assemblyman and fellow FR Blogger Anthony Adams.

His new Claremont office looked fantastic, far better than the typical bare-walled places that pass for Assembly District Offices. Big windows, art on the walls, etc.

The turnout was big, easily 100+. In the hour or so I stuck around, I spotted LA County Party Chairwoman Linda Boyd, and her husband, CRP Board Member Doug. A bunch of local electeds were making the rounds. CRLA Chairman Steve Baric made the trip up from Orange County. In addition, fellow politicos Mike Richman and John Hrabe made it out. Even Congressman David Dreier made a cameo.

During his campaign, the big knock on Anthony was that a guy from San Bernardino couldn’t represent LA County. If today’s event (in LA) was any indication, that question has been put to rest.… Read More

Conservative commentator Bob Novak has been opining on the macro and micro of politics around the country as a columnist for decades — and is generally considered to be among one of the more enlightened and insightful voices coming out of the Beltway. His latest column has a whole section on California House seats (h/t Red County San Bernardino) which has a bevy of insights.

Of most interest, and perhaps a cause for much hope for FR readers, Novak is reporting that people are saying that Congressman Jerry Lewis is likely to retire next year. We can only HOPE this is right. As we have written about here many times, Lewis has been the most prominent GOPer in the House associated with outrageous earmarks, and who pushing this ‘aristocracy of appropriators’ BS that somehow because there is an Appropriations Committtee, across the board cuts or cuts proposed by… Read More

Our Appropriations Committee, of which I am a member,met to do the Suspense File today.

Some of the more interesting Dem bills moving forward to our floor:

AB 583, taxpayer funded election campaigns

AB 1334, taxpayer funded prophylactic devices [you don’t want anymore details]for prisoners, in prison

AB 43, allowing same sex marriage

AB 374, assisted suicide

AB 355, register to vote [and vote] on election day

AB 722, incandescent light bulb ban [modified to require lower electricity usage per bulb, essentially banning them with goals that most bulbs, esp. lower wattage bulbs, likely cannot attain]

Bills "held in committee"

AB 755, the Sally Lieberno-spanking bill

Republican bills held:

AB 1161, requiring the state to resell land taken by eminent domain, first back to it’s original owner, or the open market, if it hasn’t been used for it’s intended public purpose in 5 or 7 years.

AB 165, creating Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, to coordinate volunteer and charitable organizations with state agencies for… Read More

When the incredible LA Times goes after a Republican, most conservatives can tell by the headlines that a hatchet job is in the making.

Sadly, the smear job was so effective it fooled conservative blogger.,Erick Erickson of the venerable Red State, Erickson with an attempt to route our corrupt Republican House members, so GOPers win in 2008, targeted Ken Calvert’s rise to Appropriations. Unfortunately, Erickson read the LA Times and believed it. His call to remove Calvert from Appropriations got a lot of MSM [liberal] reportage.

Congressman Ken Calvert is one of many of California congressional Republicans to endure the fueling of unfounded rumors and half truths.With snappy prose it took 3 "Times staff writers" to make up its story against Calvert.They thought they had a hot one.

The Times complained that Calvert made a profit when he sold property. The innuendo was old… Read More

DON PERATA RECEIVES INAUGURAL "GOLDEN PIG" AWARD FROM US TERM LIMITS AFTER SPENDING $1 MILLION OF SPECIAL INTEREST MONEY ON HIS LAVISH LIFESTYLE "TAX-FREE"

Trophy Awarded to Legislature’s Ultimate Perk Addict

US Term Limits, the nation’s leading term limits advocacy organization, yesterday announced it was inaugurating the "Golden Pig" Award for individual California politicians whose misconduct in office remind us of the necessity for term limits. Recipients are elected officials who have repeatedly acted in an arrogant and self-serving manner, gorged themselves on political perks, betrayed the public trust and demonstrated contempt for the voters who elected them.… Read More