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

I found this little item in Capitol Morning Report

Planned Parenthood Affiliates of CA and Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, "bake sale for birth control," cite "urgent need" to increase Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for family planning services. 8-10 a.m., Posey’s Corner, 11th and O sts.

You have to wonder about private fundraising to bring attention to the greed of more government funding, but you really have to ask about whatare in these brownies?… Read More

AD60 Republican Candidate Curt Hagman had a LA County based event, last night. In this sprawling three county district. You find out all kinds of things attending these types of events. I have not endorsed in this race. Note to other candidates: Throwing some free fried finger foods my way may get me to come to your event. Unfortunately, Hagman’s lacked guacamole—but that is another story. Mike Radlovic who just a couple months ago was planning on running spurred the event. In addition to the LA local officials mentioned in a previous blog, (See here) Leon Garcia, President of the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water and Fred Chyr another Mt. Sac Community College trustee attended. So did several leaders of local grassroots groups like the local RWF. I should point out that attendance doesn’t necessarily mean endorsement. After the Mayor of … Read More

Thomas O’Brien thehead of the criminal division for the L.A. U.S. attorney’s office and a formerprosecutor in the district attorney’s office has been named US Attorney for the L.A. Office. He replaces Debra Yang. O’Brien is a Republican (See Governor, A GOP lawyer in L.A.). Let’s hope this appointment goes better than the last eight. See article in LA Observed here.… Read More

Our own FlashReport correspondent Duane Dichiara (pictured to the right) and Coronado Communications, are the new day-to-day operational head of the Romney for President campaign in California — a shrewd pick by the Presidential campaign of the former Massachusetts Governor as Dichiara is widely respected in all political circles for his acumen and work ethic.

But wait, there’s more! FR friends Rob Stutzman (below to the right) an occasional guest columnist to this site) and former State GOP Chairman Mike Schroeder (left – fresh… Read More

[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