From the way that Tony Strickland’s campaign for California State Senate is gearing up, you would almost think that that he is listed as "incumbent" on the ballot. But, of course, he is not. The incumbent, Senator Tom McClintock, is retiring next year as term limits prevents him from seeking a third Senate term. Today the ENTIRE 15-member State Senate Republican Caucus endorsed former Assemblyman Strickland in his bid to succeed McClintock.

[You can see all of the signatures by clicking on the link at the bottom of this blog post.]

"All of our Senators are committed to helping Tony win his election to the State Senator next November," Senate Republican Dick Ackerman told me tonight. If that wasn’t enough, earlier tonight, the Ventura County Republican Party weighed in with a rare (and overwhelming) pre-primary endorsement for Strickland as… Read More

Two weeks ago, a few Capital insiders were telling me that Governor Schwarzenegger’s health care reform proposal was not going to happen this year. The governor’s staff said otherwise. If I were a betting woman, I’d put my money on the governor–he put his stake in the ground to achieve major reform on health care in 2007 and that’s what he’s going to do.

But I know that I’m not going to like it.

First off, the governor is intent on putting a mandate on businesses to pay a 4 percent payroll tax (yes, it is a tax, not a fee) if they don’t provide insurance to their employees. Last week at a town hall in San Diego, the chairman of the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce questioned how small businesses could afford such a tax. According to the San Diego Tribune, Schwarzenegger… Read More

The story behind Senator Carole Migden’s accident last week is getting more interesting. The Chronicle and KTVU are reporting that Migden may have had an additional accident before rear-ending a Honda sedan on Hwy 12 in Solano County.

Migden says that she only took her eyes off the road to reach for her cell phone, but witnesses say otherwise.

From the KTVU story:

But about a half dozen motorists had called 911 before the crash as Migden traveled more than 30 miles on Interstate 80, heading east… Read More

What a great partner I have found inthe National Association to Protect Children (PROTECT), a non-partisan group dedicated to the protection of children from abuse, exploitation, and neglect. I want you to know about them and I want you to get involved.

I got to know PROTECT almost four years ago when they sponsored my SB 33 – the bill that successfully closedthe incest loophole in California. Up until that point in California, if you sexually molested a child under 16 years of age, you went to prison for 6 to 16 years. UNLESS the child was your own, or your stepchild, or even if you had a"famial" relationship – THEN you couldget probation, and even were reunified with your victim (meaning daddy came home to molest again). An insane law if there ever was one.

Incidentally, the original, terrible, law was signed by then Governor Jerry Brown

PROTECT has turned its sights on child pornography, a genuine human rights crisis that has profound… Read More

What a great partner I have found inthe National Association to Protect Children (PROTECT), a non-partisan group dedicated to the protection of children from abuse, exploitation, and neglect. I want you to know about them and I want you to get involved.

I got to know PROTECT almost four years ago when they sponsored my SB 33 – the bill that successfully closedthe incest loophole in California. Up until that point in California, if you sexually molested a child under 16 years of age, you went to prison for 6 to 16 years. UNLESS the child was your own, or your stepchild, or even if you had a"famial" relationship – THEN you couldget probation, and even were reunified with your victim (meaning daddy came home to molest again). An insane law if there ever was one.

Incidentally, the original, terrible, law was signed by then Governor Jerry Brown

**There is more – click… Read More

California Liberals like to think themselves as selfless compassionate souls concerned for their fellows. No matter that they hide in Beverly Hills and Malibu escaping Section 8 Housing, their kids go to elite private schools that poor folks cannot afford, but of course they give. Don’t they?

Well the sociological evidence showsthey don’t. Professor Arthur Brooks, once a well meaning liberal himself , exhaustively researched donor trends In America and discovered the more religious the person the more generous they were giving to charity.Since more conservatives are more religious the givers are overwhelmingly to the right.. "Who Really Cares" 2006, Basic Books.

Last night at the Beverly Hills Hotel is a case in point. At its annual fundraiser, the Midnight Mission featured the Hearts of Gold banquet. The Midnight Mission was founded in 1914 to care, feed, house and offer rebuilding opportunities for drunks, drug addicts and the self imposed underclass in LA’s skid row. Seldom receiving government money, Midnight Mission is considered one of the most efficient and effective charities in LA.

We who co-hosted the… Read More

This morning, longtime GOP Consultant Ron Rogers sent an email to friends and colleagues announcing his newest adventure – becoming Chief of Staff to Congressman John Doolittle.

This isn’t the first foray into government work for Ron, a longtimepartner with the firm Russo, Marsh, & Rogers.He previously had served as Chief Deputy State Treasurer to former Treasurer Matt Fong, and has done stints in the State Senate, State Assembly, and Orange County Supervisors Office.

In explaining the motivation for his move, Ron said:

I want to advance the cause of Republican principles and conservative governance.

John Doolittle has been on the front lines fighting for those principles his entire life. Challenging and defeating liberal incumbents, encouraging and supporting conservative candidates, championing legislation and supporting issues that allowed Republicans to win control of the House of Representatives.

Now, those… Read More

….and that’s not a bad thing:

Sen. Hollingsworth Named SCI State Legislator of the Year FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 18, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth (R-California) has been selected as Safari Club International’s State Legislator of the Year.

This award exemplifies leadership and vision on the state level on behalf of sportsmen and women and for the promotion of sound wildlife legislation. The award will be given out Friday, May 18 in Washington, D.C. during SCI’s May Board meeting.

Sen. Hollingsworth has been a staunch, consistent advocate for the Second Amendment and the rights of outdoorsmen in the California legislature since he was first elected to the Assembly in the year 2000. Senator Hollingsworth helped create the California Legislature Outdoor Sporting Caucus, a bi-partisan, bicameral organization, modeled after the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus in Washington, D.C., to promote outdoor pursuits by presenting a strong, unified… Read More