I won the debate. It was very simple. Several years ago in West Covina there was a city council campaign that had about a dozen candidates. They had a debate. It went something like this. “You have one minute to tell the audience your position on gangs.” Everybody was against them. When that was over they had one minute on several topics. The format is awful and boring. I figured the same thing would happen at a Presidential debate that size and limited to one hour. So, instead my family had a few people over from church, had dinner and let the kids play. After reading the transcript and the reviews from commentators. I know I won. … Read More

By the magic of TIVO, I joined the debate fun a few hours after all the hoopla had already beenwrapped up. For while in the world of us politicos Thursday was a big day – akin maybe to the dual characteristics of sloppiness and potential that define NFL Training Camp or Baseball Spring Training – it also marked the 56th Annual National Day of Prayer, something that for me put all the political stuff in its rightful context.

Up in my neck of the woods, a great event marking the occasion was organized by two local conservative leaders, Dan Kirby and Peter Amundson – Councilmembers of Monrovia and Arcadia respectively. The guest speaker was my friend Captain Tim Escobar, fresh back from flying attack helicopters and training Iraqi forces. I had forgotten what a commanding speaker Tim was, and found myself pleasantly captivated by his weaving of history, storytelling, and offering a compelling message, all seamlessly.

Tim offeredhis takeof why we’re there, why we can’t leave until the job is done, and how America is changing perceptions of the West and of Christian nations by giving the Iraqis something they’ve never had: hope.

Coming home… Read More

The Homosexual lobby loves the word “tolerance”. They use it in many ways to gain special rights for homosexuals. What they don’t like is practicing “tolerance”. SB 777 sponsored by Sheila Kuehl includes language that would add state censorship rulesto screen out anything negative about homosexuality in textbooks, curricula etc. at all public and private schools and universities. (Like universities are really targeting homosexuality). It could go so far as to eliminate distinctions like Prom King and Queen and could require various restrooms for students “perceived” gender. The Governor vetoed a less expansive version of this bill last year. Two days ago on Fox Karen England of the Capitol Resource Institute (CRI) debated the issue with a proponent of the bill. (See it here). The proponent refused to declare that the bill would not do the things Karen England … Read More

Today we feature a good amount of coverage on last night’s GOP Presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. We have post debate ‘spin’ from representatives of the three ‘front-runner’ candidates — Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney — as well as a note from Duncan Hunter’s campaign. As of my writing this, a couple of members of our FR team have penned their observations over on the blog page, and we, of course, feature on the main page an extensive listing of articles from around California (and a few nationally) about the debate. I will make a few general observations about the debate.

With the field of candidates so wide (ten), there was not enough time in an hour-long debate for any one candidate to really take command and leave this debate in a substantially better position than before. I was really impressed with Sam Brownback’s performance. That was the most notable surprise to me. I think … Read More

Today we feature a good amount of coverage on last night’s GOP Presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. We have post debate ‘spin’ from representatives of the three ‘front-runner’ candidates — Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney — as well as a note from Duncan Hunter’s campaign. As of my writing this, a couple of members of our FR team have penned their observations over on the blog page, and we, of course, feature on the main page an extensive listing of articles from around California (and a few nationally) about the debate. I will make a few general observations about the debate.

With the field of candidates so wide (ten), there was not enough time in an hour-long debate for any one candidate to really take command and leave this debate in a substantially better position than before. I was really impressed with Sam Brownback’s performance. That was the most notable surprise to me. I think … Read More

Others have weighed in at length, so this will be brief….30 seconds at best, yes or no at most.

We’ve become a world of snippets — of 30-second sound bites — so I guess we could have hoped for no more substance than that, not even when it comes to the most significant issues of the day.

Complex issues and the resulting complex questions are deserving of more than 30 second snippets and Chris Matthews-forced, "I’ll have to ask you to give ayes or no"simple answers.

Yes, I realize that with 10 "debaters" (this was no debate, by the way)and limited time, there may have been few other choices than the format selected. As well, this early in the process, all of the potential players have to be invited, further forcing the format.

Yet, I have no sense now of anything more than before, except each candidate’s ability to package an answer succinctly. There was John McCain, often looking like the only one of the bunch concerned about federal spending, when the record tells differently. There too was Ron Paul, perhaps one of the few willing to address runaway spending from a constitutional… Read More

California Congessman David Dreier is a supporter of Rudy Giuliani.. Rudy Giuliani kicked off last night’s debate with an emphasis on optimism. It was an entirely appropriate emphasis given the setting of the Reagan Library. As Rudy said, President Reagan led with optimism and on the strengths of this great country. Over the course of the debate, Rudy demonstrated he is the candidate that can lead as Reagan did, with optimism and strength.

I believe Rudy can win California and the election in 2008. The polls look the way they do for a reason. Rudy’s lead is real and last night we saw why. He was thoughtful. He was authentic. And he made clear that he plans to take the Reagan conservative principles he used to tackle crime, cut taxes and provide forward looking leadership to the White House.

Legitimately putting California in play for our Republican nominee will be… Read More

Tony Strickland is Co-Chairman of the Romney for President Campaign in California… Tonight at the Reagan Library, Governor Romney clearly showed why he has earned my backing in his bid to become the next President. No other candidate has the outside perspective we need to restore conservative principles to Washington. He successfully introduced himself to voters who may not already know him as the only candidate who can bring real change to government.

Voters learned tonight that with Governor Romney’s strong leadership, there is no problem America cannot solve. He has a clear record of real experience turning around troubled companies and organizations, and he will bring that same proven leadership to our nation’s capitol.

Here are some of the ways Governor Romney set himself apart from the other candidates at the Reagan Library:

He clearly discussed … Read More