In Jon’s, commentary on Friday he referenced a story in the Hill that talked about a big loophole concerning earmarks that the Democrats left in the rules package.

Here is what the rule actually states (From page 34 of the House rules):

9. (a) It shall not be in order to consider— (1) a bill or joint resolution reported by a committee unless the report includes a list of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, and limited tariff benefits in the bill or in the report (and the name of any Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who submitted a request to the committee for each respective item included in such list) or a statement that the proposition contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits;

In the earmark section of the changes to the House rules that were passed by the Democrats at the beginning of this year, they inserted the section above in order “to bring transparency to the earmark process,” but it… Read More

John Pesching, a principal with the consulting firm Meridian Pacific, will be officially announced tomorrow as a senior advisor to the John McCain for President campaign, assisting with their efforts in the important Golden State. In this capacity, John has told me he will be volunteering his time. I’ve known John for a long, long time and I he will be strong go-to person in California for McCain’s campaign. John has a long, storied career in Republican politics, going all of the way back to beginnings when he worked in the Reagan White House (his photo helping then President Reagan with a weekly radio address is among the thousands on the walls at the Reagan Library). John spent several years as Executive Director of the California Republican Party before going on to serve seven years as the Western Regional Political Director of the Republican National Committee, giving him a lot of experience to lend to McCain’s effort not only here, but in a host of other states on this end of the country. I worked closely with John during the 2000 election cycle when he worked for the RNC, and I was… Read More

As the Republican race for the Presidential nomination starts to unfold, there will be a lot of individual times that you scratch your head, and wonder about why a candidate says something about a particular issue. I can certainly tell you that I have heard from a lot of grassroots GOP donors and activists who feel that how a candidate conducts themselves in their personal life is an important indicator of how they will perform in an office of public trust – and I agree. I will admit that it makes it more challenging for me to place my faith in a candidate and what they are telling me when they have been unfaithful to their spouse. I’m a realist — and the sobering and unfortunate fact is that over half of the marriages in the United States end up in divorce — and amazing and startlingly depressing figure. It is also the case that infidelity occurs in many of these instances.

But there is also truth to the statement that the two best times to judge someone’s character is when everyone is watching them, and when no one is watching them. I don’t pretend to know or care to know the… Read More

El Cajon Mayor Lewis Taking on Jacob?… Consultants, pollsters and pundits will tell you that San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob is not only popular, but that her positive ID has been consistently high for several years. Vulnerable in ’08? Perhaps El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis believes so. From my own Red County/San Diego post last week…

The word…is that El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis is actively considering the prospects. I will ask Mark, via this post, to comment. I will ask the readers:

As the Republican race for the Presidential nomination starts to unfold, there will be a lot of individual times that you scratch your head, and wonder about why a candidate says something about a particular issue. I can certainly tell you that I have heard from a lot of grassroots GOP donors and activists who feel that how a candidate conducts themselves in their personal life is an important indicator of how they will perform in an office of public trust – and I agree. I will admit that it makes it more challenging for me to place my faith in a candidate and what they are telling me when they have been unfaithful to their spouse. I’m a realist — and the sobering and unfortunate fact is that over half of the marriages in the United States end up in divorce — and amazing and startlingly depressing figure. It is also the case that infidelity occurs in many of these instances.

But there is also truth to the statement that the two best times to judge someone’s character is when everyone is watching them, and when no one is watching them. I don’t pretend to know or care to know the… Read More

Jon nails it in his commentary today.

When I see that someone has been married three times and has a chilly relationship with the kids, I have to ask if too much time caught up in a self-indulgent, ego-gratifying political life — and not enough time at home — caused any of the rifts with the family.

If one doesn’t care about ever patching up those rifts with the kids, it follows that one would spend two years of a life pursuing something that would make them too busy to do so anyway.

On the other hand, if there are too many guilty regrets and personal demons from a life soured by the choices which led to a poor relationship with one’s children, it can certainly be made up in other ways. Perhaps by pursuing something such as an even larger crown to place on top of the self-indulgent, ego-gratifying political life.

Folks like that I’m sure will likely be very dedicated, marriedto their political job. The best representatives, however, may be those dedicated to the job, while also finding the time to know… Read More

According to a column by the Fresno Bee’s Lew Griswald, Assemblyman (and FR friend) Bill Maze was supposedly surprised in reading on the FlashReport that one of his aides, Bob Smith, is running to succeed Maze in the legislature (term limits will cause Maze to retire.

I don’t buy that for a minute — given the depth of support that Smith has already put together, it is not plausible that his boss would not have heard about it.

That said, while Maze has been a solid conservative legislator, it is disappointing to see him drink the Anthony Adams kool-aid on term-limits. Guess what, Bill, were it not for term-limits, you probably never would have had a chance to serve. Now it’s time for others to have their opportunity.

Here’s the… Read More

* On Monday, we will be featuring columns advocating the leading candidates for President penned by some of their prominent California supporters. The candidate campaigns to whom we reached out for columns were that of John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and our own Californian in the race, Duncan Hunter. I am pleased that all four campaign chose to participate, and so you can look forward to that treat on Monday! Also, John McCain and Mitt Romney will be in California next week and I will be attending events for both – so we’ll be bringing you that scoop as well! * In Sacramento County, longtime Republican Party Chairman Donna Schalansky abruptly resigned after being convincingly re-elected to another two-year term earlier this month. Donna has been a longtime friend, and we wish her well in her future endeavors. According to insiders involved with the County GOP, First Vice Chairman Craig MacGlashan is heavily favored to be elected to replace her at a meeting on April the 12th. MacGlashan is the husband of Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan. * We continue to toodle around with our newest feature – being… Read More