Earlier this week, California GOP Chairman Ron Nehring spoke to the monthly meeting of the San Joaquin Republican Party bringing his message of winning elections and unity to a packed house. Nehring discussed every aspect of bulding a strong county party and took questions from the audience.

The meeting was attended by many activists who had been questioning the party in the past and Nehring’s inspiring speech brought many of them back into the fold with a new sense of unity and purpose. Led by new Chairman Dale Fritchen, membership and fundraising is on the rise and excitement amongst San Joaquin GOP activists is returning as these former volunteers and donors return to the fold. The timing could not be better as 2008 will see three open Assembly seats, one open Senate seat and a vulnerable democrat Congressman and the party will need to have all hands on deck.

Nehring’s presence was a critical turning point for the committee as it looks to get back to its winning ways. The commitment of… Read More

Ace RC reporter David Drucker has this scoop for us today:

California: Republican Ex-Legislator Preparing for House Bid Former state Assemblyman Dean Andal (R) said in an interview Wednesday that he is leaning toward running for the Republican nomination to the 11th district and the right to challenge freshman Rep. Jerry McNerney (D) in November 2008. Andal is in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss his potential candidacy with Republican Members, political action committees and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.), among others. Andal said he expects to make a formal announcement… Read More

If Governor Schwarzenegger is wondering how he has once again ended up staring down the barrel of an important piece of legislation that he really wants to sign, that was voted for by EVERY DEMOCRAT in the Assembly, and had the votes of NO REPUBLICANS, he really only needs to look in the mirror. You see, if I were in the position of the Democrats who control the majority in both chambers of the legislature, I wouldn’t bother to work with the Republicans given the Governor’s willingness to sign legislation opposed by any, or in some cases, all Republicans in the legislature. So how does legislation suffer when the Governor sends the message that he will sign bills that reach his desk with no GOP support? Well, let’s look at the bill in question, which is legislation to move the date of the California Presidential primary from June to February. This proposal has been talked about quite a bit, and, in fact, the Governor is on record stating his support for the idea. That said, what is not in the bill? Republicans wanted language making it clear that the State would reimburse the counties for the cost of administering another… Read More

Left Coast No Longer Left Behind

The last time California figured prominently in a presidential primary cycle was in 1972 when George McGovern beat out Hubert Humphrey and captured the Democratic nomination. That marked the end of a series of dramatic California primaries, which included Bobby Kennedy’s victory over Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and Barry Goldwater’s upset of Nelson Rockefeller in 1964.

More recently, however, California’s primary has lost much of its former relevance. Owing to the primary’s late June date, both parties’ nominees have usually been decided before Californians vote. Which is one reason why the state legislature just approved a measure to move the primary up to Feb. 5, only… Read More

Some stories I’ve posted in the past played out on Election Day in LA County. Here are a few:

Redondo Beach Greg Hill lost his attempt at a political comeback in Redondo Beach. Current GOP City Treasurer bested his one time friend rather easily. See FR Post here and an article here. Rosemead Those that opposed the new Wal-Mart now control the Rosemead City Council. Only 6 months after it opened. GOP Councilman and longtime Rosemead Councilman, beat back a recall, but lost in this race. I’m sure the Wal-Mart foes will enjoy spending all the sales tax revenue, Imperial and the council brought in. … Read More

Jason Roe, formerly the Washington, D.C. "Beltway" Correspondent for this website, has just shared with me that he has taken on a new challenge in life — he is leaving his position of Chief of Staff to Florida Congressman Tom Feeney (one of the most articulate, conservative leaders among House GOPers) to assume new responsibilities as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the Mitt Romney for President campaign.

This is great news for Jason, of course, as it represents yet another opportunity (his career has been full of them) to expand his horizons, and learn new things. It is also great news for Governor Romney. I have known Jason for a lot of years now, and seldom do you meet someone who is able to blend strong moral character, commitment to principle, and political sophistication the way that he does.

The other winner in this process is… California! Jason spent many years out here, and, in fact, is a former Executive Director of the San Diego County Republican Party. He also served, for… Read More

Congressman Kevin McCarthy, who is quoted towards the end of this story from the Politico website, is 100% correct. I’ve bolded his quotes.

Redistricting and Blade Running By David Mark, The Politico In a move aimed at cementing House Democrats’ newly minted majority, California politicians are walking a tightrope on the volatile topic of redistricting. Under pressure from Washington, they are trying to keep their power to draw congressional district lines, while appearing to support good-government efforts to move redistricting out of politics. … Read More

It looks like signing off on the horendous hike in the state wage mandate on California employers (called by the left a "minimum wage increase") bought the Governor about seven and a half months of good will from the unions. Now the honeymoon is over.… Read More