Who does a California conservative support for President?

The top tier of candidates — John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani — must all overcome varying amounts of suspicion from the GOP base. The second tier of candidates — Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Jim Gilmore — have to make a credible case that they can win. Without a natural candidate around which to rally, conservatives are forced to decide which of the front-runners they can trust. The developments so far have been fascinating to watch.

My former boss McCain was the insurgent when I worked for him in 1999 and 2000, when he was anethema to a party establishment had flocked to then-Governor Bush. Eight years later, though, McCain is now the establishment candidate, using his strong support of Bush on terror and Iraq to develop an organizational and endorsement infrastructure that early front-runners have historically used to ward off challengers. Watching this year from the sidelines, it’s been… Read More

Who does a California conservative support for President?

The top tier of candidates — John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani — must all overcome varying amounts of suspicion from the GOP base. The second tier of candidates — Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Jim Gilmore — have to make a credible case that they can win. Without a natural candidate around which to rally, conservatives are forced to decide which of the front-runners they can trust. The developments so far have been fascinating to watch.

My former boss McCain was the insurgent when I worked for him in 1999 and 2000, when he was anethema to a party establishment had flocked to then-Governor Bush. Eight years later, though, McCain is now the establishment candidate, using his strong support of Bush on terror and Iraq to develop an organizational and endorsement infrastructure that early front-runners have historically used to ward off challengers. Watching this year from the sidelines,… Read More

I just received the following obviously-quickly-written missive from MoveAmericaForward.org, and had to laugh.

BIG BIG NEWS!!!

Dr. Laura Schlesinger, the 4th highest radio talk show host in the nation, is urging her listeners to support Move America Forward’s "THESE COLORS DON’T RUN" national pro-troop/patriotic caravan (heading across the nation from Thursday March 8th – Saturday, March 17th) and the "Gathering of Eagles" event that takes place at the culmination of the national caravan.

See her "Call to Action" here: http://www.drlaura.com/action/index.html?mode=view&tile=1&id=13528

Find out where you can join the caravan or attend one of the 2 DOZEN pro-troop/patriotic rallies that will take place along the caravan route here:http://www.MoveAmericaForward.org

OK, I know that Rush has… Read More

The Empire Strikes Back

Democratic and Republican insiders unveiled their latest attempt to undermine California’s 17-year-old term limits law. Gale Kaufman, who has worked with California teacher unions, and Matthew Dowd, a strategist for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election campaign last year, revealed the initiative in a conference call this month.

To the amusement of reporters, the two strategists insisted their plan, which would have to be approved by voters early next year, actually improves term limits. "We believe it’s a good strengthening of term limits," Ms. Kaufman said, because the proposal would limit legislators to 12 years of total service in the legislature, rather than the 14 years… Read More

On a party line vote, again, the Assembly Appropriations Committee pushed the early presidential primary to our floor, wherethe Assemblywill probably take it up Thursday and send it off to the Governor’s desk. Appropriations Vice-Chair Mimi Walters offered amendments to ensure this bill had language to guarantee reimbursement tocounties up to $88 million that this extra election will cost…the amendment was denied on a party line vote as well. Counties will have to rely on "trust us" intent language in the bill. I’m sure our county sheriff’s, libraries, and mental health departmentswill be happy to reduce their budgets to pay forwhat is really aterm limit extension election. More to come….… Read More

In a Friday morning column from the Republican Governor of South Carolina, you will read some familiar concepts that were posted on the FR a couple of weeks ago.

The item begins:

A Conservative Conservationist? Why the Right Needs to Get Invested in the Search for Climate Change Solutions By Mark Sanford Friday, February 23, 2007

When George W. Bush, The Post and the insurance giant Lloyd’s of London agree on something, it’s obvious a new wind is blowing. The climate change debate is here to stay, and as America warms to the idea of environmental conservation on a grander scale, it’s vital that conservatives change the debate before government regulation expands yet again and personal freedom is pushed closer toward extinction.

The fact is, I’m a conservative and a conservationist — and that’s okay.

For the past 20 years, I have seen the ever-so-gradual effects of rising sea levels at our… Read More

Los Angeles County has numerous elections on March 6. One interesting race is the Redondo Beach race for City Treasurer. It features long time GOP incumbent Ernie O’Dell and a comeback for former Redondo Beach Mayor and GOP Assembly candidate Greg Hill. See previous FR Post on Hill’s candidacy. Need less to say this race has split friends of both and Republicans. Take a look at the story here.

Note to O’Dell: Endorsements by other city Treasurers probably doesn’t help you in RB. You are already considered qualified because you have been there 12 years… Read More

There has been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about the effects of term-limits, as efforts are underway to create an additional election next February for an earlier California Presidential primary that some cynics believe is only taking place so that current legislative leaders can have one more crack at trying to relax term-limits before they themselves are forced to retire from office. Well, one impact of our current limits of three two-year terms in the State’s lower house is that, on the GOP side, well over a third of the seats held by the GOP will be "open seats" next year. Over the next few weeks, I will be attempting to take a closer look, well over a year out, at how the races are shaping up in these open GOP seats. Of course, the challenge of looking at the action in the seats this early is that one never knows who might get into the races later, and… Read More