When the California Medical Association hired Trial Lawyer and former Senator Joe Dunn, it looked like another "friendly" special interest buying into the "alligator theory." Please democrat legislators don’t eat me, but eat the others first.

But it was nice when Joe Dunn, now the newly minted Executive Vice President for the CMA briefed the Directors of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn. Dunn declared Arnold’s Health Plan is presently DOA last week.

First, contrary to what we heard about Speaker Nunez, Dunn says there are few legislators willing to "sponsor" the bill. And, Arnold has re-discovered how to get a whole lot a people across the spectrum mad at him at once. Arnold needlessly took on the public safety [cops] community which gave him hell over pension reform [ an idea he quickly abandoned…but the damage as done in the 2005 Initiatives].

Secondly, Arnold’s biggest prior booster the state Chamber is a rare display of fortitude loudly screamed against the employer mandate. The Hospital Association is ready to fight the 4% tax, the leftist California Nurses Assn are opposed. Blue… Read More

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore sent me his thoughts on the CRP Vice-Chairman’s race, asking that I share it with FR readers. I thought about it a bit, as the FR is not supporting a specific candidate between the three contenders – Tom Del Beccaro, Tom Bordonaro and Jalene Forbis. But I decided to go ahead and print DeVore’s piece, and I have invited the other candidates, if they have a similar ‘third party supporter’ who wants to e-mail something to get posted, they could do so as well. So, here is DeVore’s take: Why I support Tom Bordonaro for CRP Vice Chairman I have been attending California Republican Party… Read More

One of the most frequent questions that I get from folks it how to go back and look at a previous day’s "issue" of the FlashReport. Specifically, how to toggle to the news from yesterday, or last Thursday, or even a day last year. The answer is actually quite simple. The graphic in this e-mail is a capture of the upper right hand corner of the FlashReport. If you look next to the date, there is a small toggle button. You can use this toggle to go to any day’s FR main news page that you would like. You will also pull up the Daily Commentary for that day in the side window as well. Try it out!

Now when you go on vacation, or if you don’t go online over the weekend, you can easily go back and make sure you are caught up on all of the relevant news stories!… Read More

Governor Schwarzenegger’s health-care plan/debacle is raising a lot of concern from free-market oriented groups all around the country. Today’s major column from noted Wall Street Journal editorial writer John Fund, a native Californian, is required reading for anyone following the politics of the Governor’s proposal. Fund not only takes to task the Governor’s healthcare proposal, but really lays him out for having the audacity to call the billions of dollars in tax increase within it "fees" — it belies all credibility.

But if that isn’t enough, in today’s issue of National Review on line, there are not one, not two, but three columns blasting the Governor’s proposal as an embrace of liberalism and as an embrace of big government.

Today’s Golden Pen comes from the San Diego Union Tribune, which rightly points out that the Schwarzenegger Administration should be making plans now to deal with the massive impact of having to properly account of unfunded pension liabilities. There is no doubt that this will create massive red ink for the state, and we should be factoring this into the state’s… Read More

Back on October 30 of last year, Duncan Hunter announced his intent to explore a presidential bid. Even before his morning press conference that day, the FlashReport was up with a first-in-the-nation analysis of the prospects for Duncan’s successor in CD 52. By the time Roll Call picked up the FR story three days later, another name was in the mix — Duncan’s son Duncan, a First Lieutenant in the Marines who was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and since honorably discharged. And, Duncan D. Hunter seemed solidly in the mix since the Congressman himself told FR that his son was a name that shouldn’t be left out of any analysis.

For the record here, despite other blog sites saying over a month later"You heard it here first" about Duncan’s son possibly running, in actuality, Roll Call was the first to have it, after FR provided RC reporter… Read More

In a Presidental race, contributions are limited to just $2,100 per person,and no corporate or union funds are allowed. While large donors can still provide funds for "party-building" or "issues advocacy" or "independent expenditures," the use of such funds can be tricky legally, and is qualified in one way or another. The only direct and unequivical support one can give to a candidate for President of the United States remains the $2,100 contribution of personal funds.

Unless you own a newspaper.

The Federal Election Commission has a long-standing rule that exempts newspapers from the prohibitionagainst corporate expenditures in support of a candidate in a Federal election. It is found at Title 11, Section 100.132 of the Code of Federal Regulations, News story, commentary, or editorial by the media, and reads in pertinent part as follows:

"Any cost incurred in covering or carrying a news story, commentary or editorial by any broadcasting station…..newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, is not an expenditureunless the facility is owned or… Read More

Fresno County based physician Linda Halderman weighs in on Arnold Care, on the American Thinker website.

Its a must read.… Read More

Last night, I had the opportunity to sit next to Tony and Audra Strickland at the wedding reception of a mutual friend. Tony, of course, is a former State Assemblyman and was the GOP nominee for State Controller last year. His wife, Audra, currently represents the 37th Assembly District as a member of the California legislature. The wedding was at the stately and amazing Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where there is so much history — this hotel was the epicenter for much of Los Angeles’ rich political and ‘Hollywood’ history (the Academy Awards were held there for many years back in the Golden era of motion pictures. In chatting with Tony, he shared with me that on Friday, he had opened up a campaign committee and will be seeking the Republican nomination to succeed State Senator Tom McClintock in that Ventura County-based district, that stretches up into Santa Barbara County. Needless to say, the Strickland name has become quote familiar to residents in that area, and Tony becomes the immediate front-runner. His recent run for State Controller has helped to keep his name ID ‘current’ in the minds of… Read More