They Came. They Spent. They Got the Boot.

Liberal pundits are arguing that the GOP lost last week’s election because of scandals and the war, which is certainly in part true. But Democrats conclude from this, as they always reflexively do, that Republicans must move to a more centrist and compromising position on issues. Not so fast.

A Polling Company exit poll finds that 62% of last week’s voters said they wanted fewer federal government services and lower taxes against 25% who said they want more federal government services and higher taxes. It’s still a conservative country, folks — in fact, these numbers track fairly closely to the sentiments expressed by voters after the GOP’s sweeping election victory in 1994. But here’s the most startling difference: This time, only 21% of voters said they thought Republicans would spend less than Democrats.… Read More

Yesterday, I posted my endorsement of Mike Pence for Republican Leader. Here is the endorsement letter I sent to fellow House members putting my support behind John Shadegg for Republican Whip.

Dear Colleague: I come from the business world. In that environment, if your company’s earnings disappear and your stock price drops through the floor, the market requires that you replace your leadership and your methods. This usually involves changing all of the management team regardless of how much or how little each individual member had to do with the company’s problems. If you don’t do that, the market has no reason to reinvest in you. Our market, the voters, sent us a clear message last week. Just like a company, we need to prove that we understand our faults and are willing to correct our ways. John Shadegg represents the new direction that is needed in the position of minority whip. You heard John in conference before the election, and I’m sure you received his e-mails as I have. He is fresh. He is motivated. He is inspiring.

Bi-Partisan, Party of One?

Here is an excerpt from today’s column by Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee:

Walters brings up a good point.

What the Governor is labeling ‘bi-partisan’ cooperation has really been his own personal willingness to embrace several items on the Democrat Party agenda, and more or less unilaterally enact them. So the burning question in my mind is when does the pendulum swing the other way? When do we see Tax CUTS, spending REDUCTIONS, SCALING BACK regulations, LOWERING fees — all of the GOP principles that involve shifting power out of… Read More

This afternoon President George W. Bush announced that he has nominated Orange County Superior Court Judge James E. Rogan to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central Valley!

Rogan, of course, is a superstar on the Republican side of the aisle. While originally a Democrat, Rogan found his heart and soul in the Grand ol’ Party of Abraham Lincoln. He has had a storied career — as a successful gang murder prosecutor, a judge up in Los Angeles County, GOP Majority Leader (yes, we had one of those once!) of the California State Assembly, a Member of Congress (where he served as one of the handful of managers of impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton), and went on to serve President George W. Bush as an Undersecretary of Commerce and as Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and was recently appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to fill a vacancy on the Orange County Superior Court.

The… Read More

Yesterday, I posted my endorsement of Mike Pence for Republican Leader. Here is the endorsement letter I sent to fellow House members putting my support behind John Shadegg for Republican Whip.

Dear Colleague: I come from the business world. In that environment, if your company’s earnings disappear and your stock price drops through the floor, the market requires that you replace your leadership and your methods. This usually involves changing all of the management team regardless of how much or how little each individual member had to do with the company’s problems. If you don’t do that, the market has no reason to reinvest in you. Our market, the voters, sent us a clear message last week. Just like a company, we need to prove that we understand our faults and are willing to correct our ways. John Shadegg represents the new direction that is needed in the position of minority whip. You heard John in conference before the election, and I’m sure you received his e-mails as I have. He is fresh. He is motivated. He is inspiring.

When the GOP lost control of Congress last week, there was much talk about Nancy Pelosi bringing San Francisco values to the nation’s capitol. Today, local officials in San Francisco take on two issues that show how remarkably out of touch San Francisco is with the rest of the country.

The San Francisco‘s Board of Education is expected to vote to eliminate the JROTC program from San Francisco public schools today. In typical San Francisco style, supporters of cutting the program say that the military has no place in public schools and that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is in conflict with the school… Read More

Well, it may be a bit unconventional coming from the North California correspondent on OC election numbers, but, hey, nobody else has posted on it yet….and FR readers deserve the news ASAP! My colleague Lynn is holding to a 302 vote lead after 20,239 county wide ballots were processed today, a drop of only 59 votes, probably heavy on election day ballots. Thanks to Senator Ackerman for the updated numbers each day, they estimate about 4000 absentees left to count. Hmm, I like those odds.… Read More

Was Victory ’06 a success? After over 20 million dollars spent that is an open question for me. I have my doubts. The Governor was on the way to victory long before the GOTV operation was needed. Maybe Poizner benefited. Although he really benifited from Bustamante.

First, I want to point out that I know something on this scale has not been tried before. I know many Victory ’06 staffers. Many of them are great operatives. People can work hard and effectively in campaigns and still not achieve objectives. To be successful in the future requires us to take a hard look at some of these things.

I admit to only knowing a few things. Turnout in GOP areas was lower than four years ago. Imagine that. A "GOP" Governor is winning by 17% and turnout is worse than when we lose by 5%. What gives?

There are definitely someoutside factors at work. The National GOP collapse didn’t help. The Governor’s refusal to appear with or speak kindly about down ticket candidates was a factor. His message of a bigger bond debt and more nanny statism appealed to Dems, but not GOP voters.… Read More