“It’s a glow-in-the-dark compass ring. So you don’t get lost." -Josh (played by Tom Hanks), in the movie, “Big”

Maybe what we need in California is a glow-in-the-dark compass ring. Or, maybe it’s just Republicans that need one. Perhaps just Arnold Schwarzenegger. Heck, maybe it’s all three. Let’s face it…to our fellow citizens, Arnold is the face of California and the State GOP (with all due respect to Ackerman, Plescia and Sundheim).

As Jon Fleischman and I wrote on the heels of the Governor’s January 5 State of the State address, “Now, ‘Mr. Hollywood’ has come up with his BIGGEST idea yet…Massive spending to finance BIG state infrastructure needs.” That was six months ago. Republicans then asked “What’s the big idea,” but eventually enough went along and placed a big bond question on the ballot. After all,… Read More

Hello from Edinburgh, Scotland. The quaint B&B at which I am staying had a computer with internet access, so I thought I would pen a short note. Actually, my post will be much shorter than it otherwise would have been because I just had a chance to read Barry Jantz’ commentary (which he has saved ‘behind the scenes’ here at the FR until later this morning). If you haven’t read it already – please do. I share with the concerns of many the idea that there is funding in the state budget for anyone who is not in the country legally for any benefit or service. But let’s not get so caught up on this line item in the huge, fat, bloated state budget that we don’t step back and see the state budget for what it truly is – an outrage.

The sheer size and volume of the state budget (well in excess of a HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS) is shameful. At a time when the discussions in Sacramento should be about how to REDUCE the SIZE AND SCOPE of state government, instead there is arguing about spending priorities.

How about this for a spending priority — the vast size of the state budget should allow Californians to… Read More

Recently, some Republicanleaders werenoted in the press as having the goalof transformingCalifornia into a ‘purple’ (or ‘swing’ state) rather than intoa red (safe Republican)state. The presumption behind this thought is that given the raw registration numbers, the ideological numbers, and the current gerrymandered districts, it’s a more attainable goal to move the state into the push column rather than establish political hegemony.

I agree, at least for the foreseeable future. While total victory is an admirable goal under most circumstances, there are circumstances where one’s strategic interests and the actual situation on the ground dictates a less comprehensive short or medium term solution. For the California Republican Party simply being in the game to run the government would be an enormous victory. And for our national party, forcing the Democrats to view California as a swing state and spend tens of millions of dollars to defend it in Presidential, Senate, and Congressional elections, would be a blessing.

I’ve had brief discussions on this issue with a few more or less brainy campaign… Read More

Recently, some Republicanleaders werenoted in the press as having the goalof transformingCalifornia into a ‘purple’ (or ‘swing’ state) rather than intoa red (safe Republican)state. The presumption behind this thought is that given the raw registration numbers, the ideological numbers, and the current gerrymandered districts, it’s a more attainable goal to move the state into the push column rather than establish political hegemony.

I agree, at least for the foreseeable future. While total victory is an admirable goal under most circumstances, there are circumstances where one’s strategic interests and the actual situation on the ground dictates a less comprehensive short or medium term solution. For the California Republican Party simply being in the game to run the government would be an enormous victory. And for our national party, forcing the Democrats to view California as a swing state and spend tens of millions of dollars to defend it in Presidential, Senate, and Congressional elections, would be a blessing.

I’ve had brief discussions on this issue with a few more or less brainy campaign… Read More

The media called the Oakland’s mayors race mid-day the day after the election, but they moved too fast. In the following days, election officials “found” an additional 1,500 votes and the vote counting continued. In order to prevent a run-off, one candidate needed to get more then 50 percent of the vote. Former Congressman Ron Dellums “won” the race early on with 50.2% of the vote, but then his percentage dropped below 50% as the county continued to count absentee ballots. Earlier this week, officials then announced that they would not know the final results of the race until the week’s end.… Read More

Foreign Affairs: Many of you may have heard me say before that the most important function of the federal government is, as the preamble to the Constitution says, "to provide for the common defence" and to deal with issues involving our relations with nations around the globe and our place in the world. It is one of the few provinces ofgovernance which is reserved exclusively for the federal government and not for state or local governments. Furthermore, if we mess it up, the consequences of major war or some other national crisis can make our everyday domestic issues pale in significance. Lately, there has been, and I think there always will be, lots of activity in Congress on issues relating to foreign affairs. Here is just a sampling of some of the debates going on currently: … Read More

With his decision to support new spending for health care and insurance coverage for illegal alien children, Governor Schwarzenegger has in essence poured a vat of honey on legislative Republicans and pushed them into the grizzly bear habitat.

The Republican members of the State Assembly and Senate are now once again the only thing standing in the way of this poor excuse for public policy. And as Karen Hanretty has already pointed out, they will be on the receiving end of relentless attacks through the rest of the budget process.

The governor has also successfully further alienated the vast majority of voters, regardless of party. Perhaps the Governor doesn’t care about public opinion and good for him. But back in the real world where public opinion matters, especially in an election year, his words are problematic.

**There is more – click the link**… Read More

The state constitution requires that the legislature pass a budget by June 15, which is today. Will our well-paid, full-time legislature fulfill to its constitutional duty? Not according to the Democrat’s fearless leader, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. What’s holding up the budget? According to Nunez, it’s the Republicans’ darned obsession with illegal immigration. The Assembly Reps have said that they won’t vote for the Democrats’ effort to expand the state-funded children’s health programs to include illegal immigrant children.

In the Governor’s revised budget proposal, he added an additional $23 million in general funds and personnel to expand coverage to 24,000 uninsured children of the working poor. According to the Assembly Republican Caucus, the Democrats, in negotiations leading up to a legislative vote, expanded the Healthy Families program to cover illegal immigrants and families of four with annual incomes of about… Read More