ARE THESE EIGHT GOP LEGISLATORS THE NEW FACES OF "BIG GOVERNMENT" CONSERVATISM? … Read More

Sign of the Times: Arthur Laffer Reverses Jed Clampett’s Trek

California legislators were slapping themselves on the back last week for having passed a $35 billion infrastructure bond measure that will go before the voters in November. Predictions filled the air that all the building would spur job creation. Aides to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger say his success in pushing the bond package may help seal his re-election this year.

But one of the 16 members of Mr. Schwarzenegger’s council of economic advisers isn’t nearly as optimistic. Supply-side economist Arthur Laffer says the biggest threat to the national economy — which… Read More

For many years now, I have had the pleasure of working with Karen Hanretty. For years, Hanretty was Communications Director and spokesperson for the California Republican Party. So the two of us share a bond – alumnus of the State GOP (I served as Executive Director of the State GOP during the President’s first election campaign in the 2000 election cycle). After leaving the GOP earlier this year, Karen struck out on her own, forming a consulting practice to bring her public relations expertise to various clients. Karen has really started to make a name for herself because of her willingness to call things as she seems them – something that I admire a lot. Hanretty will be joining Dan Schnur as a State Capitol Correspondent, ensuring that we have the center-right to right spectrum covered!

Please join me in welcoming Karen to the FlashReport team! BIPARTISAN BIG BONDS I know that everyone is expecting me to come out of the chute decrying the BIG BONDS coming down the pike for the November ballot. Fear not, you will hear a lot… Read More

Putting aside Bill Hauf’s entrance (re-entrance?) in the CD 50 race for a moment,let’s look at some of the Roach decision fallout/reaction/response/spin/you-name-it:

Jimmy Valentine, producer for Roger Hedgecock, ran this in today’s FlashFax (not to be confused with the FlashReport)… ROACH BAILS!! Let’s see it be the 8th of May, less than a month away from the June 6th primary, and finally Eric Roach, having consulted with the so-called gurus of conservatism, decides to abandon his quest for the 50th. Roach is toast. After the wrangle that he put everybody thru with his consulting and undermining Bilbray for weeks on end via his surrogate Jon Fleischmann (Flash Report: not to be confused with Flash Fax) we suspect he’ll find a welcome mat in the GOP about the same time that Ted Kennedy is welcomed aboard.

A firm grasp on reality does not appear to be a republican virtue. Local folks very late understanding that the House really is in jeopardy. The 50th is a very rare open seat (Delay’s in Texas open as well) that has no incumbent to claim automatic… Read More

While absentee voters are starting to cast ballots today, the race to replace termed-out Assemblyman Russ Bogh in the 65th Assembly District GOP Primary is turning out to be one of the hottest in the state.

As of Friday, Hemet Mayor Robin Lowe had raked in the most in late contributions with $66,000. However, Lowe was lagging as of the March 17th 460 Form filing with $96,000 cash-on-hand, behind San Jacinto Councilman Jim Ayers with $346,000 and Banning Councilwoman Brenda Salas with $180,000. Salas is currently in second place in the late contributions race with $46,000, while Yucca Valley Mayor Paul Cook has taken in $36,000, adding to his $78,000 C-O-H from the last 460 filing. Ayers shows only $25,000 in late contributions, but probably isn’t losing sleep because of his superior war chest. Since the March 17 filing, each candidate also has added whatever contributions under $1,000 may have come in minus whatever they’ve spent since then. The next reports come out May 25th.

Here’s someperspective oneach majorcandidate in this race:

Jim Ayers, notwithstanding a lot of steady… Read More

For many years now, I have had the pleasure of working with Karen Hanretty. For years, Hanretty was Communications Director and spokesperson for the California Republican Party. So the two of us share a bond – alumnus of the State GOP (I served as Executive Director of the State GOP during the President’s first election campaign in the 2000 election cycle). After leaving the GOP earlier this year, Karen struck out on her own, forming a consulting practice to bring her public relations expertise to various clients. Karen has really started to make a name for herself because of her willingness to call things as she seems them – something that I admire a lot. Hanretty will be joining Dan Schnur as a State Capitol Correspondent, ensuring that we have the center-right to right spectrum covered!

Please join me in welcoming Karen to the FlashReport team! BIPARTISAN BIG BONDS I know that everyone is expecting me to come out of the chute decrying the BIG BONDS coming down the pike for the November ballot. Fear not, you will hear a lot… Read More

Circulation of the Los Angeles Times continues to drop! Except for an editorial they ran by me on Feb. 14. See it here. I don’t read the Times like I used too. I stopped paying for the paper after they went after the Boy Scouts.

Below is the a post from LA ObservedThe funny part is the Times spin that they aren’t spending as much on students. They wouldn’t want young people to get hookes on the Times at an early age. That may help circulation! Beside you have to be 21 to drink alcohol.

Circulation drops again * The Los Angeles Times lost another 5.4% of its print readers in the March-to-March comparison, falling to 851,832 daily copies sold. Other local papers are not included in today’s media coverage so far. USA Today, the New York Times and even the Chicago Tribune were up slightly, but most of the country’s big metro papers shed readers—the national circulation erosion is being put at 2.2%. For the Times, at… Read More

This morning I spoke with Eric Roach, the top-vote getting conservative in last month’s special election in the 50th Congressional District. So let me be the first to share some unfortunate news (unless you are a big-spending Republican).

It is with great sadness that I share with you the news that after much consideration, Eric Roach has decided not to actively campaign for Congress in the regular GOP primary in the 50th Congressional District. Eric would have been an outstanding candidate who I personally think could have cleaned liberal/moderate GOPer Brian Bilbray’s clock in that GOP only primary and gone on to win election to the full two-year term in November. (Bilbray was the top GOP vote-getting in the special election to fulfill the rest of Duke Cunningham’s term, but his margin of victory was so slight that it is a foregone conclusion that he won with the votes of non-Republicans).

I believe that Eric Roach knew he could win that primary, which is what makes it that much more frustrating and unfortunate that he has decided not to run.

In addition to having a private conversation with Roach this morning, I also spoke to Roach’s… Read More