I’m not touting it, advocating for it, criticizing it, or analyzing its credibility…just posting it:

Friday Datamar Survey 50th Congressional District Special Election Roach And Bilbray In Tight Fight For Second Busby In Lead At 39% See it here.

I understand that Roger Hedgecock just endorsed former NFLer Scott Turner in the 50th race. Scott is absolutely a rising star in GOP politics, but Congress is not awaiting him this go round. A noble endorsement on Roger’s part, but one that will have no impact on the outcome.… Read More

Remember those protests of last week, where hundreds of thousands turned out to demonstrate against immigration reform proposals that include making it a felon to be in the U.S. illegally? Well, if you have forgotten them AND you live in the 35 State Senate District, Diane Harkey has sent you a reminder.

Click on the link below to view a .pdf of an exceptionally hard-hitting mailer that just dropped where voters are asked to thank Assemblyman Tom Harman for these protests. The connection? The piece highlights a Harman vote on legislation that apparently allowed illegal aliens the ability to get in-state tuition at California colleges…

Anyways, I found the piece to be notable less because of Harkey/Harman, and more because of the example of how current events can quickly find their way to into mail pieces.… Read More

Just received a "FlashFax Alert" from Hedgecock producer Jimmy Valentine saying that Roger will endorse a candidate in the 50th CD special Friday on the radio. As close as this race will be, that’s big news.

Most polling — like it or not — is showing a statistical dead heat between Bilbray, Kaloogian and Eric Roach. Watchers are awaiting newpolling data, and some aresaying that Roach may have the momentum and stamina to pull this thing off. I can’t disagree…completely. However, new polling will tell if Brian’s counter-strikes are having any kind of negative impact on Howard and Roach.

Between the front runners, it has been assumed turnout and ground game will be the most significantdeciders. Add to that list…Hedgecock.

Some may laff, but I say not quite so fast. Low turnout, large number of GOP contenders, close election…the radio Mayor of SD could swing this election…if he selects someone actually… Read More

Yesterday, writing from rainy Sacramento, I commented that San Diego County School Boardmember Sue Hartley, a liberal Republican who spends much of every month poking a stick in the collective eyes of her largely Republican and conservative constituents, was under siege from everyone right of say Congressman Ted Kennedy. I posted that Hartley was desperately trying to lock down some support right of center in a district with a voting base considerably right of center. And I posted that I thought the Lincoln Club endorsement was a major part of any strategy ending in her survival. The rumor train today, confirmed from 3 sources, says the Lincoln Club PAC Committee voted to endorse Hartley’s Republican conservative opponent Gary Felien.

Stop the bus folks, we got ourselves a race.

I also hear Felien has hired John Hoy, former executive director of the California Republican Party and current political consultant, to run his race. Good pick.

One better, folks in attendance confirm that Sue Hartley repeated that she would be seeking the Republican Party endorsement. I’d be willing to take odds tonight that she does no such thing. And I’ll… Read More

Today, Schwarzenegger Campaign Manager Steve Schmidt (pictured) held a ‘pen and pad’ briefing for about 20 poltical reporters in Sacramento.

You can read a few different takes on that meeting from various reports in the blogosphere: The Sacramento Bee’s Dan Weintraub, the Los Angeles Weekly’s Bill Bradley, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Carla Marinucci, and KQED’s John Myers. It’s actually kind of fun to compare what different folks took away from the briefing.

I found the most interesting part of Schmidt’s discussions to be about Susan Kennedy… Read More

Part of winning an election is:" Who you are running against?" Metropolitan News-Enterprise has article about the one Los Angeles Superior Court Judge to draw a challenger.His nameDzintra Janavs.

Would you vote against him because of his name? I remember back in the early 90’s when Armand Arabain was appointed to the State Supreme Court by Deukmejian. He lost confirmation votes in some Republican precincts in the San Gabriel Valley, while the others were winning confirmation. The article alludes to the Murphy vs. Kahn race that happened out here as well. What’s in name? You be the judge.You can access the full article here.

My commentary is very abbreviated today. There is a great profile on the FlashReport today in the San Diego Union Tribune. It is a main feature in an article penned by ace U-T political reporter John Marelius on the rising influence of political websites and blogs on politics. I’ve already gotten a dozen phone calls and even more e-mails this morning ‘letting me know’ about the piece. Needless to say, I have taken the liberty of making it the ‘top story’ today on the main page.

The article starts out:

Web sites’ influence on the rise statewide By John Marelius San Diego Union Tribube… Read More

Congratulations to the overseer of this prosperous blog plantation on the fine profile in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

A quote from my fellow FR blogger Dan Schnur, caught my eye:

Republican strategist Dan Schnur, a regular contributor to FlashReport, said attribution is the fundamental threshold of whether something in the blogosphere deserves to be taken seriously.

“Someone who posts to a blog anonymously is essentially a high-tech graffiti artist,” Schnur said. “If there is a user’s guide to blogs, rule No. 1 is if the blogger isn’t sharing his name, his opinions aren’t worth your attention.”

Gee, Dan — that’s a pretty severe indictment, don’t you think?

Let’s take Dan’s assessment and time-travel back to the late 1780s when citizens of the newly independent United States debated the merits of the proposed Constitution. Let’s imagine a quote from an analogous story in the New-York Packet on the influential series of pro-Constitution essays being… Read More