From today’s Political Diary e-mail from the Wall Street Journal:

Fools for Reform

House Republicans scrambled Wednesday to get ahead of the Abramoff lobbying scandal by passing a change in House rules that will now prohibit former members who are registered lobbyists from strolling onto the House floor or using the House gym.

The change is almost completely cosmetic: Few lobbyists are foolish enough to ply their trade in those locations. But the panic that compelled House Rules… Read More

I know. My first reaction was of course some of the Governor’s consultants ripped him off. They gave horrible advice and got paid very well for it. We can all name names.

This is different. LA Weekly is carrying a story that the Governor’s consultants defrauded his campaign using kickbacks and commissions. Apparently it was looked into and nothing was found.

Really?

Read the article here.I do wan’t to point out to all those that send emails to me correcting spelling errors. I’m not responsible for linked articles.… Read More

Watch next week for the return of the very popular OC Power Broker Series. The next list will feature: members of the media

I have pretty much made up my mind on who will be included but feel free to submit desperate appeals for consideration.

Wait for it…… Read More

GIVE ME A BREAK There is an article today in the Los Angeles Times injecting some controversy into the hiring of Susan Kennedy. It is easy to find the whole thing on the main page. I will say that I know Governor Schwarzenegger to be an honorable and ethical person, and so I think any implication of being ‘for sale’ is without merit.. I don’t know Susan Kennedy, though I am troubled with the central role that she played in the Gray Davis administration. Especially when you factor in her close friendship with uber-slick lobbyist/developer Darius Anderson, who was widely known to be the fundraiser-in-chief for the recalled and disgraced former Governor.

That said, if you look at the volume of contributions that come into a Gubernatorial-level campaign, the money comes from all over the place — and especially from interests that do business with or are regulated by the… Read More

GIVE ME A BREAK There is an article today in the Los Angeles Times injecting some controversy into the hiring of Susan Kennedy. It is easy to find the whole thing on the main page. I will say that I know Governor Schwarzenegger to be an honorable and ethical person, and so I think any implication of being ‘for sale’ is without merit.. I don’t know Susan Kennedy, though I am troubled with the central role that she played in the Gray Davis administration. Especially when you factor in her close friendship with uber-slick lobbyist/developer Darius Anderson, who was widely known to be the fundraiser-in-chief for the recalled and disgraced former Governor.

That said, if you look at the volume of contributions that come into a Gubernatorial-level campaign, the money comes from all over the place — and especially from interests that do business with or are regulated by the… Read More

John and Ken’s radio juggernaut will feature a live,on-location Jessica’s Law ‘Drive-By Signature show’ in Riverside today from 3 to 7 p.m. San Bernardino County Supervisor Gary Ovitt,a statewide co-sponsor of theJessica’s Law initiative,will be one of the show’sfeatured guests. The event will be held at Q-Bonkers Billiards, 9364 Magnolia Avenue. That’s where David Allyn Dokich was caught violating his parole. On their top-rated AM-640 talk show, John and Ken have pointed to Dokich, a convicted sex offender who was paroled to Riverside County, as an example of why California’s laws protecting citizens from sexually violent predators need to be strengthened. These pages have featured considerable coverage of late regarding the Legislature’s failure to pass Jessica’s Law through the normal legislative process. Today’s event is hoped by the sponsors to put the related Jessica’s… Read More

My commentary today is my article from Capitol Weekly, which you can read here.

Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?

Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.… Read More

I previously posted that Cameron Smyth had the 38th Assembly District race all locked up. See it here. The fundraising shows him with over $200,000 and his GOP opponent Mary Barrientos has only $20,000. See the article here. This is a very GOP district and the June Republican primary victor will win.

The best quote about Smyth was fromone of the Democratic challengers Jim Alger.

"I think the fact that he’s well-known makes him vulnerable,"

Good Democratic thinking. We’ll see how thatworks out for you.… Read More