Some observations on the Governor’s State of the State speech:

The Governor said we need, "More, more, more." Those are three of the scariest words any elected official with the ability to spend our tax dollars can string together.

He compared California’s economy to China’s suggesting we could be more like them. He failed to mention anything about their pesky communist system of government.

He said to, "Think of California as a mutual fund." If CA was truly a publicly traded company, even I would encourage Elliot Spitzer to investigate that stock.

Note to Assemblyman Chuck DeVore: I noticed you not clapping at the Governor’s new proposal for $70 million dollar in bonded indebtedness. Way to stand your ground. I hope you didn’t eat the little spinach hors devours at the reception out of protest too.

Watch out. The Governor wants space to house another 83,000 criminals in prison. I am not sure who he has in mind for taking up residency, but my advise is to lay low, avoid eye contact and pay your taxes on time.… Read More

Here’s my question for angry Republicans, especially my colleagues who post to this website:

If Schwarzenegger had not named a Democrat to be his chief of staff last month, would you be this upset about his speech tonight?

Let’s assume that he doesn’t raise taxes, or exceed the six percent limit for debt service. He can then argue that this bonding would have happened anyway over the next ten years, but better to plan it out rather than doing it piecemeal.

And let’s assume that the Retailers’ Association, the State Chamber, etc continue to support the minimum wage increase. (Which I don’t remember anyone going crazy about last summer when Schwarzenegger offered the same deal to the Democrats that he proposed tonight).

Obviously, no true-blooded fiscal conservative is going to love these things, but would they be grounds for a primary challenge if he’d hired Curt Pringle instead of Susan Kennedy?

(And by the way, I’m still waiting for the name of a plausible challenger who can make more of an impact as Ron Unz against Pete Wilson.)

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not taking… Read More

I just returned home to Oakland after two fun days in Sacramento where I was lucky to attend a couple of events celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Republicans taking control of the State Assembly. Ten years ago this month, Assemblyman Curt Pringle united his caucus and was elected speaker, giving then-Governor Pete Wilson a GOP majority to push through key conservative issues. Today, Pringle is putting those same limited government, free market principles to work as mayor of the city of Anaheim.

The first event of the celebration was a reunion dinner of the personal staff who helped Pringle implement the policies of the new GOP majority. Pringle fondly recalled the hard work of his team, thanking them for their dedication and ideas. Others told stories of the good times working together, which included lots of breast-feeding jokes about Deborah Gonzalez (who gave birth shortly before Pringle took power and then promptly showed up to work, bringing her newborn with her. Pringle then created a special breast-feeding room in… Read More

ARNOLD TO GIVE STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS Today at 5 p.m., the Governor will issue his 2006 State of the State Address before a special joint session of the California State Legislature. If you are not one of the 120 legislators, and other assorted VIP types who will be in the Assembly chambers, you can watch a streaming video of the Governor’s speech live right here. … Read More

There is an important meeting of the minds taking place by gate #2 in the terminal at John Wayne Airport. Translation: Jon has found Ken Khachigian also waiting for the next flight to Sacramento. As you would expect, the conversation quickly turned to the Rose Bowl narrow defeat of the USC Trojans. Ken, showing that his ability to ‘spin’ victory in any circumstance, had this to say:

"The game’s metaphor is a red state victory over a blue state; George Bush over Barbara Boxer over Nancy Pelosi," said Ken. "Making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear."

(As a Bruin supporter myself, I’m just fine with the sow’s ear.)… Read More

Today marks the 10th Anniversary of the election of Republican Curt Pringle as Speaker of the California State Assembly. I should note that Curt appointed meto the Library of California Board, so if any of you have questions about the details of transaction based reimbursements on inter-library loans, please ask.

To every GOP leader back then, Curt and Jim Brulte– Thank you.

For those of us involved back then, it was a long fought road that involved recalling turncoat Republicans after the stunning election of 41 Republicans in the 1994 elections. Pointing out that electing someone with an R by his or her name isn’t good enough. There needs to be some party loyalty as three Republicans in succession sold out so they could be speaker for a day or worse leaving Democrat Willie Brown in charge. Can a GOP majority happen again? Don’t bet the farm on it in 2006. … Read More

ABRAMOFF SCANDAL: CALIFORNIA IMPACT? You need only pick up any newspaper in America today to see that the lead political story is the guilty-pleas yesterday of embattled DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Supposedly Abramoff has cut a deal with federal prosecutors where he will now assist them in going after some higher-profile DC types (read: Senators, Congressmen, staffers) in return for leniency on his sentencing. What does this have to do specifically with California politics? Well, there are several implications (just ask Joe Justin). In a direct sense, Abramoff has close relationships with many Californians, of which the most reported-about has been his close ties with Republican Congressman John Doolittle. I don’t think that Doolittle did anything wrong, but he will now have the challenges that come with having been a … Read More

"If you want to take the con out of Congress, vote for Sgt. Jeff Newsome."

That was Newsome’s comment (and apparent campaign slogan) yesterday as he became the eighth Republican and 10th candidatein the special to replace Duke Cunningham. (Read it here.) Obviously, he has a top notch consultant writing his stuff. Not.

In case you lost track, it’s now Bilbray,Earnest, Kaloogian, King, Morrow, Newsome, Turner, and Uke. That’s before the Dems. Sounds like a downtown law firm.

Many think that anyone like Newsome getting in the thing at this point will be grist, chewed up and spit out. My first prediction of the year: Sgt. Newsome, obviously well-meaning but having nary a clue thatone can’t winjust because of a cop title,is strikingly close to his 15 minutes.

That was the easy guess. The next: County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price will jump in within a matter of weeks and give all the guys in the race a run for their money, even on a… Read More