I’ll leave the pollsters alone in this blog (as long as we are allowedopen season on them in the not-too-distant future).

But, speaking of Prop 73 (see Matt Cunningham’s prior post), I heard a pastor talk to his congregation about it on Sunday. Although he did not expressly advocate for it, you can’t be too careful these days, so I won’t mention the church (I hope no jack-booted IRS thugs show up at my doorstep asking questions after this).

It was the way this pastor said it, and I paraphrase:

"Whether you think Arnold Schwarzenegger or Warren Beatty is the celebrity that best knows the issues, that’s up to you," he said in jest. But, when it comes to Proposition 73, the school won’t even give a band-aid to my daughter without calling me….so I can’t even imagine when it comes to a medical procedure. "I’m not telling you how to vote or anything. But if you want to know more about the issue, you can go to our church website, and we have a link to YES ON 73, and you can read more about it."

You gotta… Read More

Don’t get me wrong I’m still ticked at pollsters. One other political story caught my eye.

However,one other political item caught my attention. Liberal Democrats always try to limit our opportunities, while Republicans are the party of Hope and Opportunity.

Liberals just don’t know how to reach Conservatives.When I read an account of the Breasts not Bombs" protest in Sacramento yesterday. Read it here.

I just don’t get why we have to limit ourselves so? Why not both?… Read More

My good friend and fellow FR contributor Mike Spence has suggested each of us in the arena of public opinion should find ourselves in the fiery depths of whatever afterlife awaits evil researchers.

While I may take issue with the methodology used by many of the pollsters that have released results this cycle and I will talk more about this in an election analysis piece in the near future, the bottom line is, we are researchers. We just call it like we see it. If you want to blame someone, how about the media for blindly publishing our work product.

NOTE: I mean no disrespect to the various news outlets that publish and broadcast my results after careful consideration. … Read More

I have found in this world of ‘breaking news’ that you have to make a judgement call on when something is ‘rumor’ and when it is ‘fact’. My general principle is the ‘rule of 6’ – if I hear a rumor and can find six credible sources that can confirm this rumor, even off of the record, then I feel comfortable going forward… While I had been hearing this story for a few days, last night – the ‘rule of 6’ kicked into effect — so here is what I’ve heard: SCHWARZENEGGER TO PICK NEW CHIEF OF STAFF Since his election as Governor, Patricia Clarey has served honorably as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Chief of Staff. Her pick was a surprise to some that assumed the Governor would pick someone with a higher profile. Clarey, as a Deputy Chief of Staff to former Governor Pete Wilson, had always kept a lower profile in that administration. One can only imagine the challenge… Read More

The second-guessing and backseat driving has now hit epidemic proportions, as every pundit, political science professor, and columnist in the state has begun to explain exactly why the Schwarzenegger reform effort has failed. Nowhere has that criticism been more intense than among the ranks of Republican campaign consultants who are not affiliated with the governor’s committees. And while I have certainly not avoided the opportunities offered by an always-willing news media to offer my thoughts as well, at least today it may make sense to worry less about what has happened and begin to think about what comes next.

I have previously written that Schwarzenegger can plausibly claim victory if he passes either Proposition 77 or 75, on the grounds that he will be able to argue that at least he has opened the door for further reform by achieving either the redistricting reform or paycheck protection that those two initiatives offer. If one or the other passes, there’s a good chance he pulls Prop 74 across the finish line… Read More

… Read More

Anthony York over at Capitol Weekly is reporting this afternoon that State Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Carole Migden is ‘temporarily’ stepping aside from her influencial post. Her stated reason, according to this piece by York, is to get more involved with the Westly for Governor Campaign.

The real question is whether Westly wants her that involved. You see, Migden is notorious for her inability to hold on to key staff members — she just isn’t a kind boss. Well, we’ll see how this all shakes out.

Of course, everyone remembers this now-infamous controversy when Migden reached over and cast an "AYE" vote (my button) of a GOP Assemblymember.… Read More

Bob Novak’s Weekly Political Report has a section today where he makes his predictions on Ballot Measure Mania across America…

Here is what he has to say:

California: The special recall election that brought Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to power in 2003 was the clearest demonstration to date that all public polling in California is basically worthless. Polls on Schwarzenegger’s slate of ballot propositions yield such wildly different results — one proposition approaches two-thirds support in one poll and fails miserably in others — that we will ignore them completely. We anticipate, first of all, that non-partisan redistricting (Prop 77) and state spending caps (… Read More