Condoleezza Rice’s powerful speech to the Republican National Convention Wednesday night catapulted the former Secretary of State back into the national spotlight. The Republican Party needs leaders like Rice who can forcefully and convincingly convey the Republican message while concurrently offering a personal story and credentials that can draw broad support.

As California continues to careen off the fiscal cliff and there’s no sign the Democrats in Sacramento have any intention of changing direction, Republicans must soon turn to the task of fielding a serious challenger to Gov. Jerry Brown. Here are ten reasons to consider Condoleezza Rice:

She is an electrifying figure who challenges the Republican stereotype while concurrently earning Republican respect and support. She lives in California, and with the exception of her years in Washington has been here since she was first hired by Stanford University in 1981. Serving as National Security Adviser and Secretary of State for President George W. Bush and as the NSA’s Russia expert for President George H.W. Bush gives her impeccable Republican and government … Read More

Republican National Committeeman from California, is a well known fixture here at the FlashReport. He’s in Tampa in and is live blogging the Republican National Convention… Last night’s general session here at the Republican National Convention was a triumphant event.

Before Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker began speaking he earned a standing ovation!

Soon-to-be elected-U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is a reminder to the crowd here, and the folks watching at home, that there is an emerging conservative Hispanic coalition growing in our party.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Hailey, in her… Read More

Republican National Committeeman from California, is a well known fixture here at the FlashReport. He’s already in Tampa in advance of next week’s Republican National Convention, and will be “live-blogging” from on the ground… Here’s his third update from Florida.

This really has not been a RNC controlled convention. Logistics were entirely controlled by the Secret Service. Conventions are considered national security events.

Really.

It was like East Berlin in 1962 with miles of 20 foot high rusted fences, with hundreds of concrete barriers.

Long unnecessary lines.

… Read More

Republican National Committeeman from California, is a well known fixture here at the FlashReport. He’s already in Tampa in advance of next week’s Republican National Convention, and will be “live-blogging” from on the ground… Here’s his third update from Florida. This should have been posted last night, but I got distracted. My apologies to Mr. Steel.

Yesterday morning began with a bang at 7:30 am with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie whipping up the large California delegation into a frenzy! He fired bromides against President Obama, Jerry Brown, Liberals, Democrats and other freaks of nature — and Christie was as entertaining as ever.

Christie told a great story about being invited to a White House ceremony once — as he approached his reserved seat, he noticed that it was occupied… Read More

This is very simple, and very straightforward.

In order to have real, meaningful public employee pension reform, there are two factors that matter more than any others, neither of which are present in the proposal that is being announced by Governor Brown and legislative leaders today. This, of course, is not surprising. If you look at the campaign reports from Governor Brown’s campaign, as well as those for just about every legislative Democrat, you would have to look hard to find major contributions that are not from unions.

The two missing components:

1) Meaningful impact on the one number that matters — the unfunded pension liability. A study out of Stanford University pegs that number as north of $500 billion dollars. The word is that this “big reform” that will be announced by Brown may provide about $20 billion in savings. Needless to say this hardly moves the needle at all. And without seeing the details of the proposal, one can assume that this plan is very light on requiring current employees to pay more towards their retirement… Read More

There is nothing more ugly and less transparent than the final days of session of the California State Legislature. If I were escorting unsuspecting people into the State Capitol, my admonition to them would the same as the one given by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars movie upon arriving the Mos Eisley Space Port: “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”

The politics of the State Capitol is terrible most of the year, after all between the vice-like grip that the state’s public employee unions have on the majority party, and the rent-seekers and crony capitalists nipping at the heels of the minority party, it’s not a particularly enjoyable place for constitutional conservatives who believe in quaint ideas like natural law, limited government, and freedom for the individual. The current makeup of the legislature requires those with sanity to watch, close up, as the majority party literally does the opposite, public policy wise, than what is needed for our state. When it is so clear that we need to… Read More

“Never amend a bad bill.” Wise words.

Let me start with this simple premise. A tax increase is a tax increase is a tax increase. No matter what excuse is used to clothe it, no matter how big or how small. When Democrats start negotiating with Republicans about voting for a tax increase, it is sort of like the guy who sat down next to a woman at a bar and asked if she would accompany him to the motel across the street if he paid her a million dollars. When she said yes, the man said how about it I paid you $50? She looked at him shocked and said “What do you think I am?” The man says, “We’ve already established what you are, now we are just negotiating the price.”

Once Republicans negotiate on tax increases, they have already established what they are, they are now simply negotiating the price.

And that is exactly what is happening on the lumber tax bill, a bill I talked about last week, right now. An industry sponsored amendment, designed to make the bill “more business friendly” makes some regulatory changes, and reduces the tax by half, but keeps a tax on consumers of lumber products in the bill. In… Read More

Republican National Committeeman from California, is a well known fixture here at the FlashReport. He’s already in Tampa in advance of next week’s Republican National Convention, and will be “live-blogging” from on the ground… Here’s his third update from Florida.

After several busy weeks and literally hundreds of e-mails, the first Asian-American Republican Summit attracted a huge crowd at the stately St. Petersburg Lyceum. Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel, Steven Fong, Susie and Joel Angeles were heroes!

It putting together this event, these four really pulled off a feat! Without seeking anyone’s permission they put on a really great, quality event!

But it was not an easy endeavor. First they had to secure an available venue. Secondly they had arrange for private… Read More