State Senator Bob Dutton (pictured) just confirmed to me that this Monday he will officially assume the office of Senate Republican Leader. FlashReport readers will remember that we broke the news earlier this year that Dutton had been elected by his colleagues to this position, with an understanding that the current leader, Dennis Hollingsworth, and Dutton (close politically allies) would work out the timing for the transition.

The original transition plans called for Dutton to take over as Leader on September 1st. But when that date came around and it was apparently that while in negotiation, there was no state budget, both agreed that it was best to hold off on the transition until the passage of a budget, so as to not change chief negotiators mid-process.

I have known both… Read More

Few are aware that some 13% of likely California voters are Asian. That is a huge number. SurveyUSA released its comprehensive results on October 3.This November 2nd., the voting universe looks to be some 60% white, 6% black, 21% Latino with the remaining 13% Asian.

The growing Asian voting influence should be good news for Republicans. Generally, Asian householdshavehigher levels of income, higher education, greater home ownership, more intact families and strong religious affiliations. SurveyUSAshows that Carly isin the margin of error, but the pollreveals thatBoxer has some 46%Asian support over Carly’s 38%.

This is not a newRepublican dilemma.

We can learn from Van Tran. Six years ago he surprised Republicans by winning a hotly contested primary where his Republican opponent accused Van of being Vietnamese! Despite the racial pandering, Van won—largely because he appealed to white conservatives, conservative Latinos and pushed for a huge registration for VIetnamese. Presently, Vietnamese hold some 20% of the registrations in… Read More

The Fresno Bee, in a stunning development, has endorsed Carly Fiorina for US Senate. Read the editorial here.… Read More

This just in from longtime FR friend and senior advisor to the Whitman for Governor campaign Rob Stutzman…

Jerry Brown: Hypocrisy without limits by Rob Stutzman The attorney general of California has called Meg Whitman a “Nazi” and now a “whore.” He’s also insulted a former president of his own party. And that’s all just within the past few months. How many times is Jerry Brown going to have to keep apologizing for his erratic and offensive behavior? This latest incident, a despicable slur left on a voicemail, is not just an affront to Meg, one… Read More

It is an outrage and of supreme concern to me and to many other people that the legislature stands poised to vote on a budget today — and still the budget and its trailer bills have not been made public.

I know the broad strokes, as it were, as those have been released. But so much of this massive document is in its details. Doesn’t the public deserve to see and understand the details in a budget before it is adopted? Shouldn’t legislators have the benefit of feedback? The benefit of perspective from those a little further away from the negotiating table?

As an anecdotal example of the devil being in the details, I am fairy sure that this budget includes the "expansion of a fee" that amounts to smacking over two-thirds of seniors in nursing homes that are NOT on government assistance to the tune of $4600 or so every year. This is a harder hit on these seniors than the massive tax increases in last year’s budget. This little "nugget" is in hiding, has not been vetted and legislators should ask… Read More

When Proposition 1A was "birthed" last year as a part of the terrible 2009 budget deal that gave us the largest tax increase in the history of any state, it was highly respected and noted economist Benjamin Zycher who poured over the details of the so-called "spending cap" in 1A, and came the unfortunate conclusion that the so-called "spending cap" contained in it was very poorly written, and helped us conclude that even without massive tax increases tied to it, it should be defeated. Happily, 1A’s tax increases and faux spending cap were given the heave-ho by the voters.

With the "secret squirrel" budget deal being voted on today, we hear that there is another ballot measure in the works that purports to put forward a spending cap for voter consideration. The question is this: Have changes been made to the language from last year’s 1A proposal that would cause respected economists like Zycher to give it a seal of approval?

The problem with "back room" budget deals is that there isn’t… Read More

Those fundraising letters you sent out…what kind of return did you get? Four percent? Maybe 10 or even 20 percent if you sent them to friends?

So, what are you going to do about the huge majarity that haven’t replied? Whine about how not even your friends are kicking in during this difficult economy? Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Have you called them to follow up on the letter? Too difficult, you say? It’s one thing to simply send a letter, since you don’t have to deal with the reaction and possible rejection (I can hear you thinking this), but it’s quite different to actually be on the phone with someone and ask them for money.

True dat. Yes, it is. That’s exactly why you need to do it.Even well intentioned folks put a solicitation to the side until later and often forget about it…unless they get a call to remind them, a direct plea as to why you need the funds and how you’re going to serve their best interests in elective office.

To most politicians, it’s the most hated — and avoided — part of campaigning.

Winners commit to doing it. The political ash-heap is laden with… Read More

Marketing 101: Product Differentiation. It’s a basic principle of marketing. You can’t expect to sell a product, and especially compete sucessfully with an established one, if you’re selling the same thing. You need to tell people why yours is different.

Politics 101: How can you expect to win against established forces if you aren’t giving the public any reasons to do so? That campaign theme of, "This is a great community and/or public agency, and it does a great job," is perfect for an incumbent’s effort. For a challenger, it’s a non-starter. The public’s simple assumption will be that if things are so great, the powers-that-be must be doing something right.

Such a failed theme (usually seen in local "non-partisan" campaigns, where challengers are hesitant about saying anything negative about their community)is typically followed by, "…yet, I am the better candidate." Uhh-huh. All you’ve done is educate folks to why you’re qualified, instead of why the person being challenged is not — or no longer — suited… Read More