So it is clear, I am talking about Republican officeholders and candidates, not the tireless volunteers that work endless hours helping that hapless group get elected. We are about to enter the sprint phase of this electoral marathon, and Republican officeholders and candidates are very ill equipped for the victories they are about to receive.

The good news is, voters don’t care. Voters are so angry at Democrats that Republicans can show up to this party drunk and get power. But those officeholders and candidates are not ready. I listened to Meg Whitman on John and Ken. It was painful. But the race is over. She can phone it in now, and Jerry Brown is still toast. Carly Fiorina will probably beat Boxer. It is close, but I think Boxer loses (I said so in January). It will be a duel, but in the end, I think Fiorina wins. But like Whitman, she has not persuaded the voters that she is good. They just know that Boxer is bad.

And that is because Republican officeholders are lazy. The first rule of politics is that the purpose of the political process is to persuade the people to entrust you… Read More

A hodgpodge of otherwise mostly-missing-from-the-mainstream missives from the San Diego area…

Public Twitter Act… By Kelly Thornton at Voice of San Diego, an excellent analysis of the growing question: Should politicos be able to communicate electronically during public meetings and just what exactly in this day and ageis a public record? (Side note: A few years ago when a local reporter asked for my public calendar, assumingI must have a paper one, I was half inclined to hand her my Blackberry and ask how soon I could get it back.)

Read the Voice piece, Silence of the Thumbs. San Diego Rostra Fledgling, but Growing… The little area conservative blog, which I consider a local partner to… Read More

Floyd Mayweather Jr. regrets today making racist comments about Manny Pacquiao yesterday.… Read More

Carly Fiorina’s campaign just sent out a press release detailing her position on the nine propositions on the ballot this November. Readers may recall that during the debate with Barbara Boxer on Wednesday evening, Fiorina didn’t take a firm stance on Proposition 23, the measure to suspend AB 32. But the press release from her campaign states Fiorina endorses Proposition 23, while calling it a “Band-Aid fix and an imperfect solution.” However, reiterating the point Fiorina made during the debate, it also states, “AB 32 is undoubtedly a job killer, and it should be suspended.” I’ve included the rest of the Fiorina press release below. FR’s Jennifer Nelson provided some outstanding analysis of the Wednesday evening debate, pointing out the outrageous journalistic malpractice that took place. And my … Read More

It might be time for the Washington prognosticators to move CD47 from "leans Democratic" to "toss up."

A new poll of 400 likely voters in CD47 by the American Action Forum has Assemblyman Van Tran with 43% to 45% for Rep.Loretta Sanchez — well within the 4.9% margin of error.

It remains close even when you factor out the "leaners": Sanchez 42%, Van 40%.

There isn’t a lot of good news for Sanchez in this poll.

For example, in response to the question, "Do you think Loretta Sanchez deserves reelection as congresswoman, or do you think it is time to give someone else a chance?", only 35% said Loretta deserves… Read More

Lots of newspapers and publications are sending out questionnaires for candidates to fill out. That comes with this time of year. I get it.

Every one of these newspapers would immediately point out the conflict of a legislator that were to include a copy of a piece of legislation they had introduced with a third house fund raising request.

What I don’t understand is how a newspaper looking for answers to questions that will help enlighten their editorial process can possible include a "political advertising rate sheet" with those questions.

This is just wrong for the same reason that it would be wrong to include a copy of the vote on AB XXX with a fund raising request to a group concerned with AB XXX.… Read More

In a state facing as many challenges as California, one has bedeviled us even longer than chronic budget deficits. For decades, in times of both prosperity and recession, we have grappled with the problem of securing enough water.

While the drought was ended this year by heavier-than-usual rainfall, drought will continue to be a recurring reality in Southern California. We tend to forget that we live in a desert and the way of life we enjoy is due to the foresight of our civic forebears who built the great water projects that irrigate this desert.

While that pioneering spirit has ebbed in more liberal, benighted parts of the state, it remains alive in Huntington Beach. On Tuesday, September 7, the city council votes on whether to approve a project that will lessen Orange County’s dependence on expensive imported water, create jobs, generate much needed tax revenue for the city and generally advance our ability to benignly utilize technology to harness nature for human benefit.

I’m referring to the desalination plant Poseidon Resources… Read More

Here’s an inspiring story about an elementary school teacher who almost single-handedly turned a school’s math scores from dismal to great. Denise Maimone applied logic when she stealthily went into Georgetown Elementary School, located in a remote region of El Dorado County, and rejected the notion that every single 8th grader is somehow magically prepared for algebra, when in fact most aren’t. Instead, she parsed out those kids who were ill-prepared for the rigors of higher math and those who had the skills and brought the school’s math test scores up by 88 percentage points – the highest, by far, in the state. As a founder of a private Christian school, I have always supported and protected funding for education. It’s really a no-brainer to support the education of our future generation of kids. That being said, I don’t think California leaders achieveacademic greatness simply… Read More