The following is a letter that appeared in a recent edition of Managed Care Weekend Update (2/13/10), published by Oppenheimer & Co, an investment and banking company.This letter is a great response to the Obama Administration’s (and Assemblyman Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) reaction to the rate increases recently implemented by Anthem/Blue Cross (WellPoint).This is a must read for those in Sacramento preparing for the Jones hearing on this issue next week.Steve Poizner’s staff should read it as well. As the writer points out, this is all just "political grandstanding" to try to force through a health care reform package that the public doesn’t seem to want. The Secretary of HHS Crosses a Line Dear Secretary Sebelius: Reading through your last two letters to WellPoint, it seems like the crux of … Read More

I just sent this out to the CRP membership…

Last Saturday I wrote to you about the question that will be coming before the California Republican Party Board of Directors – whether or not to extend invitations to the Republican candidates for Governor, Attorney General and United States Senate to participate in debates at our upcoming convention next month in Santa Clara.

In that e-mail I mentioned that the Board would be voting on a proposed resolution to that effect today. I wanted to let you know that our meeting ended up not taking place today, but that will be convening for a telephonic Board meeting on Thursday morning at 8:30am.

I would like to share with you that I have heard back from nearly a quarter of the State Central Committee members, and by a staggering proportion, they would like… Read More

This just in…

Dear Friend, Like many other supporters of Steve Poizner, you have probably been contacted recently by operatives for the Meg Whitman for Governor Campaign. These operatives have one simple message: Steve Poizner cannot win, you need to join the Whitman team, and we will remember you if you fail to join us. In fact, one Whitman operative recently threatened a $40 million negative attack campaign against Steve Poizner if he did not withdraw from the race.… Read More

A Federal court in San Diego yesterday issued a permanent injunction against the City of San Diego’s $500 contribution limit per person to independent expenditure committees involved in City elections. The ruling quotes the recent Citizens United case we have written about, and is a logical step, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s predicate, on the path of ultimately banning limitations on contributions to Federal PACs that engage in independent expenditure advocacy. Congratulations to the San Diego County GOP and their great election attorney, Jim Bopp, Jr.

Attached is a copy of the ruling.… Read More

On March 24 there will be an informational hearing held by the Fair Political Practices Commission’s Subcommittee on the Political Reform Act & Internet Political Activity at the University of Southern California School of Law.

I have been asked to testify before this Subcommittee and have been asked to focus my remarks on, "On developments in the use of the internet in campaigns and what you expect will happen in the future. Your thoughts about what that means for the appropriate regulatory structure for such campaign activity would also be very helpful to us."

IF AFTER READING THIS BLOG POST YOU HAVE INPUT FOR ME RELEVANT TO MY PENDING TESTIMONY, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

**There is more – click the link**… Read More

On February 26, conservative Marco Rubio, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, will be in Southern California for a series of fundraisers in San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles.

Speaker Rubio has become a national cause for conservatives, as well as Tea Party activists, in what has been characterized as a battle for the future of the GOP. His Republican primary opponent is Governor Charlie Crist, who after leading in polls by as much as 37% after his announcement, now trails Rubio by 14%.

Rubio was written off early and his fundraising, as a candidate opposing a popular sitting governor, was shaky. However, Marco remained focused and started winning county GOP straw polls by wide margins and the MSM took notice that all was not well with Gov. Crist’s standing with the base of the party. Fundraising started to… Read More

There has been a lot of discussion about whether or not there will be a GOP Gubernatorial debate at the upcoming California Republican Party Convention. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that there has been a lot of debate about whether the CRP should formally invite the candidates to debate at the convention. I think, based on the posturing of Meg Whitman’s campaign, that she is unlikely to accept a CRP debate invitation — but, hey, stranger things have happened.

That said, it is worthy of note that there is a potential GOP Gubernatorial debate taking place a couple of days later in front of the New Majority, a major GOP donor group ($10k/year to join). Meg Whitman has already and long ago agreed to participate in a debate at that event — but like with all events, I suppose the devil is in the details.

Apparently the Poizner campaign is worried about the details of that event, as Poizner’s Campaign Manager, Jim Bognet, has fired off a letter to the leadership of the New Majority going to into the details of the debate format.

To excerpt part of the letter where they start by calling for a high-profile, non-biased… Read More

Controller John Chiang released a new actuarial report last week that shows California faces a $51.8 billion bill to pay for health and dental benefits for state retirees.

The unfunded obligation as of June 30, 2009, grew $3.6 billion from $48.2 billion in the prior year. Unlike state pensions, which are covered by pre-funding and investment returns, California pays for retiree health benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis as the costs come due each year.

The State would need to contribute $2.8 billion in 2009-10 to fully fund its obligation. But Controller Chiang did not go far enough. These are contractual obligations that legally are more important than regular legislative budget appropriations. Chiang should announce that he will prioritize what checks to write to make sure that contracts are honored.

The report can be found … Read More