Much will be said about the appointment of moderate State Senator Abel Maldonado to be California’s next Lt. Governor. His appointment was not a surprise. I didn’t read one article or column that pondered the Governor’s potential LG picks that didn’t prominently mention Maldonado.

That said, I only read one commentary that looked at the Governor’s LG pick that 100% "nailed it" as to the timing of the appointment.

In his November 5 column, And The Next Lt. Governor Is… (Envelope Please), Fleischman said, "One thing is certain, Arnold Schwarzenegger will make his selection soon. How soon? Doesn’t he have a scheduled appearance coming soon with Jay Leno?"

Very precient, Flash!… Read More

The California Republican Assembly, the state’s largest and most active conservative GOP volunteer organization has just released its 2009 legislative scorecard.

As always, this particular scorecard of the many out there, is the most significant and the most telling in terms of really figuring out how our elected officials are voting on the spectrum, with those endorsing a bigger, fatter and more intrusive state government scoring lower (all of the "zeroes" belong to Democrats) and those who believe in freedom, liberty and individual responsibility scoring higher (all of the "100’s" are Republicans).

Below is the release put out my CRA President Ken Mettler framing this year’s ratings, and a link to check them out online. As always, the scorecard is easy to read and well documented, with all of the bills that made up the ratings being listed and a spreadsheet being created so you can see how your representative voted. I was very pleased to see that a great many of the bills highlighted in FR’s "Top Twenty Bills To Veto" (co-authored by Senator Mimi Walters and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, who both got… Read More

The California Republican Assembly, the state’s largest and most active conservative GOP volunteer organization has just released its 2009 legislative scorecard.

As always, this particular scorecard of the many out there, is the most significant and the most telling in terms of really figuring out how our elected officials are voting on the spectrum, with those endorsing a bigger, fatter and more intrusive state government scoring lower (all of the "zeroes" belong to Democrats) and those who believe in freedom, liberty and individual responsibility scoring higher (all of the "100’s" are Republicans).

Below is the release put out my CRA President Ken Mettler framing this year’s ratings, and a link to check them out online. As always, the scorecard is easy to read and well documented, with all of the bills that made up the ratings being listed and a spreadsheet being created so you can see how your representative voted. I was very pleased to see that a great many of the bills highlighted in FR’s "Top Twenty Bills To Veto" (co-authored by Senator Mimi Walters and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, who both got… Read More

I am proud to be an officer of the California Republican Party, serving as the CRP’s Vice Chairman, South. There is so much to enjoy about the position, working with so many great Republican activists, donors and leaders throughout the Southland and beyond. Sometimes people ask me what I like least about the position. I always tell them that it is an easy call — the party’s rules expressly prohibit me, and my fellow CRP officers, from endorsing in contested Republican primaries for partisan office. I believe that the future our party truly lies in Republicans making the right decision in these races.

In the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, there are two candidates running — Assemblyman Chuck DeVore and Carly Fiorina, the former Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett Packard. Over the next seven months or so, we’ll be featuring a lot of coverage in the race between these two for the GOP nomination. We’ll try to help you to make an informed decision, or if you’ve already decided, then we’ll give you a "front row seat" to… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary…

Arnold’s Heir Transplant?

Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to drop big political news on Jay Leno’s TV show. In 2003, he announced his campaign for governor there. Last night, he followed that tradition by announcing his pick to be California’s next lieutenant governor — State Senator Abel Maldonado, an Hispanic Republican who’s the closest thing the governor has to an ideological ally in the legislature.

The job became vacant three weeks ago after Democratic Lt. Governor John Garamendi won a seat in Congress. Mr. Maldonado is a 42-year-old moderate whose family emigrated from Mexico to start their own farm. But… Read More

I tried to think of something special for my friend Richard Costigan to commemorate this, his birthday. I went to his FB page, and realized that he’s got plenty of people there wishing him well on his big day (FR friends John Bovee and Nancy Bennett among many others).

So, Richard, for you — a birthday cake right here on the FlashReport blog.

Hope you have a great one!

(Also, on behalf of all of your friends, we "get it" that you are disappointed that the Governor tapped Maldonado and not you to be Lt. Governor. Better luck next time — get over it!)… Read More

Last Tuesday voters in Orange County went to the polls to pick their next Assembly member. This was a hotly contested race on the Republican side, and while the race sometimes turned ugly, I was pleased to see the final results.

I endorsed Chris Norby because I believe he does what he says and he says what he means. As Floor Leader I need members like Chris by my side to help us push the Republican vision. I am confident that Supervisor Norby (and now, presumably, Assemblyman Norby) will make the voters of his district proud and will be a valuable asset to our caucus.

While this was a special election and Chris will still have to face a run-off, I have no doubt that he will be working with us in the Capitol come next year. Congratulations Assemblyman Norby, and welcome to Sacramento.… Read More

"You know you’re in trouble when you’re being lectured by communists about the size and scope of government. That’s never a good day." – Stephen Hayes, from The Weekly Standard commenting on China’s concern regarding the mounting public debt in America. "Who knows, man, who really knows." – Ed Pound, Director of Communications for Recovery.gov when asked why stimulus fund recipients would pluck random numbers to fill in for their congressional district.

There are lots of sources for news these days. That’s a good thing since we are no longer captive to the messages espoused by a single local newspaper or 3 TV network anchors. But, with such media diversity, it is hard to know all that is going on.