When I first became a member of the Board of Equalization in 2002 the job I found least satisfying was sponsoring legislation. I had left the Legislature and no longer thought it was my job to make laws. Since that time I have grown even more wary of this and last week’s meeting of the Board is a good example. There are always legislative proposals that can reasonably be called “technical housekeeping” — like fixing drafting errors in law. I am happy to support these efforts. What I do not like is the tendency of the Board to lobby the Legislature to make the tax agencies more powerful and to prop up bad tax programs. I appreciate that the Governor has vetoed many egregious recommendations from the BoE — while also signing some that came out of the BoE over my objections — but at the very least there should be much more public pushback when the BoE asks the Legislature to make laws affecting taxpayers.

At last week’s BoE meeting, the Board, over my objections, approved sponsoring legislation to mandate that certain small businesses and individuals apply for a Use tax permit; another to validate the uncollectable Use tax… Read More

Our Governor made a good decision for Republicans and our state in appointing Abel Maldonado Lt. Governor. First, Abel is a capable politician, who routinely garners huge votes, way above Republican registration, in his elections. At a time when our party can’t even muster enough votes to beat Barack Obama in John Campbell’s Orange County Congressional district. This is a smart move. An even smarter move for conservatives, and Abel and Arnold, would now be to rally around one really conservative, rooted State Senate candidate to fill the open seat created by Arnold’s appointment. A Tom Bordanaro would be great, not sure if he is in the district, but a rooted conservative like Tom would be a great pick-up in the state senate. As for Abel’s budget vote, I didn’t like it. To be successful with Republicans and in California in future, Abel needs to stick to our basics: lower taxes and less government spending. He has a chance to help our party reach out to Hispanics, who are traditionally conservative, and potentially a gold mine for our party if handled correctly. I’d like Sheila Kuehl much less as Lt. Governor! Good job, Arnold!… 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.

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One of my better "insider sources" tells me that the Governor is going to appoint State Senator Abel Maldonado (? – Santa Maria) to be the state’s next Lt. Governor.

Somebody get me a barf bag.

Talk about exactly what California, and the Republican Party don’t need.

Abel Maldonado, while I pleasant enough guy in the right circumstances, is what we call a "Xenomorph" — that which changes shape due to external influence.

At a time when our state and my party need leaders who are willing to stand tall against the advance of progressivism and the rise of the (very expensive) administrative state — Maldonado doesn’t stand tall for anything. In fact, he may be the perfect pick for this Governor as both continually demonstrate positioning on issues in the most erratic manner. Which is to say that they have no consistency.

If Maldo’s name is put forward by the Governor, I guess we can look for the silver lining. The first of which is that Maldonado could be rejected by the Senate (if I were in the Senate, I wouldn’t be inclined to vote to confirm him — except maybe just… Read More

Apparently the Governor just announced on the taping of tonight’s Jay Leno Show his announcement that he is nominating State Senator Abel Maldonado to be Lt. Governor. We extend congratulations to the Senator.

We are now commencing a 24 hour "nice nice" period where we shall say nothing critical.

(Of course, the blog post below this one was penned and posted BEFORE the breaking news.)

That said, the smarter people out there will write about timelines and such for confirmation votes. But it does immediately create a new political dynamic in the lower chamber where (presumably) Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee will now be focusing his energies into a forthcoming special election for the State Senate — which likely starts a countdown clock to his stepping aside from his Assembly Leadership position.

We’ll reach out to him to find out what he’s doing.… Read More

In the weeks and months ahead we will likely be hearing much about the "Manhattan Declaration," a 4,700 word document released Friday, signedby several leading Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians, united in efforts to "reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good" and calling upon their fellow citizen to join in the defense of:

-The sanctity of human life.

-The dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife.

-The rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Anyone can now go to www.manhattandeclaration.org and sign on as well. It will be interesting to see which politicians are willing to be included.

Of the over 150 original signers, the following are from California (note that the FlashReport’s own Frank Schubert is included)..

Pastor Randy & Sarah Brannon Senior Pastor, Grace Community Church (Madera)

Most Rev. Salvatore Joseph Cordileone Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of… Read More

When I learned of the passing of Nao Takasugi, my first reaction was “no way” – to me Nao was the forever man, a unchanged rock of calmness and integrity. He was nearly always cheerful: a rare man who would pat you on the shoulder, say “good to see you” – and truly mean it every time.

For those who knew Nao, they will remember his enthusiastic smile, warm handshake and genuine goodness. I was a brash young politico when he took me under his wing. He taught me that humility in politics was more important than bravado, he showed me that we could hold on to our beliefs, fight hard for them while still respecting and genuinely liking those who oppose us. He showed me that nice guys don’t finish last.

Nao was a humble man who treated everyone with dignity. He… Read More