(Blogging from Indian Wells, where Republicans will gather for the State GOP Conventions which begins today…)

At some point in the middle of the day yesterday, I actually looked at the date on my Blackberry just to confirm that it was in fact mid-September of the “off year” and not late May of next year, the election year. It was that crazy yesterday trying to keep up with some of the back and forth between GOP gubernatorial hopefuls Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner yesterday.

Actually (and I apologize for which invariably will be a bad analogy – I’m terrible with my analogies) as I looked from my backyard in South Orange County yesterday into the very dry Cleveland National Forest, with particular focus a small plume of smoke from a not-so-distant wildfire, I thought about the political goings-on of the day, and I realized that tensions are so high between these two campaigns that the GOP primary for Governor is like a dry forest in fire season – one little match can set the whole thing ablaze.

**There is… Read More

Dear California Republican Party Leaders, We, the undersigned Board of Directors of the Veterans for Good Governance, know that you support our troops. You might wear a yellow ribbon in their honor, and if you see an active duty military member in uniform you likely thank them for their service to our country. Each time you cast a ballot, you might remember that it is because of their sacrifice that you have the freedom to vote in safety and in liberty. And now, we ask you to ensure that our troops are allowed the same voting rights that you … Read More

FR Publisher Jon Fleischman had the opportunity to chat with U.S. Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina for about a half hour yesterday afternoon and here is his take-away from their conversation…

The California Republican Party’s Fall Convention starts tomorrow out in Palm Desert – and as someone that has been regularly attending these semi-annual confabs since the late 1980’s, I can tell you that this particular convention is considered the “opening bell” for the upcoming statewide elections – and of course the primaries that will precede them in June. Next year there will be a lot of offices on the ballot – the two most significant of which will be the positions of Governor and United States Senator – Arnold Schwarzenegger is term-limited out of the former and Democrat Barbara Boxer currently sits in the latter.

In the primary for Governor, delegates to the convention will get to hear from Steve Poizner, Meg Whitman, and Tom Campbell in person – as each has a prominent spot on the agenda. As for candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, only one of the two… Read More

FR Publisher Jon Fleischman had the opportunity to chat with U.S. Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina for about a half hour yesterday afternoon and here is his take-away from their conversation…

The California Republican Party’s Fall Convention starts tomorrow out in Palm Desert – and as someone that has been regularly attending these semi-annual confabs since the late 1980’s, I can tell you that this particular convention is considered the “opening bell” for the upcoming statewide elections – and of course the primaries that will precede them in June. Next year there will be a lot of offices on the ballot – the two most significant of which will be the positions of Governor and United States Senator – Arnold Schwarzenegger is term-limited out of the former and Democrat Barbara Boxer currently sits in the latter.

In the primary for Governor, delegates to the convention will get to hear from Steve Poizner, Meg Whitman, and Tom Campbell in person – as each has a prominent spot on the agenda. As for candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, only one of the two… Read More

Last week GOP Gubernatorial candidate got kudos from us here at the FlashReport for being the first candidate for the GOP nomination to sign the Americans for Tax Reform No New Taxes pledge. Poizner called on his opponents to sign it as well, and we said at the time that they should absolutely do this.

This morning I was told by FR friend Patrick Gleason over at Americans for Tax Reform that yesterday they had faxed into them a signed ATR Pledge form from Meg Whitman! Outstanding.

Tom Campbell, you are next… It’s time to stop calling for higher taxes, and instead make it clear that state government is too big and spends too much…… Read More

The Meg Whitman for Governor campaign is engaged in creating a professional "videography" of the entire campaign — a big endeavor which involves a lot of work. We see some of the work of these professional video folks when they roll our in-house videos here and there.

One can only hope that they were allowed to do video and audio taping of Whitman’s campaign team folks as they have been dealing with the results of an investigation undertaken by the Sacramento Bee, released today, that looks both at Whitman’s extremely poor voting record as well as the sparse and inconsistent statements coming from the Whitman campaign on the issue of Whitman’s past voting (or lack thereof) record. I just think it would be fascinating the see the back and forth that lead to this, her official statement (thus far) on this controversy:

MEG WHITMAN STATEMENT ON HER VOTING RECORD … Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail…

Are Whitman and Fiorina California Dreamin’?

… Read More

When I left the legislature, I applied to become a judge. I never figured I would make it, because I just can’t keep my mouth shut (and the Governor has to like you before you can become a judge), but the judiciary needs more people who have a right view of what a judge does, a restrained interpreter of the law, not a frustrated legislator. Chuck Poochigian is just such a person. I sat next to Chuck on the Senate floor for several years, and in that time, and watching him at work, saw a man of intelligence, hard work, balance, and insight. He is in my opinion perfect for the job of a judge. He has the temperament, the experience, the knowledge, and the insight necessary to be not just a good judge, but a great judge. I was glad to see the Governor appoint him to the appellate court.

And now to read that the Commission on Judicial Nomination Evaluations ranks him not qualified to sit on the bench because he hasn’t practiced law enough? Outrageous, not just outrageous but comical. Who do these people think they are? Are they so biased, so pompous, so narrow minded, or so intimidated by a man of Chuck’s obvious qualifications that they… Read More