Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is now addressing the CCA — his four major policy objectives to encourage job creation: tax cuts, reform labor laws, tort reform, reform labor laws and overhaul the state's regulatory system. Poizner was well received.… Read More

Now speaking to the Republican County Chairmen is Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, who was introduced by ardent supporter State Senator Tony Strickland.

Whitman talked about her background, including her work for Mitt Romney which later in life let to her support of his for President. And of course she told her story of the growth of eBay on her watch.

Whitman spoke a lot about how California's over-regulation has been strangling job creation. She spoke about her call to suspend AB 32. She spoke about overspending and the need to eliminate 40k workers from the government payroll. She also touched on the need for reform of the education system.

Of course, I don't want to leave out that Whitman was accompanied by Senior Campaign strategist Jeff Randle.… Read More

State Senator Jeff Denham is clearly the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for Lt. Governor — he's been running for a while now and has built up money in the bank and a mega-sized endorsement list.

Denham talked about winning election to a Senate Seat gerrymandered to elect a Democrat. Denham talked about how, with the help of Republicans statewide, he crushed a cynical recall attempt against him funded by Sacramento Democrats.

Denham talked about the importance of a bold message from Republicans — drawing a clear distinction between our party and that of the Democrats.… Read More

(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.

Yesterday that match was struck by Andrew McIntosh, a reporter from the Sacramento… Read More

(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