In a few weeks the members of the California Republican Party Central Committee will gather in Riverside County for our semi-annual convention. At that convention, delegates will consider a change that I have proposed in the state party’s bylaws that, if passed, would establish that only registered Republicans may cast ballot in the primary to determine who will be our party’s nominee in all partisan general elections match ups.

When I tell people about this proposal, most people respond in disbelief, not having understood that currently millions of California voters who choose not to register as a Republican have the ability to cast a ballot in the GOP primary. As one said to me just yesterday, “That doesn’t make any sense – it’s our Republican Party primary, where Republicans select the nominee to go up against the Democrat in November, right?”

As it currently stands, Decline To State (or independent) voters may request a Republican ballot, and vote in GOP primaries. For some time now, only the GOP Presidential primary has been open only to Republican voters – as the Republican National Committee rules prevent the seating of any… Read More

This Bloomberg story on how schools are refinancing existing bond debt is interesting–not only because it points out that school districts around the state may be increasing property taxes without anyone’s knowledge, but also because AG Jerry Brown is suing these districts, calling their actions unconstitutional. In the story, the Compton Unified School District is used as one of the examples. Only one out of seven trustess in Compton objected to the district’s bond refinancing scheme, saying, "Why don’t we have hearings so the community can have input on these bonds? We sit up here and shove it in their throats.” Read the full story here.… Read More

As readers of this missive know, I frequently voice my opinionwhen I believe the President is doing the wrong thing. That has been the case with virtually everything he has done thus far. However, when he takes action that I believe to be correct or helpful, I will point that out as well. Such is the case this week when the President announced that he will reappoint Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve for another 4 year term. This is a hugely important and very positive decision for the following reasons:

Independence: The Federal Reserve should make decisions for economic reasons and remain independent of the White House so as not to politicize those decisions. I would say this regardless of who the President is. Bernanke is independent and will have been appointed by both Bush and Obama. Replacing him could have sent a sign that the Administration was trying to control the Fed which would have been a terrible message and precedent.

Past performance: With the benefit of hindsight, one can criticize some of Bernanke’s moves and statements during his first term. Certainly, he can be criticized for not identifying… Read More

Since I was — according to a story in the Union-Trib several days later — the lone reporter, blogger, and/or hack to have the "unofficial" police report (see the post) from the June 26 Francine Busby fundraisingincident, it is my obligation to update you with the news that, apparently, the story has ended with a Kumbaya….

Dumanis takes a pass on the Busby fundraising imbroglio ENCINITAS — After a nearly two-month investigation, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said Tuesday she has decided not to pursue charges against two women who were arrested at a fundraiser for congressional candidate Francine Busby. Read the rest of today’sU-T story.

No, I have no idea whether Dumanis, the… Read More

I have just introduced language (ACR 92) across the Assembly desk in order to condemn the actions of the Scottish government in the early release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi. Abdelbaset is a Libyan terrorist who was convicted of 270 counts of murder on January 31, 2001, for his part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988.

The flight was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members. Eleven more victims were killed on the ground by large sections of the plane that fell in and around the town of Lockerbie.

One hundred and eighty of the victims, or a full two-thirds of the fatalities, were American citizens, and seven of those victims were from California: Jerry Don Avritt, a 46 year old flight engineer from Westminster; Surinder Mohan Bhatia, a 51 year old businessman from Los Angeles; Stacie Denise Franklin, a 20 year old flight attendant from San Diego; Matthew Kevin Gannon, a 34 year old foreign service officer from Los Angeles; Paul Isaac Garret, a 41 year old flight attendant from Napa; Barry Joseph Valentino, a 28 year old exhibit designer from San Francisco; and Jonathan White, a 33… Read More

Texas businessman Tom Hicks points out that Texas was recently noted in The Economist for its many successes, including a low tax burden, tort reform, the state’s $9 billion rainy day fund, a high credit rating by Standard & Poor, and a friendly business climate.

To quote Hicks: “Our state has a special standing not only in the country but also among the nations of the world.”

We used to be able to say that about California. But now, as the article mentions, we are writing IOUs and have received downgrades on our credit ratings. Read more here.… Read More

Much has been made about the mercurial nature of California’s current tax structure – most specifically the fact that a vast percentage of our state’s revenues are heavily reliant on income taxes – especially on those wealthiest Golden State residents. During times of “plenty” – such as the dot com boom, this system brought record amounts of taxpayer dollars into the state treasury. For the past few years, however, with the real estate bust, the collapse of the dot coms, and the country moving into a recession, we’ve seen state tax revenues plummet.

Governor Schwarzenegger signed an Executive Order creating a Commission on the 21st Century Economy – laying out the following mission for this group: “Stabilize state revenues and reduce volatility; Promote the long-term economic prosperity of the state and its citizens; Improve California’s ability to successfully compete with other states and nations for jobs and investments; Reflect principles of sound tax policy… Read More

The Detroit Free Press recently reported that Michigan landed $1.36 billion from the federal government to “spur production of batteries and electric vehicles, far outpacing all other states – including California, which will receive just $15.6 million.” University of Michigan economist Donald Grimes said state tax breaks that lured companies to Michigan were the key factor. That’s great news for Michigan, and bad news (once again) for California.

The tax incentives were "totally driven by the generosity of the governor and the Legislature," Grimes said.

The Michigan Governor, by the way, is Democrat Jennifer Granholm, who said shortly after the 2006 election that tax incentives were needed to address the state’s unemployment rate, then at 7.1 percent. The Michigan Legislature is split between Republican (Senate) and Democrat (House of Representatives) dominance.

Hmmm… when will California Democrats figure out what Michigan leaders already know?… Read More