Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed what is being referred to as the "Cap and Tax" plan or "National Energy Tax" bill by House Republicans — legislation pushed by President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Waxman and other liberals. No matter how you slice it, this legislation represents a massive expansion of federal government regulation, and the costs associated with the enactment it is are enormous for taxpayers. The Democrats referred to it as a "Cap and Trade" bill.

Only eight Republicans in the House voted for this legislation, and of the eight, only on is a Californian — Mary Bono Mack. Rather than trying to attempt to characterize for the Congresswoman why she voted for this bill, I reached out to her for a statement that I could share directly with FR readers. That statement is below.

I will be writing more on this vote by Congressman Mack next week, but I wanted to get her statement out as soon as possible. Suffice it to say for now that I am deeply troubled by Mack’s support of this legislation for a number of critical reasons.

The fact that the Democrats lost over 40… Read More

This is a FlashReport blog exclusive. The word is that 10News will run a story at 6 pm. If so, I’ll add it to the post, but — thanks to great sources…

Francine Busby 2.0: Loud Music, Resisting Arrest, Pepper Spray, and Battery on a Police Officer Erstwhile and announced future candidate for Congress Francine Busby sure knows how to toss a party.The supposedly "centrist " Democrat and her followers don’t seem to respect authority too much either. Last night’s event to raise funds for a challenge to Rep. Brian Bilbray would have only been more complete with a good old fashioned flag burning.

— BEGIN POLICE REPORT — On 6/27/09, at about 2112 hours, Deputy ***** and *****, Clinician ***** responded to 1366 Rubenstein Avenue, Cardiff, Calif, regarding a Loud Democratic Rally with Loud Speakers. The reporting party’s residence is located on Summit Avenue just west of 1366 Rubenstein Avenue. The reporting party told dispatchers he was willing to sign and wanted deputy contact. It was… Read More

Today I exchanged a few emails with State Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth. He made it clear he isn’t thinking of challenging Congresswoman Mary-Bono-Mack for Congress. Too bad. Sen. Hollingsworth would have been a great Republican alternative to cap and taxer and job costing Obama enabler Congresswoman Mary Bono-Mack.

No word from Ray Haynes, Jim Battin or others. Somebody do it!

Cross posted on RedCounty.… Read More

The liberal Democrats in Sacramento desperately want to do something, anything to push out and delay having to confront the state’s $24 billion budget shortfall in one package. They will give anything to get Republicans to approve any stop-gap measures — three billion, five billion, seven billion — they will put up the cuts with "no strings attached" — to tantalize the member of the minority party, who have rightfully complained about the engorged spending of the California welfare state, to support these cuts.

The key here is that there are "strings" attached — as they say, no one ever gives up something for nothing in this business.

The end game for Sacramento Democrats is fairly simple and straightforward — they want to increase taxes as much as possible to close the budget hole — but they know that there is no political appetite for such increases right now in the State Capitol. With legislative Republicans blocking the 2/3 vote on taxes and the Governor vowing to veto any so-called "majority vote tax increases" — all the Democrats can do is try to buy time.

That is the… Read More

We’ve intercepted an e-mail sent from the Blackberry of Senate President Darrell Steinberg to the Blackberry of Speaker Karen Bass… From reading it, it’s clear that lack of unity among Republicans in the capitol is helping his cause of ultimately raising taxes…. DATE: 6/27/09 13:57 TO: superbass@unionforever.com FROM: icutmypayhaveyou@healthcareforeverykid.com RE: Our Unlikely Ally in Sam Blakeslee Karen — Divided Republicans mean "opportunity knocks" for us. I know that the union chiefs keep calling us — but there is hope that… Read More

The inimitable Mike Spence blogged on RedCounty.com that Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth and former Sen. Ray Haynes as strong primary challengers to Rep.Mary Bon-Mack:

Fellow Red County Contributor has clearly articulated the need for a GOP Primary challenge to Mary Bono-Mack.

His suggestions of former legislators Bonnie Garcia and Jim Battin make sense. Battin definitely would be a great candidate. I submit that Senator Dennis Hollingsworth and former legislator Ray Haynes be approached as well.

This Congressional District 45 is not just a Palm Springs district. It stretches down to Murrieta and Temecula through wonderful place like Hemet and Moreno Valley. Both Hollingsworth and Haynes do live in the Congressional District.

You can read the rest of Mike’s post here.… Read More

For the past week Americans has been watching with rapt attention the drama unfolding in Iran after its national election. Millions of Iranians have taken to the streets to demand their freedom. Many have died in their quest for something we as Americans so easily take for granted. Last weekend Iranian-Americans took to the streets of Los Angeles, which has the largest community of Iranians in America, to express their support for a free Iran.

In providential timing, a movie is being released today that exposes the cruel treatment of women under Iran’s regime: The Stoning of Soraya M. My Townhall article this week talks about the movie and how simply going to see the film expresses support for those suffering under Iran’s despotic government. The film will open in several California cities, with more openings next weekend.

Those in Orange County will have a great opportunity to see the film and participate in a Q & A discussion with the director and two… Read More

Another friend e-mailed me to recommend recently termed-out state Sen. Jim Battin as a preferable primary challenger to Rep. Mary Bono-Mack, rather than former Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia.

Jim Battin served three terms in the Assembly and two in the state Senate, and is currently eying a run for Lieutenant Governor. Jim amassed a solid conservative record, but my most vivid impression of him was during the fight to bring down Assembly Speaker Doris Allen in 1995. That fracas separated the men from the mealy worms in the Assembly GOP Caucus, and Battin was always right on the front line. That spirit left long-lasting positive impression on me.

Clearly, Battin still aspires to political office, and that same fighting spirit would prove a valuable weapon in a primary battle to take out Bono-Mack.

I don’t know what, if any, relationship Garcia or Battin have with Bono-Mack. Different readers will have different takes on which they would prefer as a primary challenger… Read More