It’sone of our basic tenets. The candidate or cause of your choice. Your hard-earned money. Your decision. No one to tell you differently.

Yes, the freedom to express oneself by means of personal political contributions is an undeniable right. Unless, that is, one prefers to be private about it.

Somewhere near the vortex of such issues as First Amendment rights, the public’s need to know, and an individual’s privacy is a document called the California Political Reform Act. Now, throw into the mix the question of harassment and personal safety concerns.

Since the mid-1970s, the Political Reform Act has stood as California’s campaign finance and disclosure requirement bible. It is viewed with deadline-imposed disdain by many required to report all their campaign finance activity and extolled by those wanting to access the same details, whether or not any average members of the public (read: non-political hacks) ever once take a gander at the information.

Accommodating changing times and both public and legal sentiments, the Act has been revised and massaged over the years to… Read More

Yesterday I blogged that I heard Lee Lowery, who is a Co-Chairman of the Committee to Recall Adams, on the John and Ken Show on KFI Radio. I reached out to Lee, whom I have known for a very long time — he is a prominent businessman, and hardly a "radical" — to ask him to make his case for a recall to our readers. He penned this piece last night, and sent it over early this morning…

Why Recall Anthony Adams? By Lee Lowery

As our legal team finishes the final paperwork to initiate the formal recall campaign of Assemblyman Anthony Adams, many Republican friends and elected officials up and down the state are asking me why would I begin an earnest recall campaign against a fellow Republican? There are many good answers to this question, but my answer is simply enough is enough. No longer am I going to stand by and watch our Party give up one of the last winning issues we have in advocating lower taxes for the people of California. As Republicans, we can disagree on many… Read More

Yesterday the Assembly passed out some legislation that in some technical manner facilities all of the big-spending in Barack Obama’s infamous "porkulus" package here in California. It’s not entirely clear to me exactly what the legislation said, and what it did, but my brief summary probably suffices. That said, I was a bit — underwhelmed — with the statement that the good guys (Republicans) put out in the matter. I say that because, being in the minority party in Sacramento, rhetoric is our most effective weapon (other than wielding a strong sword on issues requiring a two-thirds vote, something that has been challenging for our party as of late).

Here is the statement that was put out by Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines after the passage of the legislation.

This is closer to what I wish we had put out today… I especially like "my" version because of the unified message that it carries, in terms of U.S. House Republicans… Read More

Quote of the day:

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does not good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

– Adrian Rogers – American pastor (1931-2005)

Budget: President Obama’s Budget passed through the House Committee on the Budget, of which I am a member, late Wednesday night on a party line vote. It will come to the House floor late next week, and I expect it to pass. Like the ‘non-stimulus package,’ I expect… Read More

Yesterday I blogged that I heard Lee Lowery, who is a Co-Chairman of the Committee to Recall Adams, on the John and Ken Show on KFI Radio. I reached out to Lee, whom I have known for a very long time — he is a prominent businessman, and hardly a "radical" — to ask him to make his case for a recall to our readers. He penned this piece last night, and sent it over early this morning…

Why Recall Anthony Adams? By Lee Lowery

As our legal team finishes the final paperwork to initiate the formal recall campaign of Assemblyman Anthony Adams, many Republican friends and elected officials up and down the state are asking me why would I begin an earnest recall campaign against a fellow Republican? There are many good answers to this question, but my answer is simply enough is enough. No longer am I going to stand by and watch our Party give up one of the last winning issues we have in advocating lower taxes for the people of California. As Republicans, we can disagree on many issues. Not every Republican sees eye to eye on abortion, gay marriage, and certain environmental issues. But as… Read More

By June California’s Supreme Court will render a decision on the constitutional nature of Proposition 8. Was it a revision or was it an amendment? The ruling will establish a legal precedent impacting all future initiatives. But regardless of whether the court finds Proposition 8 a legal amendment or an improperly approved revision, some state legislators want to ensure the people never have the ability to approve another Proposition 8. This legislative session there are no less than thirteen bills that seek to alter the initiative process. The Republican-sponsored bills mostly deal with the attorney general’s ability to tinker with ballot and title summaries—probably in response to Attorney General Brown’s blatantly biased rewriting of the Proposition 8 title and summary just months before it appeared on the ballot. But the other, Democrat-sponsored bills are shameless attempts to wrest control of the initiative process away from voters. Assemblywoman Lori Saldana alone has … Read More

The state budget, tax increases and the debacle waiting to happen with 1A through 1F have drawn a lot of criticism from political insiders and commentators. And now the public is weighing in. And it’s not looking good for the Governor and his Democratic allies in legislature.

The new PPIC poll (see the full report by clicking the link below) shows less than 50% support for each of the substantive ballot measures on the May ballot. The only proposition with significant voter support, is the seemingly benign Prop. 1F.

1A – 39% YES, 46% NO, 15% UNSURE

1B – 44% YES, 41% NO, 15% UNSURE

1C – 37% YES, 50% NO, 11% UNSURE

1D – 48% YES, 36% NO, 16% UNSURE

1E – 47% YES, 37% NO, 16% UNSURE

1F – 81% YES, 13% NO, 6% UNSURE

Widespread disapproval with the governor (56% disapprove) and legislature (68% disapprove) is likely a major contributing factor to this poor showing by the propositions. Also, 46% of the likely voters polled says the fact that the propositions are "part of the budget plan" makes no difference to them.

Prop. 1B has majority support among Democratic voters. It’s title… Read More

One of the few remaining GOP Assemblymembers to take an official position on Proposition 1A did so yesterday. Assemblyman Jim Nielson put out a release with this stinging rebuke of the ballot measure: California cannot afford to continue with failed ‘tax, borrow and spend’ polices that have driven our state to the brink of fiscal insolvency. During this budget crisis a spending cap was passed and placed on the ballot, however it has been linked to billions of dollars of tax increase extensions. These additional taxes represent a poison-pill attached to this spending cap that I simply cannot support. Therefore, I will oppose Proposition 1A on the May ballot.… Read More