*BREAKING NEWS*

I am currently in the midst of a meeting of the California Republican Party Board of Directors, where I serve as Vice Chairman for the Southern Region.

Making a very important political statement about Proposition 1A being pushed in a May Special Election by Arnold Schwarzenegger and others, the Board of Directors of the CRP just passed the following resolution: The Board of Directors of the California Republican Party supports a spending cap, but we oppose the taxes that will continue for two years upon voter approval, therefore the Board of Directors of the California Republican Party urges the Party’s Executive Committee to oppose Proposition 1A. The motion to pass this was made by Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel, and seconded by… Read More

Anew project ACORN is engaging in: assisting the Obama Administration in the Census-taking. ACORN has now achieved the status of "national partner" with the U.S. Census Bureau, and will be working to help Obama find the necessary 1.4 million workers needed to take the census. Hopefully they will do this a lot better than they did registering voters in Ohio during the last election campaign, where I believe the news was 8 of their workers made a quick plea deal to falsifying registrations with a sympathetic prosecutor and promptly left the state. In responding tothe announcement, the ACORN spokesman also told the press "ACORN has never been charged with any crime." See http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/acorn_census_partner/2009/03/18/193218.html?s=al&promo_code=7C64-1

Liberal election lawyers are quick to point out that ACORN actually isn’t going to be running the Census, just staffing it.… Read More

I’ve been “back in the saddle” here in Washington for 3 weeks now, and I can’t believe what I am seeing. I am angry. Angry because of the direction in which this Congress and this President are taking the nation; angry because the atmosphere here is so poisonous; angry because it seems so many leaders here are still campaigning when we have a crisis that demands responsible leadership.

But I am also sad. Sad because the policies being put in place and proposed will leave so many out of work for so long. Sad that opportunities may be limited for a decade.

And I am scared. Scared because things may still get worse before they get better.

Over the next several days, I will give you some very personal reflections on what is happening, but first, the AIG debate.

Oh, and to preempt the inevitable question, I was not invited to President Obama’s campaign rally in Costa Mesa this week, even though my district is only about a mile from where he spoke. I use the words “campaign rally” rather than “town hall” intentionally.… Read More

The city of Irvine has had a moratorium on new wireless sites for almost a year. At a time when so many people are abandoning their home phones in favor wireless, its just not logical to prevent carriers from expanding their networks to serve their customers.

My column on this issue appeared in the Orange County Register’s Irvine World News today. Check it out here.… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog]

Although I rarely contribute to candidates, that doesn’t stop a steady stream of fundraising invites landing in my mail.

Yesterday, I received an invitation to "an Elegant Evening with Assemblyman Anthony Adams and Guest of Honor Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger."

Readers will recall Adams is the San Bernardino County assemblyman who was on of the three Assembly Republicans who provided the votes necessary to inflict a massive tax increase on the people of California.

It’s no surprise to see Arnold as the headliner. It’s like the British throwing a fundraiser for Benedict Arnold.

What is extremely disappointing is to see the name of OC’s Senator Bob Huff at the top of the host committee.

Adams not only provided one of the votes to pass the tax increase, but… Read More

I was a little taken aback this morning when I read in the Stockton Record that the City of Stockton, or shall we say the City Manager (since it seems from the article that none of the elected officials on council were aware of what was going on), is attempting to cobble together a way to purchase the Stockton Thunder hockey team from owner Michael Reinsdorf. The excuse is that because they feel they have an unfavorable lease that the city can then either keep the team or re-sell it to ownership with a lease agreement that is favorable to the city. The only person on council who opposed it immediately was uber-left councilwoman Susan Eggman.

As many of you know, I am a rabid hockey fan. I have also been an active participant in the debates over public financing of sports teams and facilities. It is a much easier case to make in spending public dollars for facilities than it is to actually BUY a franchise.

The interesting side to this story is the dramatic success of the Stockton Thunder hockey franchise that has become the crown jewel of the ECHL with attendance that other franchises could only hope for. This success has led the ownership to upgrade… Read More

Over the years, I have had my share of hands-on campaign experience. Besides my term as Executive Director of the California Republican Party, I was intimately involved in key positions in campaigns for a statewide candidate and a ballot measure (one won, one lost), as well as numerous campaigns for Congress and the State Legislature. This is relevant because I want make it clear that when I write about political strategy and tactics, it is not from the perspective of a conservative columnist, but rather from the perspective of having over two decades of hands-on involvement in the “contact game” of politics.

Yesterday State Senator Jeff Denham (pictured to the right) announced that in the pursuit of the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor that he has successfully reserved (or “locked up” as we say in the biz) 14 of the major GOP slate… Read More

Over the years, I have had my share of hands-on campaign experience. Besides my term as Executive Director of the California Republican Party, I was intimately involved in key positions in campaigns for a statewide candidate and a ballot measure (one won, one lost), as well as numerous campaigns for Congress and the State Legislature. This is relevant because I want make it clear that when I write about political strategy and tactics, it is not from the perspective of a conservative columnist, but rather from the perspective of having over two decades of hands-on involvement in the “contact game” of politics.

Yesterday State Senator Jeff Denham (pictured to the right) announced that in the pursuit of the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor that he has successfully reserved (or “locked up” as we say in the biz) 14 of… Read More