The following commentary is co-authored by Steve Baric, Keith Carlson, Tony Krvaric Paul Bruno, Shawn Steel, Doug Boyd and Jon Fleischman, the Secretary, Treasurer, Budget Committee Chairman, Vice Chairman, Central Coast, Vice Chairman, Los Angeles, National Committeeman and Vice Chairman, South of the California Republican Party respectively.

To say that we were disheartened upon news that the GOP’s primary negotiators in seeking a solution for the massive over-spending induced state budget shortfall, Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines, had reached a “deal” as a product of the secret back-room “Big 5” process, and had come back to present plans to their respective legislative caucuses that contain roughly $14 billion in new taxes on Californians would be an understatement. It was almost a surreal experience – because the plan that was laid out was so much worse than any one of us could have imagined – and because the plan, from our understanding of… Read More

Despite the fact that this is the second day that I have requested a briefing on this budget "deal" from Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill and/or Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines, the silence is deafening.

It is unfortunate because I am all ears — and as I wrote with a bunch of fellow leaders of the State Republican Party, we would like to gain some perspective from our two legislative leaders, whom we hold in high regard.

In the absence of any more information — I continue to judge this "deal" based on the information available through main stream media sources.

So let me just say what I am thinking and what I have heard from literally every GOP leader, donor and activist to whom I have spoken or heard from via e-mail — this plan is terrible for California and extremely injurious to the Republican Party’s ability to win elections next year.

Over in the Capitol Weekly, there is a headline about Republicans winning "concessions" on what I will call relative minor policy… Read More

As you have probably read,a panel of federal judges tentatively ruled to release tens of thousands of California prisoners before their time is served. The liberal judgesclaim that the prisoners are non-serious and non-violent offenders,and thus won’t present a problem to public safety.

Here’s a look at the offenses that count as non-serious and non-violent:

• Human trafficking • Child abuse likely to produce great bodily injury • Stalking • Solicitation to commit murder or a designated sexual assault • Taking a hostage to prevent arrest or as a shield • Selling, offering for sale, or transporting a destructive device • Possessing components with intent to make destructive device • Possession, development, manufacture, production, transfer, acquisition, or retention of a weapon of mass destruction • Threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction • Possessing restricted biological agents • Exploding a destructive device to terrorize • Elder abuse • Manufacture or sale of drugs even while armed with a firearm • Burglary in which the defendant is armed with… Read More

As more details of the budget "raw deal" are made public, there’s going to be a long list of opponents coming forward to express their disapproval. Now, the Lincoln Club of Fresno County, led by FR’s Michael Der Manouel, Jr.,announces their opposition: Lincoln Club of Fresno County Opposes State Budget Deal

Fresno, California – The Central Valley’s premier Republican Political Action Committee has announced its opposition to the recently struck “deal” between Democrats and Republicans on the State budget.

“The increases in the sales tax, vehicle license fee, income tax and gasoline tax are an unconscionable compromise by the Republicans, who have now compromised with the Democrats eight straight years in a row. The mess we are in now is a reflection of this compromise. This bill must be defeated”, said Lincoln Club Chairman Michael Der Manouel, Jr.

Der Manouel continued that the “reforms and spending caps in this compromise can easily be undone by the Democrat majority in future years, while citizens will be stuck with the tax increases. In this economy, any tax increase will… Read More

Maybe it was the octuplet mother inciting public backlash, or Nancy Pelosi’s warpedthinking that preventing future productive members of society will help us out of our current economic meltdown. Whatever the reason, stateleaders have decided that parents should no longer receive tax benefits for growing their families. Included in their budget “deal” is a decrease in the dependent exemption credit. Kevin Dayton over at the Associated Builders and Contractors of California first brought this to my attention in an email. He explained that part of the budget deal was the plan to “raise $1.44 billion by increasing taxes at least $210 per dependent by reducing the dependent exemption credit to equal the personal exemption credit.”

Kevin made a great point about the exemption so I’m just going to quote him directly: “The proposed budget makes it sound so nice – ‘equalizing the credit’ – as if justice was… Read More

Yes, you read that title correctly. According to a piece by John Simerman in yesterday’s Valley Times, the state spent $22 million to help sex offenders pay their rent in 2008. In some cases, the payout to individuals was over $2,000 per month. This money was evidently spent to help the parolees abide by Prop. 83, Jessica’s Law. By that same logic, we should be spending millions for paroled thieves to give them everything they want, so they won’t steal anymore. And while we’re at it, perhaps we should spend a few mil on cocaine and give it to paroled drug offenders so they won’t have to buy it and get in trouble.

Since when did the government bear the burden of paying for people to comply with the law? The government didn’t pay for my last speeding ticket, or give me vouchers for taxis so that I couldn’t possibly break the law by driving myself anymore.

I am astounded that someone receiving a taxpayer subsidized salary thought that those same taxpayers should pay for some creepy… Read More

Remember back in 1995, when GOP Assemblywoman Doris Allen denied her fellow Republicans control of the Assembly by allowing the Democrats to make her Assembly Speaker?

The same thing has has happened to Tennessee Republicans, per today’s Political Diary:

Tennessee Republicans may soon find out if the public thinks a willingness to relinquish political power on principle is a reason that Republicans ought to be trusted with more power down the road. In effect, the Tennessee GOP has denied itself the speakership of the State House by kicking the speaker out of the Republican Party.

Here’s the backstory: In November, the GOP won control of both houses of the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. That victory was one of the few bright spots for Republicans across the country in 2008 and seemed to set the stage for a GOP resurgence and possible capture of the governor’s mansion in 2010. Then, on Jan. 13, the wheels started to come off. Republicans had rallied behind Rep. Jason Mumpower for House Speaker, and he appeared to… Read More

No… It wasn’t us. It was the Los Angeles Times (or as former Congressman Chris Cox like to refer to them, Pravda West).

Breaking her long self-imposed silence on many state policy issues while she was "considering" a run for Governor, Meg Whitman, now officially a candidate, gave an interview to Michael Finnigan with the Los Angeles Times. The interview is worth reading, although I must admit that after reading it with the idea that an interview might actually clear up a lot of the "mystery" surrounding Whitman and her positions on major issues of the day. Instead, I found that the interview left me with a lot of questions.

I have my own request into the Whitman campaign talk with the ersatz Governor, and haven’t heard back yet. I actually had assumed that Whitman was not doing interviews, yet. Clearly she wanted to give an exclusive "first interview as a candidate" to a major California newspaper. Conservative blogger interviews are somewhere down the journalistic food… Read More