It’s never too early to start pushing out news about the goings-on for the many races shaping up for the 2010 primaries. As a matter of fact, let this be a notice to any out there who are running to be sure to keep FR looping in on your progress. We’ll report lots of stuff here that may be too “inside baseball” for other publications.

Last year, I never got around to penning an intended column noting the impressive success of Gilliard, Blanning, Wysocki & Associates in terms of seeing ALL of their clients win their races. I won’t list them all here, as that would be a bit gratuitous, though GBWA has a release up here.

That said, we always say here that every election year has two parts, the first half, which is actually the preceding year, and then the year in which the election is being held. So we are well into the 2010… Read More

In his inaugural address, President Obama said, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” The mistake here is that most all of the Muslim world is not threatening us, but Islamic radicals are and they will not have been mollified by the President’s words or intentions. The radicals—and there are more of them than any of us want to admit— do not believe we have a mutual interest and they are not interested in mutual respect. Indeed, their goal is to destroy us and they are probably pleased that we have a new President who seems committed to making nice since that will make us an easier target.

I am sure I will get critical emails upset that I am… Read More

There are a few election law cases of interest to Californians going on nowthat deserve some mention in this blog spot.

The first is a lawsuit filed late last year in federal court in Washington, D.C. by the California Republican Party and the Republican Party of San Diego County, along with the Republican National Committee, the goal of which is to challenge the constitutionality of the "soft money" restrictions of the McCain-Feingold law, also known as "BCRA" (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act). The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges therestrictions of Federal law are overly broad and unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Expedited review has been requested by the Plaintiffs. The case number is: 1:08CV01953.

Under McCain-Feingold, national parties are restricted from collecting contributions other than those subject to the rigorous Federal disclosure and contribution limits. National parties may not collect corporate contributions, even if the activity is intended to build up a state party, because corporate money is banned for Federal… Read More

Senator George Runner today was quoted as having uttered the most spot-on rhetorical question of the year:

“How do you make a tax increase when you’re still giving in-state tuition to illegal aliens?”

Yet despite such end-of-argument logic being stated by some of California’s legislators, the debate goes on about how to fix state government. Senator Runner’s quote appears in the Sunday Press Dispatch’s report about my good friend Assemblyman Anthony Adams’ surprising statements that he’s willing to consider tax increases in exchange for state budget cuts and reforms. Read more here: http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/adams_10563___article.html/tax_phone.html.

The news of this from the Sacramento Bee led to an hour-long war of words Thursday between Adams and Los Angeles talk radio hosts John… Read More

Let’s not say that the rumors of local San Diego political talk radio’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Let’s just say that the patient is not nearly as healthy as in the past. Let’s also note that there is some hope for the future.

A quick rundown of some recent changes…

Conservative friend-of-all Mark Larson is off the air. Liberal Stacy Taylor, gone. Longtime local powerhouse Roger Hedgecock, although still broadcasting from KOGO, now has a national show, with no focus on San Diego politics. Jimmy Valentine, Hedgecock’s producer since the mid-1990s, was dismissed in the transition.

Oh, and in case anyone forgot – or never cared – KLSD 1360’s Air America died in 2007. KLSD actually stood for K-Liberal San Diego…no joke.

Media watchers blame the “death" of local talk radio on the economy and high cost of staffing local programs, as compared to the efficiency of nationally syndicated shows. The significantly… Read More

There is a saying popular among Republicans "There is an evil party and a stupid party, and it isn’t hard to tell which is which."

Recent comments by Republican legislators prove this saying. Some Republican legislators have indicated they would be willing to vote for taxes. The fight is over, the left has won.

Of course, these Legislators will say "I have conditions. I will not vote for a tax increase until I receive (insert Democrat concession here)." Democrats will not concede, and in about two weeks, those legislators will vote for the tax increase demanded by the Democrats, without program cuts, without a spending cap, without whatever concession they demanded as a concession for their vote because "I got the best deal I could get, and I have to be responsible."

Democrats know this. It happens every time. This is 1991 and 2001 all over again. Of course, except for Maldonado, who desperately wanted to be a Senator and vote for the 2001 tax increase, but knew that the two were incompatible, the other Legislators who made this week’s "reasonable" pronouncements were not there in those two… Read More

For some weekend reading, I am pleased to present this commentary from freshman Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue…

AB 32 – Kills Jobs, Harmful to the Environment As a new Member of the California State Assembly I have introduce my first bill to suspend AB 32 the so-called California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. In 2006, on a party-line vote, Legislative Democrats passed AB 32 over the objections of the Republicans. Authored by then Assembly Speaker Fabien Núñez, ostensibly to combat the effects of global warming, AB 32 forces businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Appealing to the politically correct crowd of 2006, AB 32 was hailed far and wide by left leaning political elites. They could not have envisioned our economic downturn or the devastating effects of AB 32 on… Read More

For some weekend reading, I am pleased to present this commentary from freshman Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue…

AB 32 – Kills Jobs, Harmful to the Environment

As a new Member of the California State Assembly I have introduce my first bill to suspend AB 32 the so-called California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. In 2006, on a party-line vote, Legislative Democrats passed AB 32 over the objections of the Republicans. Authored by then Assembly Speaker Fabien Núñez, ostensibly to combat the effects of global warming, AB 32 forces businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Appealing to the politically correct crowd of 2006, AB 32 was hailed far and wide by left leaning political elites. They could not have envisioned our economic downturn or the… Read More