Submitted to us by FR reader Andrew Russo of Monterey County…

Whither the GOP? Barack Obama’s election and the concurrent loss of additional Republican seats in the House and Senate are the direct and inevitable result of the destruction George W. Bush and his merry band of neo-conservatives wreaked upon a once proud and principled political party. George W. Bush – like his father before him, but to a much greater and more dangerous degree — repudiated the traditional small government philosophy that elected Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 and led to the Republican sweep in the 1994 congressional elections.… Read More

Here is a submission from looooongtime FR friend Sean Loranger (hailing back to our YAF days)… REPUBLICAN MESSAGE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE By Sean Loranger Republicans must give Americans a message they can understand, trust and believe in. Those leaders incapable of delivering the message or living up to it should not be allowed to represent the Republican Party.

This message can be delivered utilizing these ten simple statements: … Read More

With Governor Schwarzenegger and others calling for a "Federal Bail Out" of California State Government, I thought this letter from Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform to the Treasury Department to be very timely.

Perhaps we should all be applying for funds? I think the FlashReport could use a few hundred billion, myself!… Read More

The five official Proponents of Proposition 8, along with the ProtectMarriage.com – Yes on 8 campaign, today filed legal papers with the California Supreme Court asking the Court to accept original jurisdiction of three lawsuits challenging the measure’s validity, seeking to intervene in the lawsuits as Real Parties In Interest, and urging the Supreme Court to reject a stay of the initiative.

We are confident that we will prevail on the merits and that Proposition 8 will be upheld.

In calling for the Supreme Court to take original jurisdiction of three challenges to Proposition 8, we said in our legal papers, “The people of California are entitled to a prompt resolution of whether Proposition 8 properly amended their Constitution. Proposition 8 was the subject of a vigorous and expensive campaign that generated an intense debate and very strong feelings on both sides. The people have a right to know as quickly as possible the status and definition of marriage under the California Constitution.”

Three lawsuits have been filed with the California Supreme Court claiming that Proposition 8 is a “constitutional revision” and thus allegedly… Read More

The last couple of weeks, we have featured a dozen columns from GOP leaders around California, giving their input on the future of the Grand Old Party in the wake of this year’s Presidential Election defeats. We will continue to feature more of these columns. But we have also been getting quite a few submissions from FlashReport readers on the subject, and we’ll start to run some of those today. If you would like to join in on the discussion, just send me your thoughts (up to 400 words) for publication right here on the FR Blog. Please include a one-sentence bio, and if you have one, a .jpg format headshot of yourself.

Jump in — the water’s warm!

(If you want to go back and peruse the columns we’ve already run, most of them are here. And there is one here, here, and… Read More

The last couple of weeks, we have featured a dozen columns from GOP leaders around California, giving their input on the future of the Grand Old Party in the wake of this year’s Presidential Election defeats. We will continue to feature more of these columns. But we have also been getting quite a few submissions from FlashReport readers on the subject, and we’ll start to run some of those today. If you would like to join in on the discussion, just send me your thoughts (up to 400 words) for publication right here on the FR Blog. Please include a one-sentence bio, and if you have one, a .jpg format headshot of yourself.

Jump in — the water’s warm!

(If you want to go back and peruse the columns we’ve already run, most of them are here. And there is one here, here, and… Read More

Many of you have pestered … uhh … I mean encouraged me over the last several days to get with it and tally the San Diego General Election Prediction Contest results and announce a winner. As I’ve said before, what do you want for free? In good time, nothing’s gonna change … well, except perhaps for the winner in Chula Vista (which, fortunately, wasn’t a question included in our little contest).

If you missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (okay, twice per cycle, except when there’s a special election), here’s the prior post.

Just as in the primary, we had about 40 respondents. Before the e-roll, a recap of the questions, the correct answers and a brief analysis of the responses on each:

Question #1: A Taxing Question – Does Prop A, the Countywide Parcel Tax for Fire Protection, win or lose?

Correct Answer – LOSE. A solid 75 percent got this one right, even some of the folks in support of the darned thing. Good start.

Question #2: San Diego City… Read More

House Republicans have some big decisions to make this week with Dan Lungren’s decision to challenge John Boehner for leader of the embattled minority. And amongst the incoming freshman class making such important directional decisions will be California’s Tom McClintock. The United States House of Representatives has recognized the inevitable fact that Tom McClintock won the 4th CD seat. It’s just a matter of days before McClintock will be declared the next representative for Congressman John Doolittle’s district. McClintock will arrive in Washington, D.C., tomorrow to begin freshman orientation and participate in House Republican strategizing.

After losing Congress and the White House, Republicans nationwide are considering the party’s future. This is a time of rebuilding the Republican brand by embracing conservative principles, not denouncing them. Congressman Tom McClintock will certainly be one of the most important leaders for the conservative movement on the national scene. Conservatives need his vision and voice not just in deciding new House leadership, but to re-earn voters’ trust. Look out, Washington Establishment!… Read More