In two short months Republicans will lose their party leader when President Bush leaves 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The race is now on to fill the leadership void and provide direction for the GOP heading into the 2010 midterm elections. The contest to take over the Republican National Committee chairmanship is the most apparent test to determine the party’s direction. Several names have been floated, including Newt Gingrich, Michael Steele and other prominent Republicans. But one name being floated is better known to California Republicans: the CRP’s own chairman, Ron Nehring.

Most conservative leaders agree that the chairmanship of the RNC is a key position for rebuilding the party and they are keen on electing a true conservative who will welcome the conservative base back into the party. As possible candidates for the RNC chairmanship are discussed, Gingrich, Steele and other Republican luminaries are being mentioned, but Ron Nehring’s name is also being brought up. Could the CRP lose its party chairman to the national party? As Matt Drudge and his eponymous report would say, developing…

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[Cross-posted from RedCounty.com]

Same-sex advocates, sore over their failure to defeat Proposition 8, are waging a campaign of intimidation against supporters of the winning initiative.

The latest target is Scott Anderson, business owner and a board member of the Lincoln Club of Orange County.

Scott was on Dennis Prager this morning talking about a threatening voice mail from "Kevin" Andrews received yesterday.

Click here to listen to the voice mail.

Two days ago, the artistic director of the California Musical Theatre lost his job for donating to Prop. 8. Now we have this "Kevin" threatening someone’s business for exercising his political speech.

Kevin’s boycott threat may just be empty, angry bluster, but should… Read More

The latest from the Tony Strickland Campaign (as of last night):

Tony Strickland is leading Hanna Beth Jackson by 1,560 votes.

There are still over 42,000 absentee ballots to be counted…

1) As far as we can tell Santa Barbara County is done with absentee ballots (favors HBJ) 2) 40,000 in Ventura County (favors Strickland) 3) 2,775 in Los Angeles County (favors Strickland)

There are also over 18,000 provisional ballots to be counted (normally 30-50% of these are disqualified due to voter error).

1) 6,800 in Santa Barbara County (favors HBJ) 2) 10,000 in Ventura County (favors Strickland) 3) 2,000 in Los Angeles County (favors Strickland)… Read More

Today Congressman Dan Lungren of California entered the race for House GOP Leader, the first to openly challenge the re-election of incumbent Leader John Boehner. Here on this site, we have devoted a lot of column "ink" to the idea that Boehner, while a nice guy, is not made of the kind of stern stuff that is needed to lead the GOP out of the wilderness. When Boehner became leader, the same "team" that overspent us into the minority under former Speaker Dennis Hastert stayed put — included infamous porkers like Jerry Lewis and Dan Young.

Lungren’s entrance into the race is a welcome change from what seemed to be like a coronation (you had a vision of everyone drinking at the bar voting for the guy who tells the best stories to be "King of the bar" — so to speak).

It will be interesting to see if Lungren’s just into the fray causes others to get into the race. Either way, his entry will cause people to have to stop, and think about the job… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: After the defeats suffered by the Republican Party in the General Election, we have reached out to some California leaders to ask them to reflect on this question, "What must the GOP do to once again be the majority party?" We are pleased to bring this you column from FR friend and esteemed political consultant Frank Schubert, who contributes weekly to this website. Most recently, Frank along with his business partner, Jeff Flint, managed the successful Yes on 8 campaign – Flash]

I’m a lifelong Republican and I want to root for the home team. Problem is, I look out on the field of battle and I can’t tell which team is wearing the white uniform.

What do Republicans stand for anymore? The GOP leadership in Congress has virtually destroyed the Republican “brand” and turned it into something of value only to white, well-off conservatives. They have vastly expanded federal government spending and influence. They’ve turned… Read More

Tom McClintock’s lead over Charlie Brown is now 1,248. Even though this is 35 fewer votes than yesterday, McClintock’s lead really hasn’t diminshed despite Nevada County votes reported today. Nevada County is one of the few remaining counties still tabulating votes and it’s supposed to be a strong county for Charlie Brown. But McClintock’s Election Day GOTV was so strong that he’s maintaining his overall lead. McClintock’s campaign is to be congratulated for their Election Day work, which is now paying off.… Read More

From today’s Sacto Bee:

"Scott Eckern, artistic director for the California Musical Theatre, resigned Wednesday as a growing number of artists threatened to boycott the organization because of his $1,000 donation to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California."

What is they call it when someone is punished professionally due to their political beliefs — especially in the arts?

I remember now: McCarthyism!

I expect we’ll see prominent liberal defenders of free speech and artistic freedom leaping to Mr. Eckern’s defense any moment now,angrily denouncing the intolerance of those who cannot abide contrary opinions.

And if there is silence, that will speak loudly, too.… Read More

I have penned the following commentary, which appears today in the print and online version of Capitol Weekly newspaper. Its intended reading audience is our State Supreme Court Justices…

When considering Proposition 8, remember Rose Bird Jon Fleischman

On May 15 of this year, four Supreme Court Justices – Chief Justice Ron George and Associate Justices Joyce Kennard, Carlos Moreno, and Kathryn Werdegar– put on their “judicial activist” hats and tossed out Proposition 22, which had been passed by California voters by a healthy majority, placing into California law that marriage shall only be between a man and a woman.

The decision by these four individuals set into motion the… Read More