For those who haven’t heard the news, look who has endorsed Prop. 11…

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association today announced the endorsement of Proposition 11 to stop the conflict of interest of lawmakers drawing their own districts and choosing the voters they want to help ensure their reelection. “The current system fixes elections so that fewer than five percent of state representatives face a challenge to their reelection,” said HJTA president Jon Coupal. “This has resulted in a climate where lawmakers do not have… Read More

With less than three weeks remaining in the election, John McCain isn’t quite political toast yet, but he’s under the broiler, there’s smoke around his edges and people are beginning to arrange the butter and jam.

McCain had his best debate performance of the election last night, and arguably might have won it. But that may be a bit like this year’s final tournament of the Fed Ex Cup golf playoffs. Vijay Singh had built such a lead by the time the final post-season tournament came around, all he had to do was complete it alive to win the $10 million Cup prize. Obama emerged from the debate on the defensive, with some bruises, but very much alive. That may be all he needed to do.

The daily national polls the media loves to tout are meaningless. To understand the condition of the presidential race, you have to look at the contest state by state. Right now, it looks very blue.

According to Real Clear Politics, Barack Obama has a clear lead in states with 249 of the 270 electoral votes necessary to win. He has a lead in states with another 37 electoral votes. John McCain has a solid lead… Read More

If you struggled through the Presidential debate last night like I did, you knew two things would come from it. The first is that the McCain Campaign would start to use "Joe the Plumber" in their messaging. The second is a skit on Saturday Night Live featuring Joe. Well, check out the ad below from the McCain for President campaign… One down… … Read More

We here at the FlashReport hear that there is an interesting political movement emerging in San Bernardino County. Apparently, and I wouldn’t have known this, it is getting harder and harder to find a wedding singer in those parts. Because of this, liberals in the 63rd Assembly District, currently represented by Dentist-turned-Legislator Bill Emmerson, are running a behind-the-scenes effort to pull the rug out from Emmerson’s Democrat opponent, the wedding singer, Mark Westwood (pictured).

I guess the presumption is that if Westwood were to become a member of the State Legislature, his time to “rock out” weddings and bar mitzvahs would be severely reduced. Actually, it’s not only that special once-in-a-lifetime event in your life that Westwood wants to “rock” – if you check out the website of the… Read More

In the midst of our own election in California and with a workload that would rival the weight ofAgamemnon’s armor,I am nevertheless in Columbus, Ohio, the state capitol for a few days, and there is no escaping full-blown court room political drama. More than 200,000 "voters" here will be required to cast "provisional" rather than regular ballots as a result of a Federal Court order that attempts to reconcile huge discrepancies between the secretary of state’s voter rolls and the actual voter roles of local election officials. Fast at work here have been ACORN and other Democratic voter registration groups that have been accused for vote rigging. Apparently, one individual here was registered to vote 72 different ways by these "do-gooders." In a tight, heavily campaigned swing state, that could make a difference. It looks like Florida all over again, but a midwest version, in this current Presidential election.

There is an underlying dirt to this election coming from the Obama supporters. Enemies lists. Threatening anonymous letters to Republican activists. Voter fraud. I predict we will… Read More

Sorry if my blogging has been on the light side — I’m actually in Sacramento for a couple of days. And while you might intuitively think that would lead to MORE blogging, not less, most of the meetings and conversations that I have up here are "off the record" as I continue to nurture the relationships that let me bring you breaking news, and accurate "intel" on the inner-workings of the Sacramento political scene.

Today I have a meeting of the California Republican Party Board of Directors that will take most of the day, as we go over and approve the final stages of the State GOP Victory Program.

I have to run right now — but I will try to blog later. Oh, and for those who have asked about my chat with Senate President Don Perata yesterday at the Hyatt (word moves around this town), that conversation was way off the record — but very entertaining.… Read More

I always say that public employee unions exist really to accomplish two goals, and that anything else that they do is ancillary to these goals. First and foremost to increase salary and benefits for their union members, and second to pursue any state policies that would increase the number of members of their union.

Pretty simple, right? This is why public employee unions are so insidious.

Well, apparently there is an exception to my theory. Apparently yesterday the California Teachers Association donated a staggering $1,000,000.00 (a cool million bucks) to the No on 8 Campaign. Proposition 8 is the Protect Marriage Act.

So you have to start scratching your head, and wonder why the state union that looks out for the salary and benefits of teachers is spending its member-dollars on a ballot measure that is about defining marriage in California?

One has to conclude that the decision making body of the CTA PAC is not only filled with union-hacks (as you would expect)… Read More

As always, someone or two are on my flights to or from Sacramento. On my flight home with me are CRP Treasurer Keith Carlson and former LA Times Reporter turned OC government bureaucrat Jean Pasco. I'll be spending my time talking to Jean!… Read More