Here’s some comments from a few Riverside political leaders on this great choice:

"The selection of Governor Sarah Palin as running mate once again demonstrates that Sen. John McCain is the one person who will bring real change to Washington. Gov. Palin is an independent woman who has proven that she has what it takes to stand up to special interests and work for the interests of the people she represents. As Governor of Alaska, she has brought energy, compassion, and toughness to the job, qualities that will serve our nation well. Sarah Palin is a strong choice by Sen. McCain, and together, they will be a great team for the American people." Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack

“Gov. Palin is a courageous and experienced reformer who will be a great leader in the McCain administration on the economy, spending, government reform and energy independence.” Congressman Ken Calvert

"Govenor Palin is an inspired choice. She’s a wildly popular govenor that took on a corrupt system and cleaned their clock. A woman who is a successful chief executive, pro-life mother… Read More

After escaping Obama-ville (Denver) on Wednesday, I’m now in Minneapolis for pre-RNC meetings. This morning I was with some national conservative leaders when news broke of Governor Palin’s selection as John McCain’s running mate. The feeling in the room was electric. A few of the pro-life leaders in the room began jumping up and down they were so excited.

There was a lot of trepidation about other potential VP candidates as anticipation grew this week, but with Governor Palin, conservatives are finally on board and fired-up about their presidential ticket. The mood in the room was a mix of surprise, relief, excitement and confidence that we can really win this election. As a conservative woman, I’ve always believed that it would be sad for someone like Hillary Clinton to be the first female to reach the White House. So as a conservative woman, it’s thrilling that our party—and especially conservatism—will make history with Vice President Sarah Palin. Thank you, Senator McCain, for making a bold choice with your running mate; I believe it’s a winning decision.

For the grassroots, the energy of this campaign started to shift during the Saddleback… Read More

SB 840, the government run health care plan just passed 44-31 on the 2nd ballot.… Read More

While a number of names are floating around out there as potential GOP candidates for California Governor in 2010, including former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, former Congressman Tom Campbell and Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy, there has only been one individual who is taking the actions that demonstrate his interest has moved well beyond that of punditry. Not too long ago, we broke the news on this blog that Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner was actively in dialogue with top-flight GOP consultant Mike Murphy to play a lead strategy role in a run for Governor.

Well, this afternoon we have confirmed that Team Poizner has now brought on board the GOP powerhouse firm of Meridian Pacific to aide in these beginning stages of Poizner’s run.… Read More

I am sitting in the airport, waiting to return to the Philippines, where I hope to earn enough money to become a profit center for the state instead of a cost of doing business. On my way to the airport, I heard the Governor slam the Republican borrowing plan really hard, calling it "bad" and "how the state got into this trouble in the first place." First, he is wrong on how the state got into this trouble. This Governor got into this mess the same way the last Governor did, by refusing to stand up to a spendthrift majority in the Legislature. What is worse, he was warned, by me and by others, who saw this doom coming, and whom he dismissed as irrelevant. While it is true that we were irrelevant in those negotiations, it was only because he refused to listen to the prophets forecasting his impending doom. He now wants to shoot the messengers (to mix the metaphors), and cover up his failures and his lack of discipline by punishing the taxpayers of the state of California, instead of the tax receivers. Big government bureaucrats and government unions live off the taxpayer. They pushed the majority to enact the out-of-control spending over the… Read More

Multiple people have told me that former Speaker Fabian Nunez is having to step in and take a leadership role in the budget negotiations because Speaker Bass and her staff don’t seem capable of making it happen.

I never thought I would actually want to see Nunez as Speaker again.

It is a strange day.… Read More

As a Jewish Republican, it’s kind of novel to be singled out by Governor Schwarzenegger in Yiddish, which is what happened a couple of days ago when the Governor participated in a video-conference interview with the editorial board of the San Diego Union Tribune. But I must admit to being honored to have two outstanding called-out ”colleagues" – KFI radio talk show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou – great Americans. Longtime FR friend Chris Reed is a member of the U-T’s Editorial Board and blogged about a quip made by the Governor:

BONUS TIDBIT: The governor made clear he’s paying close attention to the media in the budget battle, and not just mainstream heavyweights like the Sac Bee and the L.A. Times. He said he hoped his recently aggressive push to sell his compromise budget as a "way out of the problem, solving it once and for all" would make Republican lawmakers more comfortable with his plan. If he gets them aboard, "then maybe there’s only out there John & Ken… Read More

As a Jewish Republican, it’s kind of novel to be singled out by Governor Schwarzenegger in Yiddish, which is what happened a couple of days ago when the Governor participated in a video-conference interview with the editorial board of the San Diego Union Tribune. But I must admit to being honored to have two outstanding called-out ”colleagues" – KFI radio talk show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou – great Americans. Longtime FR friend Chris Reed is a member of the U-T’s Editorial Board and blogged about a quip made by the Governor:

BONUS TIDBIT: The governor made clear he’s paying close attention to the media in the budget battle, and not just mainstream heavyweights like the Sac Bee and the L.A. Times. He said he hoped his recently aggressive push to sell his compromise budget as a "way out of the problem, solving it once and for all" would make Republican lawmakers more comfortable with his plan. If he gets them aboard, "then maybe there’s only out there John & Ken… Read More