I’m aboard yet another Southwest Airlines flight to Sacramento, to make a presentation for a client for my consulting practice, and again my rule of always knowing someone on a flight to or from the Capitol City!

I’m sitting with Orange County GOP activist leader Jim Righeimer, and his business associate (and also loyal GOPer) Steve Menzinger. Also, somewhere on the flight is that cool guy I always run into who works in the County Registrar’s office, but whose name escapes me right now…

Maybe when I get to the Capitol I will stop by Don Perata’s office. I’m curious if he has a plan to reimburse the public for the costs associated with his now-aborted recall effort against Senator Jeff Denham.… Read More

Buried inside a DC policy journal called the "Daily Report for Executives" published by the Bureau of National Affairs was an interesting brief on a new scientific report released by the American Geophysical Union. I’ll quote from the brief:

"Computer modeling has overstated warming in Antarctica going back to 1880…. The study marks the first time that scientists have been able to compare more than 100 years of Antarctic climate observations with simulations run on computer models…. [the lead author said], "…over the past century, most of Antarctica has not undergone the fairly dramatic warming that has affected the rest of the globe. The challenges of studying climate in this remote environment make it difficult to say what the future holds for Antarctica’s climate."

The report went on to note that the "observed" temperatures on that continent rose by about .2 degree Celsius (.4 F). The climate models used by the UN-supported body many cite as the global standard, modeled an Antarctic temperature rise of… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog]

The long, strange political saga of Janet Nguyen has taken another curious turn.

She is being sued in small claims court by the man who quarterbacked her recount effort in the wake of the Feb. 2007 special election: veteran GOP operative Jimmy Camp.

The reason: Janet’s refusal to pay Jimmy the final $2,500 of the $10,000 win bonus he was promised if she won the recount.

Jimmy has been working in OC and California GOP politics for close to twenty years. he has worked with a laundry-list of candidates, elected officials and movers-and-shakers. He is roundly liked, admired and respected.

Why stiff him?

Leaving aside the wrongness of refusing to pay someone what you owe them…but forcing Jimmy Camp to go to court to in order to get paid? Why confirm the persistent criticism that Janet isn’t ready for prime time with this display of political pettiness and immaturity?

Obviously, Janet can bank on this… Read More

On Earth Day (that’s Apr. 22 for those of you still not on the eco-train), I spoke in Beijing. While there, I spent time with both U.N. and Chinese government officials, as well as Chinese business leaders, who told me that highly placed members of the DNC have spent a great deal of time in China, telling them that Democrats will win the White House in November and singing the praises of Senator Obama.

During the course of my visit, I made it very clear that I am a McCain supporter, and they listened intently to a side of American politics they are not hearing from other visitors from the U.S. What a pity.

Reading about our next President in American newspapers is not the way a nation of 1.3 billion people should meet him. There were some heavy hitters at the Summit at which I spoke, and my personalized stories of Senator McCain were the first they had heard.

[Hey, RNC…it’s only a 12 hour flight to Beijing, and even in economy class, it’s not that bad! Getty up!]

I can tell you that… Read More

I was in my car this afternoon (contributing to my carbon footprint) when my State Senator, Dick Ackerman, called me with the news — Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata had "called off" of the recall of Jeff Denham. Or, to be more precise, Perata announced the suspension of the political campaign to pass the recall measure.

Now that I am back at my computer, I went online and was able to read Senator Perata’s "spin" on his decision…

ENTER THE SPIN ROOM…

Perata’s statement reads, in part:

A long stalemate is the last thing we need. Without a budget – we run out of cash – the richest state in America gone broke!

We won’t be paying our bills – and we won’t be giving our schools, our emergency rooms and our police the resources they need.

So I met with Republican Leader Dave Cogdill – and I asked him how we could clear… Read More

Courtesy of our Friends at CapitolAlert:

Perata’s Statement:

"Like all of you, I’ve been worried a lot about the economy – falling home prices, rising gas prices – and how hard it’s getting for people to find a job.

I’ve talked with both Treasurer Lockyer and Controller Chiang about the state’s cash situation – and the need to do everything we can to reach an agreement on the budget.

A long stalemate is the last thing we need. Without a budget – we run out of cash – the richest state in America gone broke!

We won’t be paying our bills – and we won’t be giving our schools, our emergency rooms and our police the resources they need.

So I met with Republican Leader Dave Cogdill – and I asked him how we could clear the decks and start making some progress.One issue kept coming up. The Denham recall.

So today – in the spirit of putting politics aside to solve problems – I’m ending the recall campaign.

You’re bound to ask, so let me tell you – there was no deal, no quid pro quo.

This is my call –… Read More

Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill negotiated an end to the Denham Recall today.

That is the first major victory for the new Republican Leader.… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog] This letter from Orange County Employees Association General Manager Nick Berardino went out yesterday to OCEA member.

It’s message: vote for Harry Sidhu in the SD33 GOP primary.

While the letter seems worded so as not to inflict collateral damage to Sidhu with conservative GOP primary voters, one can almost picture the "Sidhu is the union candidate!" hit piece coming to an SD33 mailbox near you.

For example, the letter states:

"Also, Harry has been a strong opponent of privatization-oriented ideas in which a public agency might divest itself of property to the enrichment of the few while the citizens are left holding the bag."

Nick is a great guy and a friend, but this probably does Harry more harm than good.

Both the Sidhu and Mimi Walters campaigns are have sent out mailers accusing each… Read More