Today we are pleased to feature this guest commentary from Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association…

The potential recall of State Senator Jeff Denham is a tragic example of what happens in Sacramento when one has the audacity to stand on principle. Denham realized that voting for a budget that started out $700 million in the hole was not a good example of fiscal stewardship. For this, he and other balanced budget supporters were labeled "fiscal terrorists" by the tax and spend lobby. Ultimately, Denham’s continued resolute support of the principle that we should live within our means saw him removed from powerful legislative committees (keeping him from serving his constituents) and made him the target of a recall.

Not surprisingly, evidence has emerged that the puppet master funding and behind this shadowy endeavor is Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. Perata is no stranger to… Read More

It seems to me like one objective sign that candidates are serious about campaigning for California delegates would be what we will call, “resource allocation” – which is to say, if you want to get votes in California, you have to go get them.

Since we are more focused on the GOP primary here in California, I will ask an open question. At what stage should we see resources being visibily committed by a campaign before we can assume they are not serious about competing for our boatload of delegates?

Resource Test #1 – Absentee Voting in California Starts Around Now. Are candidates sending mail to Republican absentee voters? What about a chase program? Do they have enough volunteers to make follow up calls?

Resource Test #2 – Television and Radio Advertising as well as Mail Pieces California’s a big state. It is very expensive to advertise here if you look at it as one big buy. But it isn’t. We are really a group of media markets, and presidential contenders don’t need to go for the whole thing.

It seems to me that Mitt Romney has, more or less, bottomless… Read More

Recently, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied the State of California’s request for a waiver of existing law so that California could adopt it’s own regulations for the fuel economy (greenhouse gases) of cars and light trucks. Note that California was asking to be exempted from the federal law which reserves this regulatory control exclusively to the federal government. Last Wednesday amidst a flurry of press conferences predicting the end of the earth, the State of California sued the federal government over this decision and Speaker Pelosi announced that Congressional Hearings will be held to investigate the decision – A decision to not exempt a state from something.

Now, let’s forget about whether you do or do not believe that the non- polluting greenhouse gases emitted by cars and trucks should be regulated. That proverbial ship has sailed for the present. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards exist and they will for the foreseeable future to deal with either dependence of foreign oil or greenhouse gases. The debate here is what those standards will be and who will regulate them.

Just before the EPA… Read More

Recently, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied the State of California’s request for a waiver of existing law so that California could adopt it’s own regulations for the fuel economy (greenhouse gases) of cars and light trucks. Note that California was asking to be exempted from the federal law which reserves this regulatory control exclusively to the federal government. Last Wednesday amidst a flurry of press conferences predicting the end of the earth, the State of California sued the federal government over this decision and Speaker Pelosi announced that Congressional Hearings will be held to investigate the decision – A decision to not exempt a state from something.

Now, let’s forget about whether you do or do not believe that the non- polluting greenhouse gases emitted by cars and trucks should be regulated. That proverbial ship has sailed for the present. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards exist and they will for the foreseeable future to deal with either dependence of foreign oil or greenhouse gases. The debate here is what those standards will be and who will regulate them.

Just before the EPA… Read More

Most news organizations have called the Iowa caucuses – and high expectations has left bruises on early favorites Mitt and Hillary.

On the GOP side, former Arkansas Guv Mike Huckabee was cruising to a win by a large margin — nearly 10 pnts ahead of Mitt Romney.

For the Dems, Barrack Obama posted an 8-pnt with, with Hillary and John Edwards in a virtual tie for 2nd/3rd place.

This has got to be seen a blow to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who spent millions trying to secure a big win here. Instead, his reported $7 million looks to net him only 7 delegates – that’s a million bucks a delegate (nomination requires 1245 delegates — you do the math.)

It’s also a blow to Hillary — who was an early front-runner and thought to be invulnerable…it still remains to be seen if she’ll even squeak by John "million dollar hair-cut" Edwards.

With Californians starting to vote by mail on Monday (around 50% of votes are projected to be… Read More

Welcome back all dear FR Friends and readers. This year promises to be one of the most exciting we’ve seen this decade. Not only will 2008 usher in a new President, but through the process, the parties will decide what they believe in and can concurrently come together on (no easy task for any party!), a modification to Term Limits will certainly shake things up in the State house, and the State Legislature will deal with a staggering $14 BILLION budget deficit.

I can’t wait to to keep you posted on the happenings throughout the legislative process. So by way of welcoming in a new year, here are a list of my hopes and dreams for 2008:

* Mitt Romney captures the Republican Primary and is swept into the White House (obvious disclaimer time: I’ve endorsed Romney for President)

* Nunez and Perata fail to deceive voters that their "modified term limits" is anything other than ashameless attempt to stay in their respective power seats

* Jon Fleischman will realize that, despite the fatal flaws of Prop 93, Term Limits stinks and California needs to take another long and honest look at what is best for our… Read More

Just in case the "holiday season" has left you out of sync with that which is shortly to come, the California Presidential Primary is a mere 33 days away. OK, you knew the date, but admit it … you hadn’t thought of it in terms of "shopping days left."

With Iowa on a tad nearer horizon, the SD media is looking to localize the story as much as possible. I loved this headline and editorial from the New Year’s Day SDUT:

The Iowa circus: This is no way to choose party nominees

No way, perhaps, but politics is often a circus. Have some popcorn and hang on.

Speaking of hanging on, the SDUT this morning focuses on Duncan Hunter’s chances:

The art of the lonely Hunter

As reporter Dana Wilkie notes in the piece, Duncan does have the ability to state the obvious when he says, "The only thing that stands between us and high numbers in the polls right now are media coverage and money."… Read More

Well FR readers, welcome to 2008. This promises to be a VERY eventful year in California politics.

Just think about it…

We have not one, not two, but three statewide elections… Already we know that the first one will be filled with the politics of four referendums on Indian Gaming Compacts, the effort of Fabian Nunez to extend his time in office by another six years, and, oh, the minor matter of which GOP and Democrat candidates will win California delegates to their respective party Presidential nominating conventions.

At the center of this year’s three-ring circus will be the politically schizophrenic Arnold Schwarzenegger. On some days of the week, he’ll get out of bed putting his right foot down. This will be the Governor who wants spending caps, opposes “job killer bills” and talks tough on cutting state spending to tackle the state’s massive overspending problems. Other days of the week, he’ll leap out of bed onto his two left… Read More