On Friday I took the opportunity to critique the CNN/YouTube GOP Presidential Debate — where I candidly expressed my disappointment of the video questions that were selected for that event. I figured that I would swing back and take a moment to highlight what I felt was the low-point of the affair…

GOP Presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani were asked about whether they support taxpayer subsidies for American farmers… Both of them gave answers that were extraordinairily disappointing…. Romney and Giuliani both know better, and so I would catagorize this as political pandering at its best to corn-belt voters in Iowa and thereabouts. Check out this segment… : There are several basic… Read More

On Friday I took the opportunity to critique the CNN/YouTube GOP Presidential Debate — where I candidly expressed my disappointment of the video questions that were selected for that event. I figured that I would swing back and take a moment to highlight what I felt was the low-point of the affair…

GOP Presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani were asked about whether they support taxpayer subsidies for American farmers… Both of them gave answers that were extraordinairily disappointing…. Romney and Giuliani both know better, and so I would catagorize this as political pandering at its best to corn-belt voters in Iowa and thereabouts. Check out this segment… : There are several basic… Read More

UPDATE: Incident OVER.

While not neccessarily a CA story, it is an incredible story.

We all have campaign "war stories" — but I’ve never seen anything like this:

Campaigns & Elections Update Friday Nov. 30, 2007 Man Takes Hostages at Clinton N.H. Campaign Office; Senator Cancels DNC Speech

Just thirty minutes before U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was scheduled to address the crowd at the Democratic National Committee’s fall meeting in Vienna, Va., her speech was canceled. Hundreds of her supporters filed out as news spread of a hostage situation at the senator’s Rochester, N.H. campaign office. Early reports of the situation have a man taking at least one hostage in the office. WMUR-TV in New Hampshire is… Read More

The phrase "I’ve been Borked" or"to Bork" someone is now common parlance in the legal community for the character assassination of a qualified person nominated to the judiciary. The Orange County Register has reported that liberal Senator Barbara Boxer isworking "to"Bork" eminently qualified Orange County Superior Court Judge and former US Congressman James Rogan, by objecting to his appointment to the Federal Judiciary. (Read the article here.)

Judge Rogan, whom I have known for many years (I wore off lots of shoe leather walking precincts for him when he was in the State Assembly), is one of the most qualified persons I can imagine tosit onthe Federal bench. He is smart, ethical, and a diligently hard worker. His personal story is also compelling. He was raised in a lower-income single parent family, went on to graduate from UCLA law school, worked as a gang prosecutor, was one of the youngest people ever appointed judge in California, was elected to the State Assembly (where he served as Majority Leader during the… Read More

Not wanting to be contrarian to all the recent voices for the Governor to call a fiscalemergency special session to deal with California’s critical budget crisis – but if he does – nothing will happen.

Sure – a "Fiscal Emergency Special Session" sounds great, and it would be great if Prop 58 (which created this authority) had any teeth in it. But Prop 58 was written as window dressing for Prop 57(the $15 Billion Deficit Bond) that the governor and the Democrats really, really wanted to bail us out of the Gray Davis deficit crisis.

Prop 57’s basic concept was for California to go into more long-term debt to pay off itsshort-termdeficit – which without Prop 58 to make it look like "real reform" would never ever have made it past the voters. (consumer warning: don’t attempt this at home – you will go bankrupt)

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

Not wanting to be contrarian to all the recent voices for the Governor to call a fiscalemergency special session to deal with California’s critical budget crisis – but if he does – nothing will happen.

Sure – a "Fiscal Emergency Special Session" sounds great, and it would be great if Prop 58 (which created this authority) had any teeth in it. But Prop 58 was written as window dressing for Prop 57 (the $15 Billion Deficit Bond) that the governor and the Democrats really, really wanted to bail us out of the Gray Davis deficit crisis.(update: please see Steve Maviglio’s comment below – I had orginally misnumbered the Props and he was kind enough to point that out – in his heartfelt way) Prop 57’s basic concept was for California to go into more long-term debt to pay off itsshort-termdeficit – which without Prop 58 to make it look like "real reform" would never ever have made it past the voters. (consumer warning: don’t attempt this at home – you will go bankrupt)

Prop 58 is rife with loopholes. It sounds awesome… Read More

When we pulled together the main page this morning, we missed this outstanding commentary from our own FR State Capitol Correspondent — Senator Jim Battin.

The editorial below ran in the Riverside Press-Enterprise today.

Budget Denial

As deficits ramp up, Democrats need to quit ducking touch choices By SENATOR JIM BATTIN

I know in polite society we aren’t supposed to say "I told you so," but listening to the latest budget news out of Sacramento, I couldn’t help but think it.

The state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst, Elizabeth Hill, announced this month that California’s budget situation has "deteriorated" by almost $6 billion since the budget was signed in late August. As a result, next year’s budget deficit is conservatively estimated at $10 billion, up from about $3 billion this year. I say conservatively because state revenues are in… Read More

The editorial below ran in the Riverside Press-Enterprise today.

Budget Denial

As deficits ramp up, Democrats need to quit ducking touch choices By SENATOR JIM BATTIN

I know in polite society we aren’t supposed to say "I told you so," but listening to the latest budget news out of Sacramento, I couldn’t help but think it.

The state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst, Elizabeth Hill, announced this month that California’s budget situation has "deteriorated" by almost $6 billion since the budget was signed in late August. As a result, next year’s budget deficit is conservatively estimated at $10 billion, up from about $3 billion this year. I say conservatively because state revenues are in a tailspin and the deficit could easily be billions of dollars more.

If this sounds like a broken record, here’s why:… Read More