While much to-do was made over the recent non-binding resolution passed by the California Republican Party Board of Directors reaffirming our current party rules that say you must be a registered Republican vote cast a ballot in the Presidential primary, that did not mean that the issue was resolved. Former California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim had been making a case for submitting a formal change in our rules, to be considered at the State GOP’s Fall Convention in September, to allow non-Republicans to vote in the Republican Primary. Well, the deadline for submitting such a change for our September Convention has now come and gone, and Mr. Sundheim did not introduce such a proposal, nor did any other party member. As such, any question marks hovering over this issue are now gone. So all Republican Presidential campaigns can focus their message on GOP voters for our primary (and, of course, on efforts to take non-GOP supporters and get them to re-register to the party of Ronald… Read More

As FR readers know, California Congressman John Campbell has become a leader for fiscal responsibility in the House of Representatives, bravely taking on the issue of egregious earmarks. We couldn’t be more proud of him, and take as a point of pride that he is a contributor and blogger on this website.

This obsession with wasteful pork has infected Congressman in a terrible way. The Club for Growth has released a startling and information "RePork" Card (which you can preview here) — next week we’ll be walking FR readers through the results of how our California Delegation voted on fifty separate votes to remove from Appropriations Bills some of the most outrageous wasteful spending you have ever seen.

In the meantime, we invite you to take about six minutes to watch Congressman Campbell’s appearance last night on the FoxsNews Channel’s Hannity and Colmes program (h/t to CfG for uploading the video)… … Read More

Today, in the Modesto Bee, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Jose Mercury News, the Governor and his staff have taken to attacking Republicans, and specifically Jeff Denham, in the budget fight. This is a huge mistake.

Dan Dunmoyer, one of the Governor’s staff, a former Nolanista, and a good solid conservative, as well as Mike Genest, the State’s Finance Director, who was the head of the Republican Senate fiscal staff under Jim Brulte, and my advisor when I sat as the lone Republican on the Senate Health and Human Services Budget Subcommitte, wrote articles for the Modesto Bee and the LA Times. The Genest article is the most disturbing, since it mentions Denham by name, and appears to be naive to the fact that the Democrats are trying to recall Denham. Genest, whom I like and respect, in his zeal to promote the Governor’s plan, is putting Denham at severe risk. That is a most dangerous game, and one that a Republican Governor would never play. Not even Pete Wilson, in the time when he called any Republican legislator who would not vote for his tax increase f—ing irrelevant, did anything publically to put any of them at risk. The move… Read More

Have you ever heard that expression, "politics makes for strange bed fellows?"

Yesterday an organization called Taxpayers for Protecting Public Safety held a press conference in the State Capitol to announce that they have filed litigation to stop the State of California from issuing billions of dollars in bonds for prison construction. A perusal of this organization’s website shows that their preferred route of dealing with the state’s prison overcrowding issues are not those to which I would subscribe (new sentencing commission, paroling those on life sentences, yadda yadda).

But looking past the poor public policy direction that this group would like to take in the area of having a penal system that is tough on criminals and protects Californians, I will say that the legal proceedings in which they have engaged seem to be quite meritorious.

Specifically, this organization has filed suit saying that the massive Prison Bond package that the legislature passed earlier this year was illegal because they were not approved by a… Read More

Have you ever heard that expression, "politics makes for strange bed fellows?"

Yesterday an organization called Taxpayers for Protecting Public Safety held a press conference in the State Capitol to announce that they have filed litigation to stop the State of California from issuing billions of dollars in bonds for prison construction. A perusal of this organization’s website shows that their preferred route of dealing with the state’s prison overcrowding issues are not those to which I would subscribe (new sentencing commission, paroling those on life sentences, yadda yadda).

But looking past the poor public policy direction that this group would like to take in the area of having a penal system that is tough on criminals and protects Californians, I will say that the legal proceedings in which they have engaged seem to be quite meritorious.

**There is more – click the link**… Read More

Prominent conservative blogger and columnist Michelle Malkin posted yesterday about the Oakland-based criminal family behind "Your Black Muslim Bakery" and the local left-wing politicians who have supported them. The "bakery" (or criminal base camp, depending on how you view it) is back on the front pages of the Bay Area newspapers after one of its young employees (?) murdered Oakland Post editor and reporter Chauncey Bailey after they had gotten word that Bailey was working on a potentially damning story. The confessed murderer said he thought he was being "a good soldier" for carrying out the brazen act.

Here’s a good snippet from Malkin’s blog post: The… Read More

It’s been a busy summer (work and fun) so I’m a little late in updating Flashreport readers on the happenings as it relates to the legislative races in the Sacramento area.

The July reports are a chance for candidates to show momentum (or lack thereof). It even brings about some late entries that will need to play catch up in the next reporting period.

That being said, there have been several interesting developments in Assembly primaries around Sacramento.

AD 2 The lack of a clear front-runner in this safe Republican seat has left the door wide open for a strong candidate such as former State Senator Jim Nielsen to enter the race. Since announcing in July, Nielsen has gained the endorsement of incumbent Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa and retains the respect of many of his current and former colleagues. Although he announced his candidacy after the June reporting deadline, many expect him to have a strong report in October. Nielsen represented a good portion of this area in the Senate and the Assembly, but he will have to move into the District to become an eligible candidate.

Nielsen’s opponent is Dentist… Read More

Just across the transom is the news that Governor Schwarzenegger has tapped FR friend John Cruz to be his new Appointments Secretary. This is outstanding news as I am pleased to report that John is a proud Reagan Republican with a strong track record of assisting GOP candidates and causes. The appointment of Cruz to this critical post in the adminstration is a GOP "pick up" as his predecessor, though short-lived, was from the party of Hillary Clinton.

You can read the official release here with all of John’s accomplishments and affiliations, and some praise from the Governor for John’s ability.

We know that a lot of conversations take place behind the scenes about whom to recommend to the Governor for appointment to thousands of important administration positions — and I feel very comfortable knowing that John will be weighing in on all of those decision, as someone who things of Republicans in the… Read More