Former State Senator Republican Leader Jim Nielson, who retired from the Senate back in 1990, has decided that he is ready, once again, to serve the residents of the "North State" (as FR blogger Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa likes to refer to his sprawling 2nd District). This morning Nielson (pictured to the right, with Tom McClintock in the background), the youngest Senate GOP Leader in California history, is currently serving as a Deputy Commissioner of the California Board of Prison Terms. The Second Assembly District is ‘safe’ GOP territory, and LaMalfa is currently in his third and final term (though gearing up for a State Senate run himself in 2010).

As someone who served many years in the State Senate, we’ll be looking more at Nielson’s record as a Republican. That said, I do remember that Nielson co-authored (with Paul Gann) the Victims Bill of Rights. And in recent years, we’ve… Read More

CRP hired the wrong guy to be COO. Plain and simple. As many of you know the CRP has hired Bill Christiansen as the new temporary COO. First, we hear Billis an American, although I haven’t seen proof. Second, Bill is an accomplished political operative, former ED in Orange County and Arizona,a graduate of UCLA and of course his last gig was as the statewide coordinater for Victory ’06. For those of you new to the Victory ’06 saga, it was the statewide arm of the CAGOP that spent massively on behalf of the Governor (I would argue and the evidence indicates at the expense of everyone else on the ticket.) See here, its just not me. … Read More

Well, I don’t there is such a caucus, but there is no doubt that if there was one, it’s Chairman would be none other than Orange County’s Assemblyman Mike Duvall.

I get LOTS of e-mail newsletters from state legislators (if I am not on your list, you should add jon@flashreport.org), and today I received Duvall’s Dispatch. I ‘lifted’ this cool photo of the Assemblyman straight from it…

Did you know that Mike Duvall was born on Flag Day? See what you can find out by reading legislative newsletters? Of course, Duvall does not mention that he shares a birthday with none other than Donald Trump!

Perhaps when ill-fated attempt to extend term-limits fails next February, Duvall can go up to Fabian Nunez, and say,… Read More

There are a lot of reasons why the massive state government expansion into California’s health care marketplace is a bad idea. But there is a very good chance the the proposals by the Governor and Democrats violate the Federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. FR friend and San Diego Union Tribune editorial writer Chris Reed has been the loudest trumpet on this issue, but now six Assembly Republicans have signed a letter to Democrat Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, Chairman of the Health Committee, formally requesting a hearing to examine how ERISA might impact proposed plans… The signers were all five GOPers on the Health Committee, along with the Assembly Republican Leader: Dr. Alan Nakaniski, Dr. Bill Emmerson, Ted Gaines, Bob Huff, Audra Strickland, and Mike Villines. The letter is thoughtfully written, and worth a looksee. It’s linked below.

I’m not sure that actual legitimate policy concerns matter much to the Nunez machine, on their endless quest to expand the size and scope of state government… But I am proud that Assembly… Read More

I don’t have a problem with what Ann Coulter has to say. That’s her right. Her "side show" is all about making herself a pile of money, selling books, and getting obscene speakingfees. But I do have a problem with her doing what she does at the expense of the credibility of the conservative movement. Conservatives and conservative organizations need to rethink continuing to empower her by paying her speaking fees and providing crediblefora forher self-serving antics.

Ann of course is known as the journalist who at the national Conservative Political Action Conference last March sullied the reputation of former Senator John Edwards by callinghim outas a "faggot." Now she is at it again against Edwards. "So I’ve learned my lesson," she said ona recentABC program. "If I’m going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."

When Coulter appeared Tuesday on MSNBC’s "Hardball," Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of the former Senator,called in to ask Coulter to stop making personal… Read More

Steve Cooley is the two-time District Attorney from Los Angeles County. Most Republicans like him. He was a stand up guy in the Tookie Williams case. See here.He has been hardcore on the illegal immigration issue. I have personally heard him call for the Pardoning of the imprisoned borsed guards and he is relentless in tracking down illegal alien murderers. He opened a public integrity unit that got a guilty plea from a member of my school board.

However, some question his view on three strikes. Cooley wants to change the three strike law and that is drawing alot of controversy. See here.He is also drawing an opponent, Steve Ipsen, president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys.Ipsen is aRepublican, he needs to raise some $$ to be competitive, but 3 strikes will be an issue. See article here.… Read More

As the drama regarding the resignation of Michael Kamburowski has been unfolding, I had been hoping that I could get someone on the CRP Board to shoot me straight, explain what actually went on, and tell me how this, let’s call it a “diversion” from Ron Nehring’s ‘Strategic Plan,’ happened in the first place.

But as I woke up yesterday, I never thought it would be as easy as clicking onto the San Francisco Chronicle’s website and reading it straight from the mouth, or I guess rather the keyboard, of the CRP’s National Committeeman, Tim Morgan.

Tim wrote about what a “sad day” it was for the CRP. And in one respect, he was correct. It is a sad day when a CRP Board member goes to arguably the least Republican friendly newspaper in the state to try to air the Party’s dirty laundry and attempt to distance himself from an unfolding controversy.

Beyond the fact that his own piece highlights Tim’s irrelevance on the CRP Board – that not a single other… Read More

The 37th CD Primary is over. Richardson won the Dem primary. Earlier, Iposted about the GOP field. See here. Turns out that among GOP voters. The cop John Kanaly came in first and the convicted kidnapper came in last. … Read More