Margaret Thatcher once said, “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are…you’re not.”

This weekend Speaker Pelosi was in Pleasant Hill at a fundraiser for Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. She touted the failed efforts of the Democratic majority to move the Commander-in-Chief on timetables in Iraq, even offering to take their domestic pork barrel spending out of the bill to woo him. Alas, to no avail.

She praised newly-elected Congressman McNerney as “Congress’ only mathematician and wind energy expert.’ Scary that there is only one “mathematician” working on our federal budget, and as far as being a wind energy expert, McNerney isn’t the only one who keeps the hot air balloon around the Capitol fully inflated. Funny thing is, McNerney seems to have figured out that he won’t win re-election by placating the left wing radicals who got him into office. He’s been distancing himself from a number of far left initiatives lately, and looks to be positioning himself… Read More

Someday Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be Governor anymore, but the impact of his “He-man” assualt on the alleged human-created component of some sort of warming trend on the planet will define his legacy. Of that I am sure that there is probably agreement between the Governor and this humble website publisher.

But the legacy that the Governor will, in fact, leave behind will be one of costly regulation and resource scarcity that will make it much harder to afford to be a Californian in the next generation than it is to be one now (if you can believe that).

I could start rattling off ill-advised policy goals and actions that will lead to this outcome, but for this post, I will highlight the Governor’s decision to reject the application of BHP-Billiton’s Liquified Natural Gas Facility many miles off the Malibu coastline.

The reality is that with the growth in population in California, sustainable energy sources are essential. Without new ones, that scarcity I mention above will raise prices for…everything. And guess what, it will hit those least able to afford it the most!

I know that the BHP proposal would… Read More

This morning, longtime GOP Consultant Ron Rogers sent an email to friends and colleagues announcing his newest adventure – becoming Chief of Staff to Congressman John Doolittle.

This isn’t the first foray into government work for Ron, a longtimepartner with the firm Russo, Marsh, & Rogers.He previously had served as Chief Deputy State Treasurer to former Treasurer Matt Fong, and has done stints in the State Senate, State Assembly, and Orange County Supervisors Office.

In explaining the motivation for his move, Ron said:

I want to advance the cause of Republican principles and conservative governance.

John Doolittle has been on the front lines fighting for those principles his entire life. Challenging and defeating liberal incumbents, encouraging and supporting conservative candidates, championing legislation and supporting issues that allowed Republicans to win control of the House of Representatives.

Now, those… Read More

Since summer is upon us, or at least the June through August school holiday that I still associate with summer, I thought that instead of a traditional Monday morning commentary I would offer a summer reading list. The books I’ve listed below, in no particular order, are those that I would think anyone who is interested in practical politics would be interested in rubbing their eyes against.

PLUNKITT OF TAMMANY HALL by Riordon. The classic American book on politics, it doesn’t get much straighter than Tammany District Leader Plunkitt’s ‘series of very plain talks on very practical politics’. While many aspects of what is considered savory, or legal, have changed, much has stayed the same, including Plunkitt’s observation’s that politics are based on personal loyalties, or that many businessman or good government reformers tend to fail because they fail to learn the business and practice of politics.

TRIBES ON THE HILL by Weatherford. ‘Tribes’ looks at the ‘rituals and realities’ of the United States Congress, often in comparison to various tribal governments.… Read More

Since summer is upon us, or at least the June through August school holiday that I still associate with summer, I thought that instead of a traditional Monday morning commentary I would offer a summer reading list. The books I’ve listed below, in no particular order, are those that I would think anyone who is interested in practical politics would be interested in rubbing their eyes against.

PLUNKITT OF TAMMANY HALL by Riordon. The classic American book on politics, it doesn’t get much straighter than Tammany District Leader Plunkitt’s ‘series of very plain talks on very practical politics’. While many aspects of what is considered savory, or legal, have changed, much has stayed the same, including Plunkitt’s observation’s that politics are based on personal loyalties, or that many businessman or good government reformers tend to fail because they fail to learn the business and practice of politics.

TRIBES ON THE HILL by Weatherford. ‘Tribes’ looks at the ‘rituals and realities’ of the United States Congress, often in comparison to various tribal governments.… Read More

In between the City of SD’s Ethics Commission and the County DA’s Public Integrity Unit — throw in a few others for good measure— the fun never stops in Sunny San Diego.

A couple of the week’s examples:

DA unit investigates alleged public corruption

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

In between the City of SD’s Ethics Commission and the County DA’s Public Integrity Unit — throw in a few others for good measure— the fun never stops in Sunny San Diego.

A couple of the week’s examples:

DA unit investigates alleged public corruption

Ethics Commission fine

Ever since Duke Cunningham, San Diego Stripper-Gate, Nick "Slum-Lord" Inzunza of National City, and just about everything former Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla stuck his paws on, nearly everyone else in the County wants to be the leader ofrooting out all evil. To be sure, that’s not a bad thing, it’s just hard to keep track of who exactly is doing the investigations nowadays.

Count as part of this group of caped crusaders at least two — maybe three — separate entities in the City of San Diego alone (including the Ethics Commission and City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who also believes he was born to investigate the former), DA Bonnie Dumanis,… Read More

At one of his recent outreach events, Jerry McNerney (the same guy who changed his position on 55 issues on an issue questionnaire in the last campaign) threw in to support President Bush’s perspective when he landed on the carrier with the sign that has been a rallying point for leftists against the war in Iraq that stated "Mission Accomplished."

McNerney boldly stated "The war in Iraq has been won" in a recent edition of the Escalon Times when talking with local constituents. I’m sure the President feels better he has won over a West Point drop-out.

McNerney’s ability to put his foot in his mouth will continue to enhance Republican opportunities to regain this seat. The other interesting factor that blowhards like California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres conveniently ignore when they cheap shot Republican candidates who declare for this race is that McNerney is starting to run away from the leftists who threaten his only chance to hold a job for more than two years. Even better, this is continued evidence that this district has not "Gone Liberal" as the lefty spinners like to feed to the media in the… Read More