I can think of a lot of reasons why Rep. Dan Lungren doesn’t deserve a leadership post in the the new minority GOP House.

1) He ran a poor campaign for governor when he was the Republican nominee.

2) He left the California Republican Party over a million dollars in debt but then kept nearly as much in his own campaign account. Even after repeated attempts by outgoing chairman Mike Schroeder and incoming chairman John McGraw to collect on Lungren’s debt, he refused.

3) He doesn’t listen to anyone. If we are going to take back the majority any time soon, we need leaders who are engaged and inclusive and able to relate to the voters. Lungren brings none of that to the table.

Care to add additional reasons of your own?

Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?

Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.… Read More

When the GOP lost control of Congress last week, there was much talk about Nancy Pelosi bringing San Francisco values to the nation’s capitol. Today, local officials in San Francisco take on two issues that show how remarkably out of touch San Francisco is with the rest of the country.

The San Francisco‘s Board of Education is expected to vote to eliminate the JROTC program from San Francisco public schools today. In typical San Francisco style, supporters of cutting the program say that the military has no place in public schools and that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is in conflict with the school… Read More

I hope FR readers aren’t tired of elections. In LA County filing just opened for numerous locals offices. One name will be familiar. Former Redondo Beach mayor and Councilman Greg Hill will file for City Treasurer. Greg was the GOP candidate in the 53rd Assembly District.. After spending a million dollars on his name ID etc., the geniuses in the Assembly Caucusfound another candidate to run when a special was called a short time after that election in the 53rd.

The incumbent Ernie O’Dell is a Republican as well. We will see who files.… Read More

The first group of appointments are now out from Governor Schwarzenegger’s office since his re-election to a new term. This seems like a good time to start up the new FlashReport "Appointment Watch" Partisan Tally. We’ll do this for Judges, too. We are giving the Governor a clean slate — we’ll reset the appointment counters to zero!

Oh yes, I always like to emphasize that there are qualified individuals of all political parties to serve in positions of public trust. That having been said, how someone chooses to register gives you a quick idea of their general philosophy about politics and government.

So, here we go: On the Appointments today, there were five Republicans and four Democrats. Today’s Appointees: The Governor has appointed two to the Committee on Dental Auxiliaries for the Board of Dental Examiners. Rochelle Bache of Encino, a Democrat,… Read More

The FR has obtained a copy of a letter sent to Congressman Jerry Lewis from Shawn Steel, Chairman of the California Club for Growth, that in no uncertain terms calls on the Congressman, who is Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, to quit from Congress.

Here is the letter:

November 12, 2006 Jerry Lewis… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary:

Judge to Californians: My Vote Trumps Yours

More than 70% of California voters passed "Jessica’s Law" last week, an initiative that prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park and requiring them to undergo lifetime satellite tracking. The measure carried all but one county, narrowly losing only in Nancy Pelosi’s home turf of San Francisco.

But it didn’t take more than a day for a federal judge from San Francisco to block its enforcement on the grounds it is likely to be found unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, ruling on a lawsuit filed early Wednesday, said the measure "is punitive by design and effect" and issued a temporary restraining order preventing the measure from… Read More

The financial challenges facing state government in California are very real. We already have a structural deficit of billions. Add to that the new commitment to repay, with interest, all of the new bonds being issued (to add to the payments on those already issued) and the looming issue of dealing with unfunded pension liabilities to the tune of billions of dollars more, and you have a big challenge on your hands. But wait, there’s more! Let’s also remember that the size and scope of California state government keeps expanding, and that we have been kind of (if you don’t count deficit spending) keeping pace with obligations (ok, you have to count deficit spending, so we really haven’t kept up). But this has been with the economy humming along in great shape. In other words, we are one economic downturn away from a disastrous financial situation in Sacramento. Of course, the stage is set for a showdown because while the Governor has made it clear that he has set a table for himself, Fabian Nunez and Don Perata, to see how to expand more government programs (a.k.a… "bi-partisan, party of one"), he is also… Read More

The financial challenges facing state government in California are very real. We already have a structural deficit of billions. Add to that the new commitment to repay, with interest, all of the new bonds being issued (to add to the payments on those already issued) and the looming issue of dealing with unfunded pension liabilities to the tune of billions of dollars more, and you have a big challenge on your hands. But wait, there’s more! Let’s also remember that the size and scope of California state government keeps expanding, and that we have been kind of (if you don’t count deficit spending) keeping pace with obligations (ok, you have to count deficit spending, so we really haven’t kept up). But this has been with the economy humming along in great shape. In other words, we are one economic downturn away from a disastrous financial situation in Sacramento. Of course, the stage is set for a showdown because while the Governor has made it clear that he has set a table for himself, Fabian Nunez and Don Perata, to see how to expand more government programs (a.k.a… "bi-partisan, party of one"), he is also… Read More