The GOP Presidential primary ended fairly abruptly earlier this week. For my part I came home from the seemingly-relevant California Republican Party convention more excited and motivated to help elect Senator Ted Cruz than ever. Having had an opportunity to hear in person from all three candidates at mealtime speeches, the contrast between the three was stark, and clear.

Ted Cruz presented himself as a strong constitutional conservative, an ideologue committed to our United States Constitution and ready to fight to make our nation a better place. Governor John Kasich of Ohio reinforced in his remarks that were he the nominee he would be the latest in a failed lineage that most recently has included John McCain and Mitt Romney — an establishment favorite who would seek to embrace the failed status quo on Capitol Hill rather than reject it.

And then there was Donald Trump. Sitting through his non-substantive remarks, filled with name-calling and one-liners, I found myself anxious for that moment in a serious address when the speaker pivots away from the lighter “icebreaker” introduction and digs into the real issues and challenges facing our nation. The… Read More

Assemblywoman ShannonGrove’s fight for public union employees who have been battling the Service Employees International Union for transparency was stilted Wednesday when Democrats killed two bills aimed at opening unions’ books, and allowing more frequent votes on union representation.

After several years of nasty legal battles with the SEIU to see where dues money is spent, the union members came to Grove and asked for her help. She allowed them to draw up two bills attempting at union reforms and transparency.

Grove’s two union reform bills,AB… Read More

Imagine walking into a deli and reaching into your wallet for a $10 bill to pay for your sandwich. All of a sudden, the clerk informs you, “Excuse me, but we have a pay twice special and you will have to pay twice for your meal.” Your reaction would probably be that of dismay, bewilderment and anger; followed by a quick and empty-handed departure from the deli.

Now imagine if the Government forced you to buy lunch every day, and if you didn’t pay for it, you would be penalized. This is exactly what employers in the construction field are faced with when they are asked to bid on projects with a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). Instead of lunch, contractors are… Read More

As usual, my vote for a candidate for president in the primary will be meaningless, as it will be in November. I’m used to that in California.

That aside, I’m disenchanted with the GOP, not because Republicans are nominating Donald Trump; but because the country’s Republican leaders are so out of touch with the electorate that — through their own ineptitude — they unwittingly created an environment accepting of him. _____… Read More

Freedom of the press protects the right to obtain and publish information or opinions without government censorship or fear of punishment, whether or not government finds the material offensive, or disagrees with it.

Free speech enables people to obtain information from a diversity of sources, make decisions, and communicate those decisions to the government.

Recently I wrote about having my press credential renewal denied by the Capitol Correspondents Association of California, appointed as an arm of the California Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee, which has the final say in press… Read More

It came as a shock to learn that some of those who were around when unions first started infiltrating local and state governments actually welcomed the process. These were the days when unions were driving jobs overseas because of their unwillingness to negotiate new contracts in the face of foreign competition. “Let them come,” some observers said, “they’ll finally show these politicians what it’s like to try to run a unionized organization.”

We know how that turned out. The unions took over the government. Now they run nearly every city and county in California. Business and finance leaders play ball, or they’re targeted. And where the corpses of bankrupt industries once littered the American landscape, we now face the prospect of bankrupt cities and counties.

So here’s a modest proposal: Let’s embrace the process. Forget about the fight for a $15 minimum wage. That’s small thinking. Forget about unionizing home care professionals. That’s retail politics. Let’s aim for the pinnacles of power. Let’s force the elite of the elite to embrace unions where they live. Let’s force them… Read More

Despite the best efforts of Kamala Harris, the First Amendment is alive and well in California.

Federal Judge Manuel Real made that much clear recently when he ruled against California Attorney General Kamala Harris in a lawsuit brought by Americans for Prosperity Foundation. It serves as a reminder that constitutional rights can never be taken for granted, and must be defended at every turn.

Starting in 2013, Ms. Harris began arbitrarily demanding that AFP Foundation turn over a list of its supporters to her office, or the organization would basically be kicked out of the Golden State. She also threatened the organization’s officers and directors with civil penalties and fines.

Ms. Harris claimed her office needed to know who supported AFP Foundation to help police potential fraud. However, her openly hostile stance to members and supporters of free-market organizations made it highly likely this would ultimately result in harassment and intimidation by the Attorney General and her ideological allies.

In his recent ruling, Judge Real rejected Ms. Harris’s argument that having the names of supporters was necessary for law enforcement. Evidence… Read More

So much of what comes out of the Capitol hurts average Californians. Efforts to impose new taxes, onerous regulations or laws that dictate lifestyle choices like how much soda one drinks, have citizens ducking for cover. But every now and then, bills are introduced that cut against the stereotype by providing genuine benefit to average folks who don’t have the “juice” in Sacramento as do powerful, well-funded special interests.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto has introduced Assembly Bill 2586, legislation that would make parking, which has become a nightmare in many communities, a bit easier. Titled the “Parking Bill of Rights,” the common sense measure features a package of reforms that include requiring cities to promptly make spaces available to motorists after street-sweeping activities have concluded, prohibiting cities from ticketing motorists who park at broken meters, preventing valet-parking operators from excluding motorists from metered spots, and prohibiting cities from hiring private companies to act as parking “bounty hunters.”

“Occasionally the state needs to step in and remind our local governments that parking a vehicle should be an… Read More