There have been a couple of posts by Jon Fleishmanand Joe Justinabout a quarter-cent sales tax increase that is likely to appear on the ballot in Sacramento county for the purpose of raising $1.2 billion to build a new downtown sports arena for the Sacramento Kings and provide local government with additional revenue. (The $1.2 billion will be split between the arena and local governments contained within Sac County.)

Just to put into perspective how utterly insane and politically tone-deaf all parties involved with this deal are, consider that the billionaire Maloof Boys (owners of Sacramento Kings, not to mention The Palms casino in Las Vegas, and driving force behind a new arena) are asking voters to pay more at the gas pump by raising the price of a gallon of gasoline with this sales tax proposal. Not only that, this ill-conceived ballot initiative, which must be approved by the voters, is sharing real estate on the… Read More

It’s time for a course-correction. I understand that the strategy for the Governor to be re-elected this November includes firmly planting his flag in the political center and holding his ground — with conservatives holding their noses at some of his policy moves, as the specter of a Phil Angelides’ Governorship is too much to bear. Relative to conservatives, that strategy is working to some extent (look at me, I have said a hundred times on this page that I am supporter Schwarzenegger for re-election). But lately I have noticed that among many of my conservative friends who are involved in politics, the enthusiasm and energy is waning. Oh, these friends will vote. And by and large they will vote for Schwarzenegger (one told me yesterday he was going to write in Tom McClintock). But the enthusiasm to get out that and charge the hill for Schwarzenegger lessens with each shift to the left. I know that there… Read More

**With Updates**

Word from the California Democratic Party to the California Republican Party: You’ve been served! Rumble on the playground after school.

The C"D"P has a new pro-Phil ad out, available for viewing on their website www.ca-dem.org under "Issues." The gist: Phil is a leader, Arnold is an actor.

Ya, but has Phil ever been a lead actor? Uh, no.

I don’t have an exact transcript, but it goes something like this…

"While Arnold Schwarzenegger was destroying planet earth and snuffing out puppies and kittens, Phil Angelides was in Sacramento sitting behind a deskshowing leadership by looking very important in his dark suit.

"When Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to starve children and steal their X Boxes in the middle of the night and sell them to the Chinese, Phil Angelides showed what true leadership is by hiring small children to pose with him for photographs.

"Let’s bring the world’s fifth largest economy back from the brink of extinction and dispair. California… Read More

New ad supporting Gov. Schwarzenegger and paid for by the California Republican Party is available for viewing after 3 PM at www.cagop.org. Here’s the script.

SCRIPT: He supported the moratorium on offshore drilling for oil … protecting California’s coast. He pushed the Bush administration to help us strengthen our vulnerable levees … protecting California’s families. He said he’d stop those who would cut roads through our parklands … protecting California’s land and air. Governor Schwarzenegger is moving California forward.… Read More

While this is not a California-based political story, I thought fellow political junkies (especially those of us in PR/communications) would be interested in the story in today’s Chicago Tribune about the death of Earl Bush, press secretary to the first Mayor Richard J. Daley (father of Chicago’s current mayor). I’m sure that Pres. Bush’s PR folks can relate to Earl Bush’s frustration with the press!

Putting words into the mouth of the malaprop-prone Richard J. Daley wasn’t an easy task.

So consider the plight of Earl Bush, the late mayor’s press secretary for… Read More

I often think that government watchdogs and those among us who gripe about lobbyists and political fund raising and ‘influence’ in government were the kids who never cut sixth period in school. They were the hall monitors who reported the rest of us for being late to class.

If I were a research scientist perhaps I could prove that the anti-lobby crowd lacks a critical element in their genome which precludes them from forming meaningful personal relationships which make them less human and therefore less interesting and in the end, it means they have no choice but to be naysayers.

These sticks-in-the-mud lack the charm and good natured persona that allows the rest of us to operate with ease in the world of politics and government. And they hate us for that.

So the next time your local gadfly wags his finger at you for being to cozy with the mayor or some Common Cause lawyer suggests that everyone, including the mother-in-law of the homeowner who is trying to add a second story on his house and therefore needs approval from the planning commission and ‘lobbies’ for a vote, must register as a lobbyist and pay a fee to the county… Read More

I had an opportunity to work with Gerry Parsky quite a bit during the President’s first election in 2000 – Parksy headed up the President’s campaign for California and I was serving at the time as Executive Director of the California Republican Party. Generally, I would say that it would be a fair characterization to say that Parksy and I were not close. I could pen an entire column on that whole set-up, and my observations of Parsky’s job in his role for the President. But that is for another day (maybe). Let’s suffice it to say that I don’t see much or hear much about Parsky these days, other than occasional stories in the news as he is an appointee to the University of California system’s Board of Regents, and right now he is serving as the head of the board. The nexus to Parsky in this commentary will come to play in about five seconds… When you sift through 80+ websites in a morning looking for political news, you occasionally come across the kind of story that would make you choke on your Wheaties — and this morning that happened when I got to the San Francisco Chronicle. There is a story… Read More

I had an opportunity to work with Gerry Parsky quite a bit during the President’s first election in 2000 – Parksy headed up the President’s campaign for California and I was serving at the time as Executive Director of the California Republican Party. Generally, I would say that it would be a fair characterization to say that Parksy and I were not close. I could pen an entire column on that whole set-up, and my observations of Parsky’s job in his role for the President. But that is for another day (maybe). Let’s suffice it to say that I don’t see much or hear much about Parsky these days, other than occasional stories in the news as he is an appointee to the University of California system’s Board of Regents, and right now he is serving as the head of the board. The nexus to Parsky in this commentary will come to play in about five seconds… When you sift through 80+ websites in a morning looking for political news, you occasionally come across the kind of story that would make you choke on your Wheaties — and this morning that happened when I got to the San Francisco Chronicle. There is a story… Read More