Lately, all of the Congressional office in Washington have been inundated with bricks that have been mailed in from citizens concerned about border security. The bricks, which are accompanied by a letter calling for tougher border security, are meant to send a message to Congress that if we don’t build a fence the public is willing to do the job on their own. (The effort is being organized by www.send-a-brick.com) I couldn’t agree more that immigration reform must begin with tougher border security, and I voted for a border fence when we considered the immigration bill. However, my strong stance on this issue doesn’t change the fact that more bricks arrive every day. They have already filled up a whole cabinet in my office. So, we have a new and very serious issue to address. What am I supposed to do with all of these bricks? So far my office has received over 60, and we get more every day. Now, if every House member has received the same number would total over 26,000. … Read More

There’s going to be a budget vote today. If you’re a conservative, it’s not your ideal budget. Although, given how liberal the legislature is, and their insatiable appetite for spending every last penny they can find on the ground and then some, this budget isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been if conservatives weren’t around to hold their ground. In fact, thanks to the leadership of Assembly leader George Plescia and Senate leader Dick Ackerman, there are two major victories in the 2006-07 budget that conservatives can be proud of.

First, no additional spending for health care for illegal immigrants.

Second, more funding for law enforcement programs.

“…the budget includes a boost to law enforcement programs popular with the GOP. The money would be spent on new prosecutors, investigators and advocates for a special unit to prosecute ‘particularly heinous’ crimes such as rape and child abuse.” (Los Angeles Times)

As all the details of the $131 billion budget… Read More

I have never professed to be an expert on the state budget and luckily I don’t have to be, Senator Abel Maldonado, has released some interesting commentary on the budget deal.

From Senator Abel Maldonado (released Tuesday):

"When deciding to vote for this budget I asked myself, does this budget move California forward or back? The answer is simple: it moves California backward.

"This budget spends $9.9 billion that hardworking taxpayers unexpectedly sent us in a good year and spends another $7 billion we do not have. This budget puts less than two-percent away for a rainy day. The fact of the matter is, after we leave tonight we’re still saddled with a $4.6 billion deficit next year.

"I campaigned with Gov. Schwarzenegger and let me share something with you. He said politicians in Sacramento have an addiction to… Read More

Orange County has given birth to and/or nurtured its share of people and organizations that have powerfully impacted the Republican Party — for good or ill.

Richard Nixon was born here, and Ronald Reagan’s political home base was here.

The state’s two leading GOP groups — the Lincoln Club of Orange County and the New Majority — also originated here.

The Lincoln Club was formed in the wake of the bitter 1962 gubernatorial primary between Richard Nixon and Joe Schell. The purpose was to "build Republican strength by lowering the intensity of intra-party warfare and making party politics more orderly and business-like."

The New Majority was born in the wake of Dan Lungren’s lopsided 1998 defeat and dedicated to "bringing a Republican majority to California… Read More

The rat in Pearls Before Swine has found a winning formula for writing a political column.… Read More

This morning, the US Supreme Court reached a decisionin a much-watched challenge to Vermont’s campaign finance law (Sorrell v. Randall ). This case has gathered lots of attention because of the potential it will have to impact campaign finance laws nationwide.

TheU.S. Supreme Court appears to have struck downtheVermont law that strictly limits how much money candidates for state office can raise and spend on their political campaigns. (Because the decision came this AM, I have not yet reviewed the case and there isn’t much information available. I am in the process of getting a copy of the case and will report further on it in a coming blog.)

Reports indicate that there are 4 opinions by the 6 justices held that the law was unconstitutional and3 dissents (J. Ginsburg, Souter and Stevens dissenting).

The law limited spending by candidates for governor to $300,000, for lieutenant governor to $100,000 and other statewide races to $45,000. It also limited spending on races for the state legislature.… Read More

San Francisco’s pending city budget is a great illustration of the Democrat’s priorities, both at the local and state level. Who are the the biggest winners in the new city budget? The public employee union, of course!

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, salaries and benefits for city employee will get a whopping 10.6 percent increase. City jobs will grow by 2 percent, up 646 jobs.

But the places that will get the new positions tell the real story. Take a look at the true winners in this budget:

— Municipal Transportation Agency: 157.15 — Public Health Department: 128.48 — Public Utilities Commission: 75.5 — Human Services Agency: 60.5 — General Services Agency – City Administration: 45.13 — General Services Agency — Public Works: 31.5 — Police: 18 — General Services Agency — Telecommunications & Information Services: 17.34 — Airport: 14.5 — District Attorney: 10 — Trial Courts: 10.6 —… Read More

There’s an intriguing scandal on low boil in the orderly City of Irvine, involving the city’s sister program, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, the Shanghai Communique and possible Communist Chinese investment in Irvine’s Great Park.

Yep — never a dull moment in that dull city’s politics.

I’ll try to make this long, twisted tale short — readers can fill in the blanks with my generous servings of hyperlinks.

Irvine Mayor Beth Krom — who is apparently the only person in Orange County unaware she is a pawn of liberal Irvine Councilmen/Evil Genius Larry Agran — went to Communist China along with another councilman and an Irvine staffer, Valeire Larenne, whose job it is to tend to sister city stuff. The purpose was to cement a sister city arrangement with a Shanghai suburb called Xuhui.

Now, Irvine has had a… Read More