From today’s WALL STREET JOURNAL POLITICAL DIARY

Whistling Past California’s 50th District

Republican officials in California are less nervous than their national counterparts about the prospects of holding onto the San Diego congressional seat being filled next Tuesday in a special election. Republicans have been unlucky in the seat ever since the previous incumbent Randy "Duke" Cunningham went to prison for taking bribes and cast a corruption pall over the race to succeed him. The GOP primary was a contentious affair in which a former congressman turned lobbyist named Brian Bilbray came out on top with only 15% of the vote in a divided field. He now faces… Read More

In February Hemet Councilwomen Robin Lowe’s campaign for the 65th Assembly Republican nomination was dead. Her long gone ground team failed to understand what the procedure was to get her on the ballot. She had to go to court and have a judge do what her campaign manager failed to do. Flash forward (yes it is a pun) to a week out and she is being attacked by I.E. committees. (Robin likes to travel on the city dime) Now you don’t get attacked by smart money in the end unless you are in the hunt. Robin has also picked up the endorsement of the two large Newspapers in Riverside County. Is this an upset in the making?

This one is going down to the wire. Like I said in an earlier post, hats off to Brenda Salas. She got to the right of everyone else on the hottest topic out there for Republican primary voters, illegal immigration. Finally, sources tell me that Councilman Jim Ayres campaign seems to be having a little difficulty in rebounding from the military medals flap. The last week in contested Republican primaries are always interesting, this one should be no different.… Read More

This morning I thought I would take a few minutes to share some of my thoughts about goings-on in San Diego County. It’s a crazy time in the county just to the south of my own…

Congressional District 50 – a.k.a. "Oatmeal vs. Acid" What do you do when the Republican candidate in the special election doesn’t excite conservative voters? The only issue on which he seems to be campaigning where he is in line with conservative voters is on the immigration issue, where he has been paid to be hardcore as he has represented (as a federal lobbyist) a hard-line immigration reform group. Bilbray moved into the district. He was tapped by D.C. power-brokers. He defeated a horribly split field of conservative candidates to eek out a plurality, most likely with the help of non-Republican voters. On many issues that I care about, he is only marginally better than the liberal Democrat Francine Busby. And so I read in ‘insider… Read More

This morning I thought I would take a few minutes to share some of my thoughts about goings-on in San Diego County. It’s a crazy time in the county just to the south of my own…

Congressional District 50 – a.k.a. "Oatmeal vs. Acid" What do you do when the Republican candidate in the special election doesn’t excite conservative voters? The only issue on which he seems to be campaigning where he is in line with conservative voters is on the immigration issue, where he has been paid to be hardcore as he has represented (as a federal lobbyist) a hard-line immigration reform group. Bilbray moved into the district. He was tapped by D.C. power-brokers. He defeated a horribly split field of conservative candidates to eek out a plurality, most likely with the help of non-Republican voters. On many issues that I care about, he is only marginally better than the liberal Democrat Francine Busby. And so I read in ‘insider… Read More

What happens if you are a councilman running for Assembly and you vote to take expand the Hustler Casino a day after Larry Flynt and other Casino officials donate $17,000 to your campaign?

Answer: A whole lotof great mail pieces that last couple days. That is what will happen to Gardena City Councilman Steve Bradford in his race for the Democratic Nod in the 51st Assembly District. See article here.

Shouldn’t be a legal problem though. Larry Flynt wouldn’t do something that sleazy.… Read More

Here’s one I missed…you may have missed it too. It’s about Gov. Schwarzenegger and drivers licenses for illegal immigrants.

Given how prominently the issue of drivers licenses for illegal immigrants played in the 2003 recall of Gray Davis, I thought you’d find it interesting that the Contra Costa Times reported last week that …

“The Schwarzenegger administration said it hopes to have rules in place to allow illegal immigrants to possess drivers licenses by the end of the year, but it is waiting on federal action….” (Contra Costa Times, May 23, 2006)

Now, if Governor Schwarzenegger campaigned on a promise to rescind Senator Gil Cedillo’s drivers license bill that Gray Davis signed into law, but then turns around and tries to find a way to sign a different version of the same bill, why would we believe the governor when he says he opposes tax increases? Will he turn around in 2007 and look for a way to impose a less obvious tax increase?

… Read More

Congressman Gary Miller was the speaket today at the San Bernardino Lincoln Club Meeting in Ontario. Gary hails from the Diamond Bar part of Los Angeles and has racked up Most Consevative Voting record from any California Congressman, several years in a row.

Congressman Miller talked about several subjects of interest. Most telling is his view that the Senate bill giving amnesty to illegals is dead in the House. I hope that is true, but a vote killing it would be nice too.

His comments on ANWR were very eye opening.He pointed out that the National Park Service is studying 700,000 acres in the San Gabriel Valley. See article here.And of course land use will beome an issue. The enviros are also trying to put together a wildlife corrider through Whittier , Yorba Linda etc…

Miller find that interesting because there are more oil wells on the surface originally drille in the 1900’s than there will be in the ANWR proposal. Some pristine environment!

Thanks to Marshall Riley, the chief of the SB County Lincoln Club for the invite.… Read More

The Memorial Day observance ceremonies this past weekend really give one pause to reflect where we are as a nation. Spending time with these veterans and listening to their concerns about politics, veterans issues, or just fishing opens a discussion about what they fought for and what we’re doing to uphold and preserve their efforts to preserve our liberties.

It is really moving to watch duringa ceremony, these WWII veterans especially, some that could barely walk or stand, snap to attention and give a tightsalute to the color guard, salute the pledge to the flag or to the playing of taps. I could see one of the WWII vets getting tight in the throat and eyes tearing up at the singing of the national anthem. Iknow he wasn’t the only one.The reverance and affection for our nation and our flagand those that have fallen defending it, by these veterans, is remarkable to behold as is the beauty of the surroundings atany of the ceremonies where there isan ‘avenue of flags’ displayed.Usually, they are the special extra long ‘casket’ flags that have been loaned or donated by a family of a… Read More