House chairman disputes report of probe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top Republican lawmaker disputed a report on Thursday that identified him as the latest target in a series of federal investigations of members of Congress.

The Los Angeles Times quoted sources as saying authorities had begun an investigation of California Rep. Jerry Lewis’ relationship with a lobbyist linked to convicted former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Lewis said he had no knowledge of an investigation and denied wrongdoing in the awarding of contracts as the powerful chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriations… Read More

Since my posting on the Hatch Act and Jim Ayres candidacy, I have received the following from the Ayres campaign. I have no horse in this race. It does strike me funny that the two leading contenders in this race are both County employees who both used to work for the Federal Government. Ayres used to get a paycheck from the Air Force and Salas from Congressman Joe Baca. In full disclosure I too get a paycheck from the Federal Government.

Mariama Liverpool who is an Attorney with the Hatch Act Unit, under the auspices of the OSC in her letter of March 21, 2006 stated:

Therefore, as to your current status under the Hatch Act, we do not believe that you are covered by the Act. Based on the information you and Ms. Lorson provided, you are no longer working on programs or activities that are federally funded and it is our understanding that this change is… Read More

I was recently talking to seasoned Orange County political consultant Matt Holder, and he shared with me a theory concerning the recent, narrow loss of Diane Harkey to Assemblyman Tom Harman in the special election in the 35th State Senate election.

Harkey’s consultant, Scott Hart, had pointed out that Tom Harman had seen an unusually high margin of victory from asian foreign-language voters in the district — primarily Vietnamese voters — by a a very dramatic margin.

Holder’s theory is this — Harkey was depriving of an opportunity to purchase an official ballot statement for the voter guide produced and distributed by the Registrar of Voters because she was spending too much of her personal money (dumb law). Harman did have a statement, however, and it was sent to these households translated into the language of choice preferred by each voter.

Did that make the difference? It was a factor said well-respected pollster Adam Probolsky (who writes for this site). Probolsky suggested as well not to underestimate the impact of Harman’s ballot title — and that his being an elected State Legislature would have had a… Read More

Things are getting ugly in Orange County lately.

In the 5th Supervisor District, former Assemblywoman Pat Bates (full disclosure: I do some consulting work for Pat) and Laguna Niguel Mayor Cassie DeYoung are squaring off for this open seat. DeYoung has access to a ship-load of personal wealth, and has probably spent $1.5 million thus far.

DeYoung has hit Pat with a series of negative mailers focusing on her sponsorship of a matricula consular bill — which Pat wound up being on of only 7 Republicans to vote against due to Democrat machinations. The mailers — here, here and here — depict Pat’s image on a matricula consular card.

Pat responded by taking the DeYoung campaign to court, and yesterday the judge agreed to slap a… Read More

I just received this e-mail to me from Cal-YAF. My question is – Doesn’t Brenda Salas, Ayres primary opponent also get paid by the County of Riverside as an aide to a County Supervisor?

Cal-YAF Files Federal Complaint Against Jim Ayres Calls for prosecution for “egregious” violations of the ‘Hatch Act’

California Young Americans for Freedom last week filed a complaint with the United States Department of Justice – Office of Special Counsel, regarding a potential significant violation of the Federal Hatch Act by 65th Assembly District candidate Jim Ayres.

FACT: The Hatch Act, first passed in 1939 in reaction to political abuses by the Democratic Party, is a safeguard to prevent federal, state and local government employees from exploiting their office for partisan political advantage.

FACT: Specifically, the Act prohibits local government employees “whose principal employment is in connection with an activity which is financed in whole or in… Read More

The top story in the Washington Post today is about how support for the President and Congress are losing support from conservatives in a big way. Two of the main reasons are out-of-control spending, and failure to deal with the illegal immigration issue. If you figure that any Republican, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, needs conservatives to turn out in November, what is the GOP campaign going to be to conservatives who want SPENDING cuts (note, that is different than tax cuts) and strong action on the illegal immigration issue? It is no surprise that the House Appropriations Committee yesterday passed out language ending the legislative prohibition on offshore drilling for natural gas (not for petroleum). With gas prices rising, and with increasing concern about dependence on gas from the middle-east, constituents of Members of Congress from all around are calling on Congress to do something. The $100 tax credit … Read More

Due to a morning meeting, and the massive amount of news stories I had to format on the main page, there is no commentary today! I’ll try to swing back and post something later, and if I do, I will link it to the weblog.

Have a great day!

Jon

PS: Spend time on the main page, as I have some commentary under the stories, and have highlighted a few at the top. Of course, you wouldn’t want to miss my column in today’s Capitol Weekly, would you?

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

I predict the media will get it all wrong tomorrow. SF Chron already got it wrong by highlighting that there’s no difference between Phil and Steve because they both support affordable housing, funding education and services for illegal immigrants.

There was no mention that they both support same-sex marriage (or Marriage Equality, as Steve calls it) and licenses for illegals. Those issues matter because that’s where they break with the voters. And those issues distinguish them from Arnold. Otherwise, all three candidates are alike.

Get out your magnifying glasses…you’ll need them to discern the differences between the Rep and Dem candidates in the General.

**UPDATE — (11:26 PM) Myers’ blog noted the two issues. Sign up for his blog alerts. He’s one of the best in the capital press corps .** **UPDATE — (5/11/06, 6:42 AM) Looks like all the major dailies EXCEPT THE SAC BEE included that the two candidates support same-sex marriage and drivers licenses for illegal immigrants. Dan Walters,… Read More