Having ADD as bad as I do results in me being able to only focus on one type of music at a time, and for now, it’s JR’s "Live At San Quention". The first song from that concert is "Big River"….my son totally digs it too…and it’s pretty timely given the story Dan Walters wrote today. I’ve professed to being no Dan Walters before and for having a complete lack of interest in policy, but I think I was one of the earlier folks around who was able to grasp the political ramifications (points for big words?) of a levee rupture in the Delta. Heck I think Schnur must have read one of my posts detailing my thoughts that if a levee were to break,… Read More

Fella’s it’s time fer a posse. Round ‘em up.

No, that’s not a line for a Wild Bill Hickock stage play, but it very well could be something that Maricopa County Sherriff Joe Arpaio may have recently said.

The NY Times is reporting that Sherriff Arpaio has rounded up a posse of 300 civilian volunteers to be on the lookout for illegal immigrants being smuggled across the border. (The AP wire is reporting that the posse consists of sheriff’s deputies as well as members of their 3,000 member reserve of trained civilian volunteers.)

To put this into the matrix of California politics, since that’s what we talk about here at Ye Old FlashReport, you need to read the post made last night by Duane Dichiara and the letter he posted that was penned by a certain congressman you may have heard of a time or two, Congressman Darrell Issa.

I’ll cut the good stuff because, well, it’s just that good. In his letter to Homeland Security Honcho Chertoff, Cong. Issa demands that his department immediately… Read More

David Drucker penned this piece in today’s Roll Call Magazine:

CALIFORNIA Businessman Will Reveal 50th District Plans Soon Millionaire businessman Eric Roach (R) may be out, but another millionaire businessman, Bill Hauf (R), said he is very likely in and will mount a challenge to ex-Rep. Brian Bilbray (R) in the 50th district GOP primary on June 6 < even as the former Congressman battles Democrat Francine Busby the same day in the special election to replace ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham (R). "I can tell you that if I go ahead it will be… Read More

A couple of weeks ago, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called together a group of leaders of taxpayer advocacy groups in his office in Sacramento. The purpose of the meeting was two-fold — for the Governor to restate his commitment to holding the line against any new taxes, and also to strategize about how to tackle the upcoming state budget negotiations. I asked FR friend Jon Coupal, the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who was at that meeting, if he would put pen to paper (or is that fingers to keyboard?) and tell us all about that meeting. When reading his piece, featured today on the main page, I was especially pleased to hear that the Governor made it clear that his opposition is to new taxes and to NEW FEES. As Coupal points out, this will foreshadow a host of vetoes during this legislative session as the Democrats love to pass fee increases left and right. Coupal’s piece ends with a warning, though. Which is that holding the line on taxation is very important, but that the big challenge ahead of the Governor is the reigning in of spending…. … Read More

A couple of weeks ago, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called together a group of leaders of taxpayer advocacy groups in his office in Sacramento. The purpose of the meeting was two-fold — for the Governor to restate his commitment to holding the line against any new taxes, and also to strategize about how to tackle the upcoming state budget negotiations. I asked FR friend Jon Coupal, the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who was at that meeting, if he would put pen to paper (or is that fingers to keyboard?) and tell us all about that meeting. When reading his piece, featured today on the main page, I was especially pleased to hear that the Governor made it clear that his opposition is to new taxes and to NEW FEES. As Coupal points out, this will foreshadow a host of vetoes during this legislative session as the Democrats love to pass fee increases left and right. Coupal’s piece ends with a warning, though. Which is that holding the line on taxation is very important, but that the big challenge ahead of the Governor is the reigning in of spending…. … Read More

My Fax machine just won’t stop printing today, as article after article about 66th GOP Primary Candidate Dan Branstien and his runs for Assembly as a Democrat in the 1970’s and 80’s continue to pour in. It now appears that he ran in 1980 against Conservative Assemblyman Dennis Brown for the 58th District. I am going to attend the 66th Assembly candidates forum tonight. It should be interesting seeing what Brandstein has to say for himself. I am sure he will invoke the name of Ronald Reagan and how he was a Democrat. I don’t believe that Reagan ran three times as a Democrat for the Assembly.… Read More

"Bullet Voting" is when a candidate in a multi-candidateelection tries to get people to just vote for one candidate. The ballots normally come with an instruction toVote for no more thantwo or three. In the case of LA Central Committees 7. If you can do thisbeyond you and your family, it can make the difference in close elections. The reality is most normal non-activist types think they are wasting a vote if they don’t use it.

The County recently mailed ballots in theTorrance Municipal elections that toldvoters to vote for no more than one. Hope this trend continues. We all know there can’t ever be three really good council candidates at the same time! If youlive in Torrance "Bullet Vote" for Rod Guyton, a former CRA VP.

… Read More

The next Santa Ana City Council meeting might be a little more tense than usual. Long-time directly elected Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido has endorsed Councilman Jose Solorio over Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez for the 69th Assembly District (one of Orange County’s two Dem Assembly seats, the other is the 56th which only takes in Buena Park).

While Pulido is not a powerhouse in Dem politics, he certainly has respect among the voters. There have been dueling polls on the race that show dramatically different results.

According to a new release from the Solorio campaign–Jose is polling slightly ahead of Alvarez:

A recent poll of likely Democratic voters in the 69th showed Solorio with a slight lead over Alvarez. Just last week in the Los Angeles Times, the publisher of the California Target Book, which analyzes assembly races said, "It’s really a tossup between Alvarez and Solorio, and I’d give a slight nod to Solorio."… Read More