Back in January of 2003 there was a friendly wager placed between then California Governor Gray Davis and Florida Governor Jeb Bush (pictured to the left) over the outcome of Superbowl XXXVII, a battle between the country’s top two football teams – the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Of course, in that duel, the Raiders were spanked by the Bucs by a lopsided score of 48 – 21.

One of the items put up in that wager by… Read More

Tom Delay was a conservative member of Congress. Although he announced his resignation yesterday, he had ceased to be a conservative congressman several years earlier. He became part of the club. He supported other Republicans because they were part of the club, regardless of whether that protected the family or our pocketbook.

This disheartening trend is happening in Orange County in the 35th Senate District. The Choice is clear. An Assemblyman named Tom Harman that has voted for bigger government, was first elected in the open primary with Democratic votes and has the support of labor unions or Diane Harkey, a pro-family, anti-tax conservative.

Look at the list of Harkey endorsements Congressman John Campbell Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Congressman Ed Royce Senator Tom McClintock Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, who maxed out at over $3,250 Assemblyman Ray Haynes

Now look at the Harman endorsements. Senator Jim Battin Senator Dave Cox Senator Bob Margett Senator Sam Aanestad Assemblyman Russ Bogh Assemblyman Bill Emmerson… Read More

A Democrat activist in Santa Barbara County officially kicked off his effort to recall Supervisor Brooks Firestone on Friday when he served papers to the Supervisor’s office that legally begin the process. Brett Wagner, citing grievances with Supervisor Firestone’s land use votes, will have 120 days to gather over 7600 signatures in order to qualify for the November ballot. Santa Barbara’s 3rd Supervisorial District is a diverse one—it encompasses the Santa Inez valley, famous for its wineries and agriculture, the college community of Isla Vista and the city of … Read More

FOCUS ON DC DARRELL ISSA TAPPED BY SPEAKER The House Select Committee on Intelligence is a very small, carefully chosen bi-partisan Committe on Capitol Hill. It is the members of this small group that are given exclusive briefings on covert operations, intelligence data and other confidential information and actions of the federal government. It is an important oversight role that is played by the members of this Committee as they literally have access to information that the vast majority of Congress does not. For years, the now-disgraced Duke Cunningham served on this committee. It was recently announced by Speaker Dennis Hastert that California Congressman Darrell Issa will be replacing Cunningham on this important panel. This is a great appointment for the Congressman, and increases his growing clout on Capitol Hill. Congratulations Darrell Issa! … Read More

FOCUS ON DC

DARRELL ISSA TAPPED BY SPEAKER The House Select Committee on Intelligence is a very small, carefully chosen bi-partisan Committe on Capitol Hill. It is the members of this small group that are given exclusive briefings on covert operations, intelligence data and other confidential information and actions of the federal government. It is an important oversight role that is played by the members of this Committee as they literally have access to information that the vast majority of Congress does not. For years, the now-disgraced Duke Cunningham served on this committee. It was recently announced by Speaker Dennis Hastert that California Congressman Darrell Issa will be replacing Cunningham on this important panel. This is a great appointment for the Congressman, and increases his growing clout on Capitol Hill. Congratulations Darrell Issa!… Read More

Having just returned from a quick vacation, I want to first thank our Guest Editor Nicholas Romero for his fine work – he put together the FR main page on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and did an outstanding job I must say. Nick will continue to help me out, as needed, going forward. Thanks, Nick! The "must read" today is a piece by LA Times political reporter Peter Nicholas on Governor Schwarzenegger: "The Private Side of his Governance. The piece offers an ‘inside look’ at Arnold Schwarzenegger and how he runs his office and how he approaches his job. I found it to be quite interested and eye-opening. I was fascinated to read a piece in the Contra Costa Times (reprinted from the LA Times, so you may have already read it) that focused on the California GOP delegation and the immigration issue. The piece talked about while all of the Democrats support some degree of guest worker program, the GOPers remain solid in their opposition to any kind of amnesty. However, the exception to the GOP solidarity comes from Central Valley Republican Congressmen George Radanovich, Devin Nunes and Bill Thomas, who… Read More

For those of us who fought to bring the GOP up from the minority….up from under a corrupt…..big spending Democratically controlled Congress…I feel betrayed and angered by someone (and others) so compelled for power that they simply thumbed their noses at the law….and us.

I say good riddance to Tom DeLay….a man so powerful he very well may cost the GOP the 50th congressional seat. Another form of proof that those with 202 area codes think they are above all and twice as smart.… Read More

These additional appointments from the Governor just came over the wire.

Special "shout out" to FR friend John McCammon (who was Republican Congressman George Radanovich’s Chief of Staff for many years) and a special mention to Christine Ruben who had been working for Chuck Poochigian’s campaign for AG, and is now going to be Deputy Secretary for Communications at the State and Consumer Services Agency.

There are five Republicans, one Democrat and one Decline-to-State in this batch of appointments:

THE REPUBLICANS

William Bush, 54, of Elk Grove, has been appointed undersecretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency. He has served for over 30 years at the Franchise Tax Board and has held the position of interim executive officer since 2005. Bush is a Republican. John McCamman, 52, of McLean, Virginia, has been appointed chief deputy director of the Department of Fish … Read More