Lately, one of the subjects of water-cooler conversations has been whether or not Congressman Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield) will seek another term in the House of Representatives. Thomas has been in the house for decades, and it is often talked about that he is ready to retire. That having been said, it is also frequently talked about that he is persuing a way to continue to have as much say in the next session of Congress, given that the House rules prohibit the moderate GOPer from California from serving beyond this, his third term as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Thomas is a controversial character, who has ruffled a lot of feathers and is disliked by many. That said, he has been in Congress for a long time, and often times it is seniority, not popularity, that decided your fate. Now, though, Thomas may be at a crossroads where he will need friends, and that is not his long suit. On the other hand, he recently chose wisely on the race for House Majority Leader, weighing in at the end, quite publicly, for John Boehner.

So, will he stay or will he go? I don’t know. But here is a recent… Read More

The furor surrounding Rob Reiner’s continued presence on the State’s Children and Families Commission continues to grow ever since it became common knowledge that Reiner maintains his seat on this commission by virtue of the fact that Governor Schwarzenegger has not appointed a replacement – which he can do at any point.

FR buddy Bill Bradley over at his New West Notes blog (always accessable via the FR Blog Roll above) mentions that he called the Governor’s Press Secretary about Reiner:

Since Reiner’s post is now a political issue, I asked the Governor’s Office about his status as chairman of the state commission, as his term there expired more than a year ago.

Gubernatorial press secretary Margita Thompson’s [pictured] careful statement: “His term expired in 2004. He has subsequently… Read More

I’m not sure how I did it, but in the 2004 primary election, I was chosen by GOP voters in the 70th Assembly District to represent them on the Orange County Central Committee. Even better, our Chairman, Scott Baugh, appointed me to OC GOP’s Executive Committee.

Well, today at lunchtime, I took a trip to the Orange County Registrar of Voters to fill out paperwork and pull my papers to run for re-election – for the first time I get to run as an incumbent!

While I was waiting for the appropriate paperwork to be prepared, I took a gander through the printout on the desk of candidates who have filed for the various offices in the county.

When I turned to the 34th State Senate District, I was not surprised to see on the GOP side that Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher had pulled her papers and paid her filing fee on the 17th. Another candidate, Lupe Moreno, had done the same. But AWOL in the area of pulling papers was GOP Assemblyman Van Tran.

Whether this is because he had not… Read More

I just got off the phone with City of Highland Councilman Larry McCallon (pictured right), who is currently at the Fox News studios in Los Angeles preparing to tape a segment of The O’Reilly Factor that’s scheduled toair today at 5 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. Pacific time. His counterpart on the program is scheduled tobe Willie Brown, former Mayor of San Francisco and former longtime "Ayatollah" of the State Assembly.

As you may recall, in my February 15post I called on Fox News to get on this developing local story in San Bernardino County about the City of Highland, whose Council recently enacted a policy prohibiting its employees and public officials from spending taxpayer dollars attending conferences, seminars or forums in San Francisco — basically boycotting the City by the Bay. This was in response to San… Read More

In response to my commentary this morning, where I call on Governor Schwarzenneger to can ultra-liberal Rob Reiner from the state’s Children and Families Commission, one reader suggested that the Governor cannot ‘terminate’ Reiner because he has been appointed to a four year term.

Actually, if you go to page 183 of this document available on the Governor’s webpage, it shows the the Governor gets three appointments to the commission. Reiner was appointed by now-recalled Governor Gray Davis on December 13, 2000. His term expired on December 12, 2004!

So, Rob Reiner, who is Chairman of this important and influential commission, is only there because he has not been replaced (apparently you serve until you are replaced)!

His term is done, and the taxpayers of California can’t afford to have this hold-over from the Davis Administration as chairman of the Children and Families… Read More

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointment of Eugenia Eyherabide to a judgeship in the San Diego County Superior Court.

Eyherabide, 46, of San Diego, has been a prosecutor with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office since 1995. Previously, she was an assistant attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia from 1992 to 1995. Eyherabide earned a Juris Doctorate degree from University of Santa Clara School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She will fill the vacancy that will be created by the retirement of Judge William Pate effective February 28, 2006. Eyherabide is a Republican.… Read More

On his website today, Hugh Hewitt shares more pearls on the startling revelation that Rob Reiner sits as Chairman of the State Prop. 15 ($$$) Commission solely, at this point, at the discretion of Governor Schwarzenegger, who can terminate Meathead by merely naming a new commissioner to replace Reiner.

I’ve already suggested that Reiner be replaced with Hewitt! Another FR reader has suggested that FR contributor Mike Spence, a local school board member, be named in Reiner’s place. FR READERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO POST THEIR FAVORITE SUGGESTIONS FOR WHO WOULD BETTER SERVE CALIFORNIANS ON THIS COMMISSION THAN ROB REINER!

Here is the beginning of Hugh’s latest, which contains and excerpt from an interview he had on the air with LA TImes political reporter Dan Morain on Reiner. Click through to Hugh’s site to read more. … Read More

Governor – it’s time to FIRE ROB REINER.

According to FR friend and national talk-show host extraordinaire Hugh Hewitt, uber-leftwing pro-tax Democrat Rob Reiner is one stroke of the Terminator’s pen from being blasted off of the California First Five Commission, where he serves as a hold-over appointee of Gray Davis. Hewitt says that if Governor Schwarzenegger names a new Chairman of this commission, then Reiner is out.

You may not have heard – but there is a growing controversy about the First Five Commission spending boatloads of taxpayer dollars on advertising promoting the importance of pre-school. Note the conflict at Reiner’s tax-the-people-to-pay- for-government-pre-school measure will appear before… Read More