Time to put the (Code) pink bandwagon back in the garage: anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan just announced that she won’t challenge California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who’s up for re-election this fall.

Sheehan’s logic: running for the Senate is not the most practical way to promote her crusade.

This isn’t a surprise. In fact, it’s typical of the lady’s fuzzy logic: rather than hit the campaign trail and try to win over skeptics in, say, the Central Valley and Inland Empire, she’d rather stay safely insulated in the cozy bubble that is the world of anti-war activists.

Too bad she’s not running. For one, it would have added some comic value to what otherwise appears to be a dreadfully dull race.

And it’d be nice to see if the Sheehan hype machine is more than a media fabrication… Read More

California is a very hard state in which to elect a Republican to statewide office. And by that, I mean ANY Republican. With occasional exceptions, we have seen Republicans of all stripes – conservative, moderate, liberal – lose at the polls to the most outrageously socialist Democrats. I can throw out Tom Campbell, Bill Jones, Matt Fong and Bruce Herschensohn (pictured) as examples of GOPers of all stripes who have lost – and these are just nominees for the United States Senate. We can debate the reasons for the losses, but I am just trying to illustrate that electing a Republican in California is a challenge. The fact that we have a Republican Governor in California is a great thing, and I don’t have to remind you of the convergence of amazing things that all took place to achieve this… Read More

California is a very hard state in which to elect a Republican to statewide office. And by that, I mean ANY Republican. With occasional exceptions, we have seen Republicans of all stripes – conservative, moderate, liberal – lose at the polls to the most outrageously socialist Democrats. I can throw out Tom Campbell, Bill Jones, Matt Fong and Bruce Herschensohn (pictured) as examples of GOPers of all stripes who have lost – and these are just nominees for the United States Senate. We can debate the reasons for the losses, but I am just trying to illustrate that electing a Republican in California is a challenge. The fact that we have a Republican Governor in California is a great thing, and I don’t have to remind you of the convergence of amazing things that all took place to achieve this… Read More

Back by popular demand, we continue with the OC Power Brokers Series.

This time, Media.

What makes an OC Power Broker? Well it is a little different for a member of the media than for the previous groups (lawyers, and parts one and two). For a journalist it means: 1) they have wide spread relationships with people in government, politics, business and community, 2) they can be trusted implicitly, if you have a tip that can’t look like it came from you or if they call for background, you can be sure “off the record” has meaning with them, 3) they have the juice to get something published, they can stand up to… Read More

The Schwarzenegger Administration really seems focused on the San Mateo State Campground and how it is impacted by the 241 completion.

Today, OC Supervisor Bill Campbell told those of us at the OCPAA luncheon that Caltrans Director Will Kempton flew down last week and met with Camp Pendleton officials (I’m trying to verify which day, but I believe it was Friday, because Kempton accompanied the Governor on his fact-finding tour the next day).

Kempton wanted to see if the proposed 241 alignment could be shoved south of the campground to the agricultural operation on the other side. You can see it on the background in this recent photo I took of this Garden of Eden.

USMC officials informed him that was a no-go, since the Marines had terminated the lease for the agricultural operation and would be using that area for training.

Now, since the Marines will be training next to the San Mateo State Campground, exactly what peaceful ambience are the… Read More

The Orange County Register posted a story on its website earlier today about Governor Schwarzenegger’s visit to part of the 241 completion alignment this past Saturday:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over the weekend quietly toured part of the path where the 16-mile extension of the Foothill (241) Toll Road would go, officials said today.

It was a “fact-finding tour,’’ said Sandy Cooney, a spokesman for the state’s Resources Agency.

“We are looking at the issue,’’ Cooney said. “We are talking to as many people as we can. We are going to maximize the 30 days that we’ve been granted.’’

You can read the whole story here.

No credit was given in the story to the FR Blog, where this story was broken yesterday. Come to think of it, we also scooped them on the Administration’s… Read More

The CATO Institute seeks to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets and peace. Toward that goal, the Institute strives to achieve greater involvement of the intelligent, concerned lay public in questions of policy and the proper role of government.

As CATO’s Director of Tax Policy Studies, Chris Edwards is a top expert on federal and state/local tax and budget issues. Edwards has penned a column entitled, "Busting the State Tax-Revenue Boom."

His piece is centered around the fact that when times are good, and state revenues are on the rise, state budgets grow. But then it becomes increasingly difficult for state’s to… Read More

OC Supervisor (and former Assembly Republican Leader) Bill Campbell spoke at the Orange County Public Affairs Association luncheon today, and gave an overview of major initiatives happening in the county. Bill is also a director of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, which operates the 241 tollway, and spent some time briefing attendees on my favorite topic.

Bill confirmed what I’ve been reporting here: that completing the 241 tollway has sparked an internal struggle within the Schwarzenegger Administration between no-growth/environmentalist types like State Parks Director Ruth Coleman and State Park and Recreation Commission Chairman Bobby Shriver, and reasonable people who’d rather not stand in the way of an extensively EIRed tollway that is absolutely in tune with the Governor’s "I Say Build It!" infrastructure war cry.

Bill expressed guarded optimism that the 30-day delay in approving… Read More