If you read the newspapers these days in the Bay Area, you’d think that the liquor store owners in West Oakland were responsible for Oakland’s crime problem. City leaders, who believe that liquor stores are magnets for the bad elements of the city, are leaning on store owners to change their inventory from cheap wine to broccoli. When you drive through West Oakland, there are many, many small independent markets and a noticeable absence of large chain supermarkets. There is no doubt that the amount of liquor being purchased and consumed in Oakland’s troubled neighborhoods is a problem, but it is the shop owners’ problem or the customer’s problems? In a typical Bay Area nanny-government approach to social problems, the government and community groups answer to the problem is to lean on the shop owners and, in some instances, shut… Read More

CRP Inland Empire Vice Chairman has said he will resign today at 5 p.m. unless the Governor reconsiders his appointment of Democrat Susan Kennedy as his Chief of Staff.

Ed just sent me the text of his resignation letter:

My roots are deep in California. My family has been in the Los Angeles region since the late 1700’s. I have not always been a Republican. When I first registered to vote, I registered Democrat as all of my family were in the steel mill town of Fontana, CA. I became a Republican in 1980 in order to vote for Ronald Reagan and have been a Republican ever since. I was newly married and the Carter malaize was in full bloom. Reagan offered hope and a vision in a time of despair, that is what drew me to the Republican Party. … Read More

John Fund pens this in today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail:

Two years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger stood before thousands of supporters outside the state Capitol in Sacramento, waved a broom and told the cheering crowd, "We’re going to clean house!" Voters overwhelmingly backed him in a recall election that swept discredited Governor Gray Davis out of office.

The more things change, the more they remain the same. This week, Governor Schwarzenegger attended a state Capitol ceremony in which Mr. Davis’ official portrait was unveiled. In a gracious statement, the governor extolled the man he replaced as someone he’s come to… Read More

GOP State Board of Equalization Member and "Friend of the FlashReport" Bill Leonard has submitted a mini-column in response to a recent column by FR Blog-Team member Dan Schnur that ran in the Los Angeles Times.

You can read Schnur’s column here. Leonard’s thoughts on the column are below:

Why Arnold Has to Run as a Republican By Bill Leonard A recent column by Dan Schnur argues that Governor Schwarzenegger should run as an Independent. … Read More

CRA TAKES BOLD STEP The California Republican Assembly is the State’s oldest Republican volunteer organization. Earlier this week, that groups Executive Committee voted 27-0 to support a resolution demanding the the Governor ‘terminate’ Democrat Susan Kennedy as his Chief of Staff, else they would support withdrawal of the Governors GOP pre-primary endorsement at the State GOP convention this February in the Bay Area. You can read more about this on the main page. Yours truly served as State President of the CRA from 1995-97, and I am still tired from the work (unpaid). But I fondly recall that as an organization, we registered well over 100,000 new Republicans (more than any other GOP group that cycle, including the Womens Fed), our pack donated hundreds of thousands to great candidates, our volunteers walked countless thousands of precicts, and we crowned off the term presenting the coveted Ronald Reagan Freedomfighter award to… Read More

Ed Laning is the California Republican Party’s Vice -Chairman Inland Region. Last year he ran for Congress against Joe Baca in a horrible district.

This is the text of an email he sent the CRP Board of Directors on 12/4/05

"If the Governor doesn’t withdraw Ms. Kennedy as his pick for COS by the end of next week 12-9-05, I will resign in protest."

As of midnight tonight, it looks like the CRP’s Board meeting with the Governor on the 15th will be short one. It looks like no clemency for Laning.

[Publisher’s note — I just got off of the phone with a very concerned and demoralized Ed Laning. He did confirm for me that if Susan Kennedy is still the Governor’s Chief of Staff today at 5 p.m., he plans on resigning his elected post as Vice Chairman of the California Republican Party for the Inland Empire. This is the most high profile and startling turn of events in this saga… Read More

I have really come to enjoy the writing style of columnist William Bradley. I don’t always ‘agree’ with him, but that is a separate issue. He has penned a story for the LA Weekly that includes some observations of yesterday’s ceremony honoring recalled Governor Gray Davis as his official portrait was unveiled. It is a ‘must read’ for those following state politics…

Arnold’s Gray Day – A portrait of a troubled term by WILLIAM BRADLEY Los Angeles Weekly More than a week after Arnold Schwarzenegger shocked the political world and enraged much of his own Republican Party by … Read More

While, I’m a Flashreport writer, I’m also President of the California Republican Assembly. The recent vote of our board has raised many questions. For further information on our unanimousvote to try pull the CRP’s pre-primary endorsement of the Governor click here.… Read More