I mentioned in Episode V that infrastructure is important to secure and grow manufacturing. In fact, it is essential. You must be able to transmit energy, move goods and services, and have access to water and internet and all kinds of things in order to have an efficient manufacturing process. Regardless of what you are producing, infrastructure is key. And, at the risk of adding to the overusage of this trite phrase, our infrastructure is crumbling. One needs only to drive one’s car in Washington, DC or Los Angeles, California (as I do frequently) to feel that infrastructure crumbling beneath your tires. Our support systems in DC, LA, or wherever you live are in bad shape because the priorities for federal spending have shifted over the last 50 years. Social programs now eat up the bulk of government spending at the federal, state, and local levels. The cost of these social programs crowds out what used to be spent on infrastructure. In some cases, taxes or fees that were sold as “user fees” to pay for infrastructure have been diverted for social programs or used to try to maintain exorbitant government employee pensions. My home state of California has… Read More

The old political saying,”pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered,” may never be more true than in the upcoming election cycle. While its no secret that labor unions have had a run of the Capitol for a generation, a recent political development illustrates just how out of touch and blinded they are to what’s happening in the state — and the jeopardy it puts them in on their fight this fall against both the Stop Special Interest Money Now ballot measure and the Governor’s measure to hike income and sales taxes.

It all started a couple weeks ago when my friend Steve Maviglio – the Democrat political consultant and former adviser to Gray Davis and Fabian Nunez – reached out to give me a heads up on the California Forward budget reform initiative that is about to qualify for the November ballot.

Steve was letting me know that a little known provision in the measure would allow two things that conservatives should be very worried about — first, he said he had a memo written by Speaker John Perez office saying it would allow local governments to both undo key provisions of Prop 13 AND allow for local tax increases without… Read More

I guess we’ve shocked the world or something, but it is true, the Lincoln Club of Fresno County has endorsed a yes position on Proposition 28. The reasons are simple. First, we are all about results and measurement of the aftermath of laws. California, in every way, is worse off today than before we had term limits. Every single metric. Now, we know that this is not solely because of term limits, but we firmly believe that we are simply turning over dimwit Democrat elected officials with more and even bigger dimwit elected officials under the current system. Why should we care whether their dimwits are there for six or twelve years? Second, we believe the California Republican Party must change its purpose. It is no longer, under its current structure, as relevent as it needs to be. This is in part due to its dependence on legislative leaders for fundraising and direction. The rapid turnover of GOP legislators does not allow for any continuity in Party operations and fundraising – or purpose. Third, we are hoping that an aggressive set of newly elected GOP legislators will consider a wholesale revision of the CRP’s operations, from… Read More

Over the weekend the modern conservative movement lost one of its most thoughtful, articulate and visionary leaders. After a valiant battle against cancer in his body, Tom Fuentes passed away at the age of 63.

Though Tom was a leader in many organizations and groups, he was certainly most well known for his passionate and capable leadership at the helm of the Orange County Republican Party as its chairman for two decades, from 1984 through 2004.

Tom’s friend Bruce Herschensohn wrote in a heart-felt column currently appearing on the Human Events website, “If Tom had never lived, most people in the country would not have heard of Orange County. Most Americans can’t name many counties. They can name states and major cities, but not many counties, maybe not even their own. But one county is well known all over the nation and even in many other parts of the world: Orange County, California…”

Truer words could not have been said, as Tom’s leadership of the GOP helped to make Orange County the most Republican County in the nation.

I know that a great many people were… Read More

Kathy Tavoularis passed along this message last night…

It is with an incredibly heavy heart and with great sadness to report thatThomas A. Fuentes passed away peacefully at 11:55 p.m. on Friday, May 18,2012 at his home in Lake Forest, California.

Tom is survived by his wife Jolene, daughter Michelle and sons Tj and Joey.

As many of you know, Tom had a successful liver transplant years ago.Unfortunately, late last year cancer returned to his new liver and spreadto his lungs and lymphatic system and eventually invaded the bronchialtubes of the lungs.

The Funeral Service and Reception for Family and Friends is being arranged.I will send you exact locations and times as soon as possible.

The family asks for your prayers for Tom. Per their request, please do notcall or email them at this time.

For those who prefer to send a donation Tom wished to designate theCarmelites Sisters of Alhambra and the Norbertines at St. Michael’s Abbeyas the recipients of donations in his memory. … Read More

Much has been written, and assumingly will be written, about Republican Party of Orange County Chairman Emeritus Tom Fuentes, who just passed away after a long bout with cancer. After multiple battles with cancer and fighting it valiantly, The Lord called Tom home late last night.

Winston Churchill was often called “The Last Lion,” and Ted Kennedy was often called “The Lion of the Senate,” it could said that Tom Fuentes was the “Lion of Orange County.” Few, if any, have ever been more influential in Orange County politics than Tom, his impact on Republican politics is literally immeasurable. He was truly a statesman and principled to his core. Tom defeated political foes who had conspired to replace him as OC GOP chairman, and stood tall on his principles in those battles. Though Chairman Fuentes never sought the limelight or public office beyond Community College District Trustee he became a standard bearer for conservative principles. Through his life of activism and leadership surely Tom was given opportunities to sell his beliefs down the river for personal gain, he never waivered.

In the world of politics where self-interest is… Read More

What is usually overlooked in the discussion of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin leaving the U.S. for Singapore (presumably to sell his Facebook stock) is the CALIFORNIA capital gains tax. If he were still a resident of CA when he cashed out the shares, he’d pay 10.3% of the profit to the rapacious “Golden State” — a state that treats capital gains as ordinary income.

If either(or both) of the state’s “millionaires tax” propositions are passed by the voters in November, he would pay 13.3%. Or 15.3%. And yes, these taxes would be RETROACTIVE to the first of this 2012 year.

But by leaving the state and moving to a place with no capital gains tax, he will pay no such tax.

Hence he could choose to move to Singapore.

Or other exotic lands.

Such as Nevada. Or Washington state, South Dakota, Florida, Texas, New Hampshire, Wyoming, or Tennessee.

BOTTOM LINE: People are reluctant to leave a country to avoid taxes — but with big bucks on the line, they WILL leave a state. And no state “exit tax” can stop that. Saverin avoided $67 million in net federal taxes by leaving the… Read More

As we close in on the early June primary, there are more “hot” political races taking place around California than in any single election cycle in my memory. Even though we are operating under new rules that have eliminated partisan primaries and replaced them with a “top-two” runoff system, there are still a healthy number of places where multiple Republican candidates are battling it out to see who will make it into the top two. In some of those races, two Republicans might go onto November. But there is one race where two Republicans are facing off, where we know that only one of them will go on to November, that has the most start contrast between two GOP candidates of any contest in the state. In this race, you have a mature, principled conservative running against one of the most unprincipled, ideologically devoid registered Republicans whom I have ever come across.

This battleground is the new 24th Congressional District on California’s Central Coast [MAP]. The incumbent in this district that takes in San Lois Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties (and a… Read More