Regular readers of this site know that I frequently pan public opinion polling because the results of such surveys are so easily manipulated by factors such as how a question is framed, how it is asked, and to whom it is asked. All of these variables can skew the results of any survey.

That caveat having been given, I take it as an outstanding development that in the Public Policy Institute of California survey released last night that the sales and income tax increases proposed by Governor Brown have plummeted around twenty points since the last time the PPIC asked for public opinion on this topic. Brown’s measure now stands precariously at a bare majority of voter support, 52% — and any student of California politics will tell you that this is not where you want to be.

That having been said, this is the first time the PPIC has been able to use the actual Title and Summary assigned to the tax increase proposal in their questions, which one can presume make these numbers a bit more realistic than the earlier one.… Read More

California will be the center of the political universe in 2012 when it comes to deciding control of the House of Representatives. The Democrats’ strategy is clear: push for big margins of victory for President Obama in heavily Democratic states like New York, Illinois and California, and recruit good House candidates to ride the wave into Congress.

Here in the Golden State, we have 10 or more House districts in play for the first time in modern history. Nancy Pelosi has her eyes on California’s Central Valley, the Central Coast, the Bay Area, the Inland Empire and San Diego for her ticket back into the Speaker’s office.

I’m backing Elizabeth Emken as our candidate for the United States Senate in California because she is far and away the strongest candidate to lead our ticket together with our Republican candidates for President and Vice President.

In ten years as a party chairman in California and San Diego, I’ve met all kinds of candidates for every kind of public office. Elizabeth Emken is one of the sharpest, most engaging, and impressive candidates… Read More

One less liberal Democrat in Congress. One less batcrap crazy on the D side. One less Dennis the Menace.

Ohio is my home state and Toledo is the town where I grew up. It’s the home to some of the most ruthless political operatives in America, and they obviously worked overtime to push Marcy Kaptur to a primary win over Dennis Kucinich.

Dennis made his displeasure known in his concession speech last night in Cleveland:

“I would like to be able to congratulate Congresswoman Kaptur, but I do have to say that she ran a media campaign in the Cleveland media market that was utterly lacking in integrity with false statements, half truths, [and] misrepresentations. I hope that is not the kind of representation she would provide to this community. And I don’t think the people of Toledo have any idea of the kind of campaign that was run up in the Cleveland area,” he said.

Oh, yes, they do, Dennis.

I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Hundreds of yard signs mysteriously disappearing in the dead of night. Thousands of windshields papered with tabloid-style flyers. Union thugs shouting down candidate speeches. And… Read More

Communications strategist Tony Manolatos is doing a series of interviews with the City of San Diego Mayoral candidates for San Diego Rostra. I’ll republish them on FlashReport (having received Tony’s permission, of course). First, Nathan Fletcher. The following ran last weekend (here is the Rostra post):

Fletcher’s Fetcher…And More From Our First Candidate Q & A by Tony Manolatos

Politics & Media Mashup is on break for the next few weeks so we can bring you exclusive Q & As with San Diego Mayoral candidates Nathan Fletcher, Carl DeMaio and Bonnie Dumanis.

… Read More

I want to answer Chuck DeVore’s surprising attack on Elizabeth Emken in Flash Report today. First, let me say that Chuck DeVore has been a friend and was helpful to me when I first became Communications Director for the CRP. And I was sad to see him leave California for safer ground in Texas.

But, I alsounderstand that Chuck is just as human as any of us, and that’s why he’s still frosted over the Senate Primary, where he came in 3rd out of 3candidates.I imagine that’s why he’s decided to come after GOP frontrunner Elizabeth Emken (whose campaign I’m working for as Senior Communications Adviser.).He sees some of Carly’s team helping Elizabeth in her Senate race, and it’s paybacktime. And that’s a shame.

For the record:

This Institute For Justice Video is a “must watch” for all California politicos…

… Read More

I generally don’t comment on the races my company is involved in. I figure that we all read enough propaganda in our day to day lives, and a spoon full more doesn’t really help the rest go down any better. That being said I fell obliged to publish the following and say for the record ‘say it ain’t so, Nathan Fletcher’:

“To that end, Fletcher did emphasize that the Mayor’s election in San Diego was a non-partisan election. He also stated that his reasons for being in the Republican Party, primarily that in a partisan climate he had to pick one out of the two and that he supported some of the core economic issues and the message of enabling access to the American Dream inherent to the Republican Party. Fletcher spent a lot of time detailing instances on how he broke away from the party line of issues he had to vote for in the California Assembly, and explained that he was unafraid to do so.” Read the whole post here.

It’s no secret that my company runs one of Nathan… Read More

Last week, long-time Sacramento Bee columnist penned a column Both Left And Right In California Want Automatons In Office where he throws down the gauntlet of criticism on those who oppose a bigger, fatter state government (he also throws down on the other extreme, but that is not the focus of this blog post).

The California Republican Party has been frequently – and rightfully – criticized for insisting that GOP politicians adhere to a very narrow set of supposed principles, such as always opposing any purported tax increase regardless of its merits.

That rigid mindset entertains no differences between a general sales tax increase, an increase in a specific user tax such as the one on gasoline or even closing a completely unjustified special interest tax loophole, and shuns the tax reform that California sorely… Read More