The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a platform as a declaration of principles and policies adopted by a political party or a candidate. Once every four years the members of the California Republican Party Central Committee have an opportunity adopt our state party platform. Our Republican candidates, of course, each get to set out their own individual campaign platforms.

Different state parties have platforms that vary in length and specificity, to suit the desires of each of their state committees. The California Republican Party’s currently platform is relatively short at eight pages (in larger font), as opposed to say the platform of the Republican Party of Texas which weighs in at a strapping 32 pages (in pretty small font). The Platform adopted by the last Republican National Convention is more like a book, being 55 pages in length (link).

Generally a party platform is an expository document that allows someone to read it and understand… Read More

The latest Field poll news is a shocker. California voters actually have relatively low approval for President Obama. This to me is stunning news, because our State legislative majority, former Governor, and current Governor are so bad at their jobs, and yet, continue to get re-elected.

There are pain thresholds in politics, and every so often, California voters have a tantrum. The 2003 recall election, the rare but exciting moments when bonds are actually voted down, and the punishing defeat of Arnold clone Meg Whitman would all be recent examples.

Now, we’ve got low approval for President Obama. This proves that we need to have a horrendous economy and depression for Californians to get angry. Will this translate into votes for Democrat alternatives? Probably not. Not unless Republicans quit pussy footing around and campaign stridently – bold lines and colors, against Democrat incompetence, both in Sacramento and Washington DC.… Read More

As has been written about on this page, the current State Senate lines that were approved by the California Redistricting Commission amount to an “extinction event” for Republicans in the legislature’s upper house. Right now Republicans, with 15 seats, barely can muster the votes to stop the tax and fee increases proposed by Democrats that require a 2/3rds vote. Without a redo on lines for the Senate, former Senate and Assembly Republican Leader Jim Brulte says that the GOP will be in a super-minority after the 2012 elections.

Consequently a major effort is underway to raise the two million dollars needed to gather 505,000 valid signatures and cause the courts to draw another set of Senate lines to be used in 2012 (and set into motion a vote of the public on whether to use the Commission lines, or those drawn by the courts, for the remainder of the decade).

The California Republican Party has just dropped hundreds of thousands of pieces of mail to Republican voters, signed by party chairman Tom Del Beccaro and Senators Mimi Walters and Tony Strickland, with more to come. Below are copies of the mailing, so you can see what they have… Read More

This past year our GOP legislators have stood strong with no defectors — the toughest in recent memory. Indeed, this toughness was one reason I switched this year from the Libertarian Party to the GOP.

But with the coming “top two” system of elections, it’s probable a few RINO’s will slip into the CA legislature, replacing some GOP tough guys and gals. And, at this point, it takes only two in each CA legislative body to make the GOP TOTALLY irrelevant in the legislative process. One RINO (Brian Maienschein) is already a frontrunner in north San Diego to replace Nathan Fletcher, who is running for mayor of San Diego. This district is a strong GOP bastion — even after redistricting. Sadly, GOP legislators Joel Anderson and Brian Jones have for unknown reasons just endorsed Maienschein’s candidacy. Maienschein likely will be quietly backed by one or more of the public employee labor unions, thanks to his sterling service to same while screwing up San Diego as our city council critter. To but it bluntly, in fiscal matters, he was simply awful — a tool of the labor … Read More

Across the state, California community college officials and student activists have held coordinated protests. With the usual claimed victim status, they demand higher taxes to subsidize their academic fantasyland.

But these bureaucrats fail to tell the full story. It’s the CA community college STUDENTS (who benefit the most from the education) who should be paying more for their education — they’ve been over-subsidized long enough.

According to a March2010 national tuition survey sponsored by Washington state, California has the lowest community college tuition and fees in the country. Even with the increase in per credit tuition from $26 to $36, CA community colleges STILL charge students the lowest tuition — students are paying about a third of the national community college tuition average.

Based on a 15 credit (five course) semester, 2009-10 CA community college tuition and fees equaled $780. Next lowest was New Mexico at $1,125. Third lowest was North Carolina at $1,684. National average was $3,029. The highest state is New Hampshire which charges $6,262.

Adjusting for the new increased $36 per credit CA community… Read More

Liberals in CA vehemently dislike the CA initiative process. Indeed, they just tried to enact an effective ban on the process, but the bill was vetoed by Gov. Brown.

These mislabeled “progressives” dislike citizen-signed propositions, as such measures bypass the institution the Big Government advocates control throughout most of the state — elected officials. I doubt we’d be hearing the anti-proposition bleating from them if such were not the case.

Moreover, the feigned concern about improprieties in signature gathering ignores the benefits of a full vetting of the prop once it is on the ballot — especially compared to our chaotic state legislative procedures.

I recommend an informative, humorous out-of-print book (available at Amazon) by the late State Senator H.L. Richardson — “What Makes You Think We Read the Bills?” http://www.amazon.com/What-Makes-Think-Read-Bills/dp/0916054780

Most of us know that in the closing days of each legislative session, our intrepid CA elected leaders vote on literally hundreds of ever-changing bills — some even… Read More

During these tough economic times, we are seeing families forced into making tough economic choices about their budgets. Pretty much we all have a family member or a close friend who is unemployed. Of course the downturn in the economy has an effect on available public resources as well. At every level of government (well, maybe except in Washington where they can print more money) there is significant belt-tightening taking place — if not out of ideological conviction, then due to practical concerns.

Nowhere is the scarcity of resources becoming a bigger issue than in local government, where the decrease in tax revenues due to the poor economy is hitting county and city budgets hard. This is compounded infinitely by the out-of-control public employee pension benefits that are now heavily draining many city coffers — and the worst is yet to come on that front.

More than ever, the public needs clarity that their local elected officials are serving for the right reasons. Now is a time for self-reflection. The City of Orange yesterday took an exemplary step in showing leadership for cities all around the state to follow — by a unanimous vote… Read More

Republicans scored twin victories in two closely watched House special elections last night, signaling ongoing problems for the Democrats in regions essential for their success in any national election.

By far the biggest upset was in New York’s 9th district, a heavily Democratic New York City seat with the highest percentage of Jewish voters in America. Predictably, President Obama’s policies toward Israel took center stage in this fight and the resulting victory for political novice Republican Bob Turner over incumbent Democrat Assemblyman David Weprin demonstrates the biggest potential shift in a major Democratic voter block in recent memory.

When I was growing up on Long Island (my parents immigrated and settled with other families just outside of New York City), Democrat Mayor Ed Koch was an outspoken icon of liberalism. Yet, his endorsement of Republican Turner over Democrat Weprin in this special election crystalized the problem which President Obama’s Israel policy has created for his party. It’s not just Republican Jews who are upset, but Democrats and independents as well.

The… Read More