UPDATE: 11AM — So much for the GOP circling the wagons behind Props. 11 & 20. They’ve turned out to be a disaster. Commission has adopted these lines. Republicans can look the courts, and to referend the lines. Otherwise, there is no real path for the next decade to move the GOP significantly closer to majority status in Sacramento.

My apologies to FR readers for my light posting the last week — I’ve been taking some much needed time off. That having been said, I thought I would “step in” for just a few minutes to share some quick thoughts with regards to the “fine works” of the California Redistricting Commission, which is poised today to lock and load today on political boundaries that — well — screw the GOP.

It is so clear, in retrospect, that it is impossible to divorce politics from what is a fundamentally political process. Propositions 11 and 20 sought to do just that. It’s not clear to me whether we should have the line drawing to the politicians (a shout out to Steve Maviglio) or whether we should have just sent the line… Read More

On the www.CalNews.com website I came across a column I wrote in 2007 — published in several papers. Nothing has changed since I wrote it, so it seems it bears repeating.

http://www.calnews.com/archives/rider02.htm

The Virginia Tech Massacre By Richard Rider, CalNews.com April 18, 2007

Some observations on the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech.

True to form, the national TV and radio networks started in on the “inadequate gun control laws” before the bodies had cooled. By the afternoon, a spokesperson for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence was pontificating all over the networks. The gun grabber lobby is geared up for just such events – indeed, they seem far better prepared than the cops.

The media thinks it is ironic that people were slaughtered in gun free zones – as if the prohibition of guns in these areas should have protected the victims. They are right about the irony, but for the wrong reason. These pundits have yet to understand that such shooters GO to gun free zones precisely BECAUSE they are gun free. When it comes to… Read More

Here is the promised review of my vacation reading list:

Listening to America (Bill Moyers). Yeah he’s endlessly annoying on television, but the book is worth reading for an insight into how people across America were thinking in the late 1960’s (for those of you, like me, who weren’t there). I suggest renting it from the library to avoid enriching him further. Rank: B.

Before the Dawn (Gerry Adams). Poorly written. Dull. Confusing. Slangy in an eye rolling way. One sided (shocking). Don’t waste your time. Rank: D-. It rises above an F because I managed to get through it when I had nothing left to read and I couldn’t stand any more of the kids ipod games.

Basic Brown (Willie Brown). Interesting… obviously written for a broader audience than political insiders. It’s a quick read and pretty much anything Brown writes is worth reading in my opinion. Rank: B.

The Maltese Falcon/The Thin Man (Dashiell Hammett). I’m not a huge fan of fiction. Got most of that out of my system 20 years ago. However, and not to put too fine a point on it, these… Read More

They are called “Super PACs”. They can take unlimited union or corporate funds in Federal elections. They can go entirely negative on a candidate for U.S. Senate, Congress, or even President. And they are perfectly legal and just require sending a one page, one paragraph letter to the Federal Election Commission, along with an organizational disclosure. All you need to do to operate one, is to do it entirely independent of any candidate.

As a result of the “Citizens United” U.S. Supreme Court case previously reported on in this blog spot, restrictions on the amount of contributions and the source of those contributions for independent expenditure operations have literally been blown away.

Think about that in California. With 53 Congressional seats up for grabs in an election environment already confused by a new open primary system and the work of a “citizens” redistricting commission, Super PACs offer a third wild card to the hand of those hardened political professionals looking to defeat an incumbent, or sully an upstart challenger, in the 2012 elections here. But FEC Advisory Opinion 2010-11 makes it very… Read More

We are pleased to present this guest column…

CRP’S NIHILIST ABANDONMENT OF OFFICIAL ENGLISH by Dave Louden

I love “The Big Lebowski.” It’s a great film starring Jeff Bridges as the lazy “Dude” on an amazing bowling alley filled adventure to save a kidnapped victim by delivering a ransom to a group of German nihilist kidnappers who as their nihilist philosophy dictates, believe in “nothing.”

After moving to Washington, DC last year I still enjoy reading Flashreport so I can keep up with all things political in my home state. Unfortunately, I have to read another story of how weak kneed Republican do-gooders feel that being a party of meekness assures electoral victory.

Here’s a little history for my friends who will be asked to approve a new CRP platform:

Proposition 227 which gave parents the option of choosing a bilingual curriculum for their children in California’s public schools passed with 61% of voters in support. Prop 227’s campaign… Read More

Chairman Reince Preibus’s tenure as Wisconsin state chair was no fluke. He was clearly instrumental electing a new governor, a new senator, members of congress & helped capture control of both legislative houses. His biggest RNC challenge, besides raising money, was if he could help safeguard Wisconsin against wounded Labor counter-revolution.

Reince Preibus did In spades. When big labor spent millions against the brave Supreme Court justice— the RNC went to work and revived David Prosser’s campaign to victory May 23.

The there were the 6 republican senators recall elections. National labor threw down $25,000,000. In a smashing defeat against the union thugs – Governor Scott Walker, the state party and the RNC went to work and protected 4 of the senators in districts that Obama won.

Have a look what David Frum wrote about it.… Read More

Although I continue to remain deeply concerned about California’s economic recovery, I’m pleased to report that our state’s budget picture—at least when it comes to sales tax—isn’t quite as bleak as it might seem.

On Tuesday, the State Controller reported that sales and use tax general fund revenues for the month of July were $977.6 million, 12.5% below the Department of Finance projection of $1.12 billion.

However, BOE actually received $1.64 billion in July, more than half a billion dollars above the budget projection cited by the Controller.

The competing revenue numbers are the result of two different methods of accounting. As required by statute, the Controller looks at “money in the bank,” which does not include pending deposits. BOE numbers reflect “money in the door,” which includes all payments—including those received but not yet deposited.

The last few days of July saw more than $600 million in sales tax revenue received by BOE. These dollars were not included in the Controller’s report because they had not yet been deposited into state coffers. Retail… Read More

The American political system is biased toward career politicians.

Re-election rates for members of Congress approaching or over 90% even in dramatic election years like 1994 and 2010 make this a political truism.

Conservatives often point to the long list of advantages given to incumbents as the reason so many can turn elective office into a lifetime occupation: full time staff providing constituent services, higher existing name recognition, better access to the media, established donors and volunteers carried over from the last campaign, campaign finance laws which incumbents craft but challengers do not, and so on.

These are just a few of the perks of office which carry clear political benefits the next time the incumbent goes before voters. Often overlooked, however, is how our system has become biased against candidates from the private sector, particularly when they challenge incumbents.

“Bias” doesn’t mean private sector challenges can’t and don’t win – but it does mean they face special challenges to which most incumbents are immune.

In 2010, Republican businesswomen Meg Whitman… Read More