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THE KINDER, GENTLER SQUANDERING OF THE REAGAN LEGACY by Rhonda Rohrabacher

I just returned from Ronald Reagan’s 100th Birthday celebration at the Reagan Library where Reaganites and Reaganite exploiters reveled in an euphoric sanctuary where the mood, spirit and atmosphere felt very much the same as similar Presidential events 20 years ago. It almost felt like Ronald Reagan was still president and the last 20 years had just been a bad dream. It made me reflect back to that era of hope, when I first got involved in Orange County Republican Party politics in 1988.

Orange County was often heralded as America’s most Republican county, and Ronald Reagan always affectionately referred to it as “the place where all good Republicans go to die.” In OC there were many opportunities to partake in rallies and functions where Reagan was present. The mood and… Read More

The geographic boundaries of a redrawn 74th Assembly District are yet to be determined, but a buzz is quietly building amongpolitical watchers regarding the likely field of Republican candidates next year, as Assemblyman Martin Garrick leaves the seat due to term limits. The buzz may quickly become full blown, as longtime conservative GOP activist Sherry Hodges will soon make her candidacy official. An open Assembly district would typically have a host of "for sure" candidates at least talking themselves up at this point, but with redistricting looming many are hesitant to say anything about a seat they’re not sure will include their homes, nor even guaranteed the number "74." The exception is Hodges, who on Friday confirmed for the FlashReport that she will announce her campaign on February 17. The movemayresult in some othercurrently cautiouspotential candidates toget more aggressive about their… Read More

THANKS First order of business is a thank you to the citizens of California, the people of my districts over 32 years, and to Republican volunteers. It was a wonderful, thrilling experience to serve in public office. While extremely frustrating to having never served in a majority it was also very fulfilling to help people trying to do business with the state. I do miss the opportunity to argue for conservative principles and the challenges of trying to stall the leftward drift of California government. We do have a lot of problems in California and every one of them is human caused or should I say legislator caused with help from several governors and judges. FUTURE So many friends have asked about my future and the current answer is that I do not know. I loved putting out the Leonard Letter but I am looking to other fields also. Right now I am getting reacquainted with… Read More

I had the opportunity to attend the formal 100th birthday celebration as an invitee to the Reagan Presidential Foundation’s lovely events at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley last night.

Readers may know I was a young delegate for Ronald Reagan at the Republican National Convention in 1976, and served all eight years of his administration in Washington, D.C., completing those years as General Counsel of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, where we implemented Reagan’s policy of deregulation and forcing cost/benefit analysis in government rulemaking.

After this service, I also had the opportunity through Young America’s Foundation to actually be the first person to open, and then participate in, the negotiations that lead to that Foundation’s purchase of the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara County for historic purposes.

More recently I have gotten involved as a supporter of the Reagan Presidential Foundation and have developed over the last few years a nice friendship with one of that Foundation’s biggest donors, Arizona… Read More

A strong rumor jumped out from the open house party for the Republican Party of San Diego in Rancho Bernardo last night, namely, that conservative Republican State Senator Mark Wyland had filed an FPPC Form 410 "Candidate Intention Statement" to run for the Board of Equalization to fill the southern California seat currently held by Michelle Steel, which will be open in 2014.

The Board of Equalization is an important department of California government that hears tax appeals and administers many tax related programs in the state.

I double-checked the Secretary of State’s website today and can confirm State Senator Mark Wyland is indeed a candidate for BOE District 3. Since the election is over three years away, one can understand the quiet launch of the effort, but such early starts are critical to ultimate success in these large-district BOE races. Claude Parrish, who held this seat for two terms before he was term-limited, and has run for BOE several times, told me that the other most important factor in these races are securing all the best slate… Read More

San Diego Rostra, a great politics blog, reported yesterday that Sherry Hodges, "[t]he only declared candidate for the Republican nomination in the 74th Assembly District" to succeed termed-limited Martin Garrick, has not only been making calls rounding up support, but also has a new state government job, and will start today as a neighboring Assemblymember’s chief of staff. Hodges will need to be very careful in her new role working for taxpayers in a different Assembly district, because her campaigning for the 74th while on the state payroll is subject to a myriad of ethics and conflict-of-interest rules, and fouling up on them is a civil offense and can be a crime, and can expose not only her to liability, but also her new boss, Assemblymember Diane Harkey. For this reason, Hodges work on the state payroll will not only be regulated by ethics officials, it will also be subject to microscopic inspection by potential opponents in the Assembly race.

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