Unlike some well seasoned politicos in DC including the NRSC, Chairman Michael Steele is running hard supporting Christine O’Donnell. See below.

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Jerry Brown and the media love to talk about the money that Meg Whitman has spent in her bid for governor.There’s no doubt that she’s spent a hefty amount.But there are a couple of points that her critics leave out. First, California is a large state and it takes a lot of money to introduce a candidate to the voters.A political newcomer cannot simply hold coffee klatches and expect to connect with the nearly 37 million people who live here.Despite the popularity of the Internet, television and radio are still the most reliable way to reach people and they are also the most expensive form of advertising. Of the roughly $100 million Whitman has spent on her campaign (primary and general) thus far, $60 million has been spent on direct communication with the voters (paid advertising). Her critics … Read More

Today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail was so interesting, I thought I would post it up here. As a shout-out to the WSJ, let me encourage you to go to this link and sign up to get the Diary to your own email account. There is a small fee — but as you can see from below, well worth it… The last item below is California-specific. … Read More

No, I don’t mean Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but Internal Combustion Engines. They pretty much all run now on some refined petroleum product. But what about alternative fuels? There are a lot of alternatives out there, but each has challenges or else they would be in wide distribution already.

The most commonly know is E85, which is a blend of 85% ethanol with 15% gasoline. Cars in Brazil can run on 100% gasoline, 100% ethanol, or any mixture in between. Ethanol is most efficiently produced from sugar cane – something Brazil has a lot of. We don’t have much. So, we tend to produce it from corn. Virtually all gasoline in the US now contains 10% ethanol. We may be able to go to 15% without damaging existing cars. We cannot produce enough ethanol domestically to go entirely to E85 or even E25, and we currently have a 30% tax on imported ethanol. I have cosponsored a bill to remove that tax, which was initially intended to protect US sugar producers, but is now interfering with energy policy. Plus, ethanol has downsides. In addition to the fact that it results in more emissions than gasoline, it is corrosive and cannot be used at too high a… Read More

The thoughtful commentary below submitted to us from longtime FR friend Amy LeFever. LeFever joined thousands and thousands of Californians over the weekend and on Monday in urging Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado, in his capacity as Acting Governor (Governor Schwarzenegger is on a trade mission in Asia) to file an appeal of the lower court decision in the Proposition 8 case.

Maldonado did not file the appeal, and disappointed many people because of it. Popular talk radio show Dennis Prager devoted a large amount of his time to urging Maldonado to "do the right thing" and file the appeal. Former Attorney General candidate John Eastman had even done all of the necessary legal work, so all that was required of Maldonado was his signature.

So the upshot? It was very disappointing that the Republican Party’s nominee for Lt. Governor would not stand with his party on this key issue.

It was disappointing that Maldonado did not file the appeal — but let us remember that Governor Schwarzenegger himself deserves the brunt of the criticism. His responsibility is to represent the people of California, who voted to pass… Read More

Governor Schwarzenegger is floating around an idea to tax services such as hair cuts, chiropractic adjustments, taxi rides, concerts, bowling – you name it. If it’s a service, it could become subjected to taxation.

The governor’s reasoning is that service-oriented business owners don’t pay their fair share of taxes.

“… We know that the economy now is a service-oriented economy, but we really don’t tax anyone that is in this new economy,” the governor said in his Aug. 24 speech to the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The fact is anyone who operates a legitimate business in California is paying some of the highest taxes in the nation not to mention obeying a dizzying array of regulations, which has made California the most hostile state in which to conduct business.

The reality of taxing services is that “mom and pop” business owners would feel the pinch with the addition of one more onerous expense, driving some owners to throw in the towel and close shop. Larger companies would go around the law by outsourcing to service providers in places like Nevada and Arizona, whose state… Read More

Other than the political fun of watching Jerry Brown insult Clinton and then Clinton accept his apology and endorse the guy, why should people care about this flap? Because it says a whole lot about Jerry Brown. 2010 gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown wants us to believe that he is not Governor Moonbeam of the 1970s anymore; he’s matured and grown up.Look, he’s even married now and his buddy Jacques Barzaghi is not hanging around. But his public mocking ofBill Clinton’s honesty and his “I did not have taxes with this state” joke demonstrates that Jerry Brown hasn’t changed much.Here’s a guy who is behind in fundraising and needs all the friends he can get.Instead, he’s sticking his foot in his mouth, having to apologize to a fellow he … Read More

Fox News has some interesting new poll numbers about the state of political affairs here in California. The September 11th poll found Whitman leading Brown by 6 points, and Fiorina just two points behind Boxer. Unsurprisingly, jobs and the economy are the number one priority for those polled, with 46% saying it’s their primary concern this year. Even more interesting than the election polling numbers were the results of questions asked about office holders that aren’t up for election this year. The Fox News headline says it all: “California Cools to Dems.”

Obama has only a 48% job approval rating despite winning California by a 24-point margin in 2008. In a ray of true hope, 35% say they think Obama’s actions have hurt the economy. And according to Fox News, respondents were evenly divided on whether to repeal ObamaCare. Only 46%… Read More