The Orange County Register has an excruciatingly well-researched front page story today about how members of the California Legislature use (or abuse depending upon your outlook) so called away from home "per diem" tax-free payments that are intended to defray expenses of being away from their main homes, (presumably in their legislative districts) while tending to state business in Sacramento. One of the starkest examples provided was that of millionaire Orange County Congressman John Campbell. Campbell has a mansion in Irvine. But according to the report by reporters Brian Joseph and Molly Zisk, while in the state legislature Campbell charged the taxpayers $167,070 in addition to his salary, for away from home "per diem" expenses. In this five-year period, he purchased a home in the Sacramento suburbs for $300,000. He paid cash for the home. When he was elected to Congress, he sold the home for $665,000. The Register article claims Campbell tripled his personal investment by leveraging tax-free taxpayer supported per diem… Read More

In late December I wrote that the City of San Diego has "a series of campaign laws long ripe for a challenge on First Amendment grounds," and further asked, "Yet, what candidates have ever wanted to take on those laws at the risk of being perceived in the media — and at the hands of opponents — as wanting to loosen restrictions?"

This was in response to the news that a coalition was — finally — doing just that.

In case you missed it, a Federal court last week ruled against the City of San Diego’s overly restrictive campaign laws. Jim Lacy summarized it on Wednesday in his column here on the FlashReport:

A Federal court in San Diego yesterday issued a permanent injunction against the City of San Diego’s $500 contribution limit per person to independent expenditure committees involved in City elections. The ruling quotes the recent Citizens United case we have written about, and is… Read More

I’ve been in politics a long time. So, count me jaded when a candidate puts out a press release that says "My poll says I’m ahead!"

Before I give any belief to a statement like that, I want to know what the questions were, how were all the candidates identified in the poll (it has to be what the ballot designation is likely to be – or it’s worthless), who is the pollster (has to be a respected one), and was this a “push” poll – where the opponents are cast in a negative light and the candidate in a positive one (these types of polls area wastebecause they don’t reflect reality).

So, I was impressed when I got the email below from Senator George Runner – candidate for BOE. Not only does it show George in the lead, but he gives us the questions that were asked, has very fair ballot designations of him and his opponents and the poll was done by Steve Kinney of Public Opinion Strategies – who I can personally vouch for as a top-flight pollster.

Poll Shows George Runner is Clear Frontrunner in BOE Race Sacramento

The results of a poll conducted… Read More

According to today’s Washington Post, conservative Republican Ken Cuccinelli, the Virginia Attorney General, was scared off of sharing the dias at CPAC today with prominent California-based conservative legal activist Gary Kreep, the cofounder of the United States Justice Foundation. The article cites a panel the two were to share, “Saving Freedom and Due Process from an Oppressive Justice Department” today at 12:15 p.m. Cuccinelli is a potential candidate for U.S. Senate or Governor in upcoming elections in Virginia. Gary is a director of Western CPAC well known for his accomplishments in the law for conservatives who also is a leading attorney, with two cases currently on appeal, challenging the eligibility of Barack Obama to be President on the claim he may not be a natural born citizen. The Post reports that Cuccinelli never agreed to serve on the panel, despite his name having appeared on the published agenda at www.conservative.org for months. His spokesman says he decided in the end to speak on another panel on economic issues. It looks odd to me that an Attorney General would be confused about whether to speak on legal issues, his field of… Read More

I learned that the American Conservative Union will be holding a fundraiser at the Nixon Library in Orange County in late April, and the featured speaker will be ACU Board member and former UN Ambassador, the Honorable John Bolton. $250 a head. Hopefully a good "cross-marketing" platform for Western CPAC in October in Newport Beach. And John Bolton is a superb speaker and a great American. Stay tuned…..Stepped out of CPAC briefly to celebrity chief Charlie Palmer’s on Capitol Hill for a quick lunch and saw former Republican Congressional Majority Leader Dick Armey holding court at the next table, and at a nearby table, "that blond woman who is always on Hannity," (Floyd Brown’s observation) whoever that is……….We had stripped bass and walleye pike, a Midwest favorite. Will attend the CPAC speech tonight, not eat, then off to The Palm for a late dinner with Steve Some, who was once, and with recent electoral changes will soon be again, the premier state government lobbyist in New Jersey……..CPAC is full of young people – smiling, fresh, earnest young faces, male and female alike, just waiting… Read More

Top CA political printer Vince Monaco just set outan articlethat talks about a USPS plan to cut Saturday delivery to street addresses.Congress would have to approve the plan and if they don’t the Postal Service CFO says the USPSwill go broke.

This change wouldhave a huge impact on political campaigns which would have fewer mail days to communicate with voters before elections. Typically Saturday is the last day you want to plan mail to hit voters’ mailboxes, partly because Monday is a buffer day in case it doesn’t arrive over the weekend. Now with no mail delivery on Saturday or Sunday, Monday’s mailboxes will be that much more full and there is a better chance that political mail will be lost in the pile.

The article says mail willstill be processed on Saturday – you could still make drop offs and mail would still be transportedbetweenprocessing plants.

Monacosays the proposal, if passed wouldbe a game changer.… Read More

Just said hello to Steve Poizner at CPAC, who was huddling with Americans for Tax Reform and fellow ACU board member Grover Norquist in the coffee shop. I was able to tell him personally I just received his campaign’s check for my biggest slate card, “Lew Uhler’s National Tax Limitation Committee Early Voter Guide”. I’d say he is in the race all the way. California GOP chief Ron Nehring walked up to see Steve just as I was leaving. Conservative bad boy Floyd Brown and I decided to go to the bar for cokes and stopped on the way to talk to David Bossie, the head of Citizens United (which was founded by Floyd) to congratulate him on his big recent Supreme Court victory. CPAC staff say there will be 10,000 registered participants at this event. Wow!… Read More

I am currently sipping coffee and seated in the Green Room next to the stage listening to Governor Tim Pawlenty’s great speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Marriott Wardman in Washington, DC. “God is in charge,” says the Governor. Amen! Pawlenty did us the honor of speaking in Newport Beach at the Western CPAC last October. Also here in the Green Room is Wall Street Journal writer John Fund, who is waiting to speak, and who also joined us at WCPAC, and Tom Winter, editor of Human Events, a prime CPAC sponsor, whom I have been demonstrating the new iPhone CPAC application to. (I think Tom prefers paper agendas). John Fund just gave me a ringing endorsement of Western CPAC, which will be held Oct. 15-16 in Newport Beach. To paraphrase, John said events like Western CPAC are “vital” to ensure that a regional and local perspective on conservatism is fostered. CPAC provides the national perspective, WCPAC provides the regional perspective. John says “don’t forget I’m a Californian!” and says he definitely will be attending and speaking at the next WCPAC.… Read More