I am told that a vote is scheduled in the State Senate and Assembly this morning on whether to confirm Republican-In-Name-Only Abel Maldonado to be California’s next Lieutenant Governor. I’ve written so much about this issue on this blog that I am not going to go into all of it over again, I will just reemphasize the key points…

Maldonado doesn’t deserve the support of Republicans because…

he wants to destroy our party (Prop. 14). he broke his own voluntary pledge not to raise new taxes. his loyalty to the GOP Caucus is non-existent, never playing team ball but preferring to leverage himself as a "swing vote" on just about any issue. his votes will make it almost impossible for you to defend yours for him.

And, the most important reasons why Republicans should reject Maldonado…

a vote for Maldonado is an affirmation of the politics and policies of Arnold Schwarzenegger. a vote for Maldonado is indefensible to the very grassroots people, like in the Tea Party, that we are trying to unify behind Republicans. This vote will set back efforts to bring … Read More

Jeff Stone is a Riverside County Supervisor and Candidate for Senate in the 36th District, where Dennis Hollingsworth is termed out..

REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP NEEDED TO STOP ABEL MALDONADO Supervisor Jeff Stone Confirming Abel Maldonado, Governor Schwarzenegger’s unfortunate choice for Lieutenant Governor, would be a disaster for California taxpayers and an affront to the traditional conservative values that are the foundation of the Republican Party. Since… Read More

Republican candidates for statewide office not only need to debate, but they need to debate often. It is more important in this election cycle than ever before because of fourteen letters: Schwarzenegger. You see, Arnold Schwarzenegger really is one of the best actors out there – so much so that they should have an Academy Award for “Best Dramatic Performance In A Recall Election” – he would have won. He campaigned as a fiscal conservative – and has not been. His two hallmark “fiscal” achievements are getting the voters to max out the debt he inherited on a “credit card” of bonded indebtedness, and signing into law the largest tax increase in the history of any state. And he’s not done, with a pork-filled massive so-called water bond to appear before voters this November. In other-words, he “became” exactly the person he needed to be to strike a resonant chord with angry voters who wanted to oust Gray Davis and replace him with a fiscal hawk.

Why is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting performance of 2003 so relevant today? Let me give an eight letter word : cynicism. I use this word as a good one to describe the attitude of many… Read More

Republican candidates for statewide office not only need to debate, but they need to debate often. It is more important in this election cycle than ever before because of fourteen letters: Schwarzenegger. You see, Arnold Schwarzenegger really is one of the best actors out there – so much so that they should have an Academy Award for “Best Dramatic Performance In A Recall Election” – he would have won. He campaigned as a fiscal conservative – and has not been. His two hallmark “fiscal” achievements are getting the voters to max out the debt he inherited on a “credit card” of bonded indebtedness, and signing into law the largest tax increase in the history of any state. And he’s not done, with a pork-filled massive so-called water bond to appear before voters this November. In other-words, he “became” exactly the person he needed to be to strike a resonant chord with angry voters who wanted to oust Gray Davis and replace him with a fiscal hawk.

Why is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting performance of 2003 so relevant today? Let me give an eight letter word : cynicism. I use this word as a good one to describe the attitude of many… Read More

Dave Gilliard, consultant for Congressional candidate State Senator Jeff Denham, fired off a note to an unknown number of recipients in which he lays out how particular "hits" on another candidate, former Congressman Richard Pombo, really drag him down in popularity. Gilliard attached to his note a memo from longtime FR friend Steve Kinney, with more summary details on a poll that Public Opinion Strategies conducted in CD 19. Below is the text of Gilliard’s note, and linked below is the Kinney memo… And who ever said politics wasn’t a contact sport?

2/10/2010 TO: Interested Parties FR: Dave Gilliard Public Opinion Strategies just completed a poll in CA 19. A memo from… Read More

The long, sad saga of Poway Councilwoman Betty Rexford reached what may be its final stage this morning. The FlashReport just confirmed that the San Diego County Registrar of Voters completed its sampling of petitions submitted by recall proponents, certifying that more than the required 5,657 needed signatures were submitted. Over 6,300 valid signatures were previously turned in.

This qualifies the election for June 8, with both the Rexford recall and an "if she is recalled, who replaces her" question to appear on the ballot, sure to start a scramble by potential candidates.

"June 8 can’t come too soon," said recall organizer Steve Vaus, "It’s a bad day for Betty, but a great day for Poway."

For more on the recall: www.recallrexford.com… Read More

It is really getting challenging to show patience given the tone-deaf nature of the Democrats who control the State Legislature. State Senate Democrats just unveiled their new "jobs package" (read it and weap here) that supposedly is going to create six-figures worth of new jobs here in the once-Golden state.

It is really not rocket science to figure out how the Governor and State Legislature can best act to foster an economic environment for job creation in California. I would like it if every Democrat legislator and staff reading this would put down their coffee, and stop multitasking with Tweetdeck, and pay attention to this SIMPLE TWO STEP plan that would be a huge boon to California’s economy… STEP ONE: UNDO DAMAGING TAXES AND OVER-REGULATION That’s right, we should operate under the theory that the state government should get out of the business of actually doing harm to the business climate, and restricting the growth of private sector jobs. Whether it is reducing taxation on income to stimulate spending,… Read More

Round trip from DC to SF at $120,000

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