Last year Michael Steele upset the Republican establishment as the first outsider in a generation to win election as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Massive forces were aligned against Steele, but the harsh lessons of wholesale Republican repudiations of 2006 and 2008 helped propel Michael’s message.

The message from Steele? That for Republicans to win again, they must embrace and act conservative. We have valuable lessons to learn from the Tea Party movement. Depending on the Republican bulls in Congress could be fatal. Over the years, many RNC vendors grew rich over no-bid contracts. In fact, there still remains an RNC member who was paid over $1,000,000 from the RNC — who was a fierce opponent to Steele’s election. Chairman

Steele promised reforms. No more no-bid contracts. Old favored vendors would have to compete. The Establishment would have to move over and and re-invent themselves.… Read More

I enjoyed reading Senator John McCain’s book during the 2000 election cycle, about his service in the military and time in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp. He seemed to be a real hero. I also recall fondly bumping into him occasionally at the "social Safeway" in Old Town Alexandria, Virginiawhen my wife and I worked in the Reagan Administration. I specifically recall one instance where he was closely observing a Romaine Lettuce and I approached him to say he was getting a raw deal on the "Keating Five" scandal in the media. The next time I met him was at a private meeting with the Board of Directors of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in Los Angeles, that Mrs. Jarvis attended. We talked about his presidential ambitions but I voiced a small concern about his idea on campaign finance reform. He didn’t have much of an answer when I asked about implications to the First Amendment.

Today Cindy McCain is reported to have appeared in a television advertisement in support of gay marriage. This report comes on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court, in yet another decision, has further clobbered… Read More

Earlier today, the Senate Democrats passed SB 810, which would mandate government run healthcare. The Democrats in Sacramento aren’t listening. The people don’t want a government run healthcare system. The lack of support for the federal proposal and the election results in Massachusetts, less than 48 hours ago, should indicate the public’s desire to have government stay out of their healthcare decisions.

SB 810 is far more intrusive than the federal program. And, it comes at a time when California is facing a $20 billion deficit and cuts are being made to education, healthcare, and public safety. The Legislature should not even contemplate implementing a program that will ration healthcare and cost over $200 billion annually – more than double the California State Budget.

This is the plan for you, if you want the compassion of the IRS and the efficiency of the DMV.… Read More

In just a few weeks, candidates who will appear on the ballot in the upcoming June, 2010 primary election in California will submit their paperwork to the various county elections officials across the state, officially declaring their candidacies, and they will submit their names and proposed ballot designations for the ballot. In some cases they may also be allowed to pay for a short "candidate statement" to appear in the advance ballot materials sent to all voters.

In California, a candidate is allowed to have their name, including a "nick-name," and up to three words describing the "principal" "profession, vocation, or occupation" printed on the ballot. Incumbents get additional words if they want, describing the official title they hold. There is sometimes litigation over whether the chosen "profession, vocation, or occupation" of the candidate is a "principal" endeavor, since the underlying requirement of the name and ballot designation is that it must not be misleading to the voter. Sometimes there is even litigation over whether the candidate’s name is misleading or not. The… Read More

From today’s WSJ Political Diary E-mail… … Read More

For those with a chunk of time to watch what was an amazing speech, here is the video of Orange County Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh giving his speech about the future of the GOP and of the nation, filmed last Monday night by yours truly… Big kudos to Rhonda Rohrabacher for getting it up online!

Chairman Scott Baugh from OCGOP on Vimeo.

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I caught up with Assemblyman and U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore as well as Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel in the heart of the State Capitol. DeVore had a lot to say about his experiences making GOTV calls for Scott Brown, the now U.S. Senator-Elect for Massachusetts…

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I’ve listened to all the FOX News pundits tonight, and they have all missedan important point. The reason Scott Brown won is the same reason that Senator McCain could have if his campaign (post-Super Tuesday) hadn’t been manhandled by the “Victory” operation. Like Senator McCain, Scott Brown is his own man, and Brown said it best tonight, “I know who I am, and I know who I serve.” He appeals to Republicans AND independents AND what we used to call Reagan Democrats, (until some wonk or another decided we couldn’t woo them any longer.) Do you know how many non-Republicans worked on Scott Brown’s campaign, and were in the room when he gave his victory speech tonight? If not, I hope you’ll find out. Do you know how many PUMA’s, how many hard working union Democrats, how many pro-life Democratic Catholics, and how many independent thinkers would have worked their tails off for Senator McCain if they hadn’t had to make calls for … Read More