What is going on in the Assembly Republican caucus? Have they lost their minds? The Senate passed the Healthy Families bill, a bill with a tax increase in it, with Republican help, which was foolish enough. One Senator said he just couldn’t see "children losing their health care." He couldn’t have articulated the Democrat argument for any tax increase better. But the Assembly caucus voted overwhelmingly for the thing. Are they nuts?

I will start with one observation. I was one of 5 Senators who voted against the Healthy Families bill in 1997. Healthy Families is the California version of the so-called State Child Health Insurance program (S-CHIP) which was passed by the national government (with a Republican majority in Congress) in those days. The reason given for passage at the time was that the federal government had to do something about the uninsured children out there. So-they passed a program where the federal government paid for two-thirds of a subsidized health insurance program (with the state picking up the other one-third) for the so-called working poor, those poor workers whose employers were too cheap to buy health… Read More

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LOVE BOAT

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It must be cool to run for office with the resources to put together a seemingly endless stream of professional quality videos to support your campaign. This one, released today by the Whitman for Governor campaign, is all about Congressman Dan Lungren and State Senator Tony Strickland praising (perhaps in the case of Lungren I might actually say "gushing") Whitman’s support for Republican candidates. Enjoy. … Read More

For this website publisher, a life-long Los Angeles Dodgers fan, it doesn’t get any better than a chance to meet legendary Dodgers radio announcer Vin Scully up in the KABC booth overlooking Dodger Stadium! In this photo I share my "it" moment with Gino DiCaro of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. Other folks familier to FR readers who were with us, but not in my photo, included FR friends Rob Stutzman and Andrew Breitbart.

A big shout out to Mike McCey and the CBA for hosting us for the photos, the trip to the field to watch batting practice up close, and a cool night in the sky box checking out the Dodgers defeat the Diamondbacks game last Tuesday night!… Read More

Conservative talk show host Rick Amato will use California not as a backdrop, but apparently as a long drop to the ground tomorrow when Washington Times Radio broadcasts from a Zeppelin while in flight. Let’s hope it’s not the Hindenburg or of the Led Zep variety.

Amato predicts the experience will be surreal and says "it will be the first time a radio show has been broadcast while in flight."

The theme of the show is "As California Goes…So Goes America: What Does the Golden State Tell Us About the Nations Future?"

If our great state is an accurate forecaster of our nation’s path, that may be scarier than a free fall.

Amato’s guests include Hollywood Actor Robert Davi, California Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel, and State Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is also invited. Rick will have to clarify whether the guests will be aboard or calling in safely from the the Capitol while he smiles down on them.

The show will air live and early, 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. Pacific… Read More

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During the argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in the pending Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission case on whether the documentary film "Hillary: the Movie," (a movie critical of Hillary Clinton’s record and policy positions) should be banned under the Federal Election Campaign Act in election season, a question was asked of one of the government lawyers, namely, whether such a ban would also apply to books that contain references to candidates. The government lawyer said "Yes, books can be banned" under the law in question.

Campaign finance reform advocates likeFred Wertheimer also agree, "books can be banned." But Supreme Court Justice Alito was not so keen on that idea when he heard it in the Citizens United case, and now the Supreme Court is holding a rare second oral argument in the case later this month on the specific subject of book burning, or, eh, I mean film and book banning, couched under the question of whether a corporation’s contributions to a communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate can be banned. This goes to… Read More

The California Taxpayers’ Association recently reported the Commission on the 21st Century Economy is proposing an 18 cent tax increase on gasoline and diesel fuel to “encourage energy conservation.”

This is bad news for California families and small businesses that already pay some of the highest taxes in the nation.

The new tax would be in addition to the existing state gas tax of 18 cents per gallon, the federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon, and the sales tax that is assessed after gas taxes are added to the price. California consumers also ultimately pay the costs of the state’s high taxes and regulatory costs on businesses that produce and sell gasoline, said Cal Taxpayers.… Read More