The 5th Assembly District, which is centered in Sacramento County, is currently occupied by Roger Niello who, fortunately, is forced to retire due to term limits. FR readers will undoubtedly recall Niello’s infamous vote for the largest tax increase in California history, and his vote tie even more massive tax increases to Proposition 1A should it have passed (fortunately the voters overwhelmingly rejected 1A). Niello, while being a truly nice guy, is too smart to get any kind of pass for abandoning the most significant premise of our party — which is that government is too big and spends too much.

I hear the argument from Republicans all of the time that we need to nominate “moderate” candidates in primaries because conservatives can’t win in swing districts. While I don’t agree with this argument at all, I can see why some people would buy into that logic. I believe you best defeat the other party by contrasting their views with ours — but some feel that you need to be "like them" to beat them – go figure.

That said, what I do not understand is why some believe we should nominate liberal or moderate Republicans in… Read More

Steve Poizner is by far the most compelling candidate for Governor in either party and I wholeheartedly support his candidacy to be our party’s nominee in June 2010. Furthermore, I am anxious to actively campaign for Steve because he specializes in exactly what our state and our party need – solutions. Steve spent his career in Silicon Valley creating jobs and building businesses, but most importantly he spent his career finding ways to make things work better. Steve is the man who engineered the technology to put GPS in cell phones, which is now the industry standard in 700 million cell phones worldwide. When he gets to Sacramento, he will be the Governor who puts a GPS tracker on every taxpayer dollar being spent by the Legislature, so you know where your money is going. Steve is the conservative candidate in this race and will offer the conservative solutions that our state so desperately need to move forward. I know this because Steve has already proven his conservative credentials at his post as Insurance Commissioner. Steve Poizner is the only candidate running for Governor who has actually cut waste from state government, and when he is… Read More

I am pleased to commend a great and funny film by Nicholas Tucker. The movie is called "Do As I Say" and is based on a bestselling book compiling the hypocrisy of politicians, actors and other activists who demand that others pay “their fair share” in taxes while they take full advantage of ways to avoid paying them. The film is an official selection of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival and will be shown at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28 at the Crest theatre in downtown Sacramento. I make a brief appearance in this clip .

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As I write this, it remains uncertain whether or not we will be voting on the socialized medicine bill next week. Regular readers know that I am a numbers, financial, and economic guy, as betrayed by my CPA certification. As important as these issues are, we are now presented with an issue even more vital. The socialized healthcare bill being considered by the House will likely result in tens of millions of Americans dying sooner than they otherwise would have to.

When the free-market, doctors, and patients are taken out of health care decisions, and the care is paid for by somebody else, the establishment of an organization to ration care is inevitable. In fact, the legislation creates the National Institute of Comparative Effectiveness. As benign as it may sound, this is the bureaucracy that will be used to ration care. A similar institution exists in Britain, and has the rather ominous acronym of NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Experience). Rulings on whether people live or die are made frequently in Britain and Canada, and if you have a pre-existing condition, are elderly, or for some reason deemed ‘unfit’ for a life saving procedure, then your… Read More

Businessman and former Republican Gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon, Jr., has endorsed Meg Whitman in her campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor. Simon will serve as a Co-Chairman of Whitman’s campaign, and as a Senior Policy Advisor.

"Meg Whitman’s success in business grew from her conservative fical principles and solutions-based leadership," says Simon about Whitman. "Meg believes lower taxes and smaller, more efficient and effective government will generate jobs and bring prosperity back to California. Her beliefs and experience make her the best candidate to lead California’s economic recovery." Simon’s endorsement is most significant because in his campaign for Governor in 2002, he ran in both the primary and general elections as an unubashed conservative, endearing himself to many of the State GOP’s grassroots activists.

**There is more –… Read More

Businessman and former Republican Gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon, Jr., has endorsed Meg Whitman in her campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor. Simon will serve as a Co-Chairman of Whitman’s campaign, and as a Senior Policy Advisor.

"Meg Whitman’s success in business crew from her conservative fical principles and solutions-based leadership," says Simon about Whitman. "Meg believes lower taxes and smaller, more efficient and effective government will generate jobs and bring prosperity back to California. Her beliefs and experience make her the best candidate to lead California’s economic recovery."

Simon’s endorsement is most significant because in his campaign for Governor in 2002, he ran in both the primary and general elections as an unubashed conservative, endearing himself to many of the State GOP’s grassroots activists.

In the 2008 GOP Presidential primary, Simon was in the top brass of the campaign of former New York Mayor… Read More

You have to chuckle just a bit when you read about the fact that the Obama Administration and California are at odds over the issue of the ability to use student achievement as a measure for rating the effectiveness of teachers. Apparently at stake are some federal dollars for California’s education system because California is one of a few states that actually has a law (no doubt passed with the considerable helf of one of the state’s largest public employee unions – the California Teachers Association) that actually prohibits using student achievement to rate teacher performance. Read about it in the Los Angeles Times here.

First and foremost, how lame for us here in California. It makes NO SENSE to not have as a factor (and perhaps as the largest factor) in assessing a teacher their ability to sucessful get their students to learn. Do we have a law that says you cannot judge an auto-mechanic based on their ability to fix cars? Or how about determining if an attorney is doing a good job based on whether they win their cases? Oh… Read More

You have to chuckle just a bit when you read about the fact that the Obama Administration and California are at odds over the issue of the ability to use student achievement as a measure for rating the effectiveness of teachers. Apparently at stake are some federal dollars for California’s education system because California is one of a few states that actually has a law (no doubt passed with the considerable helf of one of the state’s largest public employee unions – the California Teachers Association) that actually prohibits using student achievement to rate teacher performance. Read about it in the Los Angeles Times here.

First and foremost, how lame for us here in California. It makes NO SENSE to not have as a factor (and perhaps as the largest factor) in assessing a teacher their ability to sucessful get their students to learn. Do we have a law that says you cannot judge an auto-mechanic based on their ability to fix cars? Or how about determining if an attorney is doing a good job based on whether they win their cases? Oh… Read More