I voted for one budget in my time in the Legislature. It was the first Schwarzenegger budget (’04-’05), the one constructed by Donna Arduin (who is, by the way, a true fiscal conservative), back when Schwarzenegger was still the Terminator, and not the Capitulator. I thought long and hard before I voted for that budget, studied its implications, its assumptions, and came to the conclusion that the Governor deserved my support. It started out, in the January budget as a $1.1 billion spending cut. It ended up, after negotiations with the spending addicts in the Democrat Legislature, and the advocates of the status quo in the Governor’s administration, as a $100 million spending increase. As I recall, it was a $78.3 billion general fund budget.

The next year (’05-’06), the finance director was Tom Campbell, and the final budget proposal was $92 billion, the largest spending increase in the history of the state (larger than the largest Gray Davis increase). A serious dilemma was facing Legislative Republicans. The Governor had worked hard to put his initiatives on the ballot, which included a real spending limit, removing mandatory… Read More

Very few obituaries in the mainstream media may emphasize the real impact of this man, not only on conservative political ideology, but also on the nation as a whole. The news reports will undoubtedly refer to the greatness of Jack Kemp as a quarterback, his stellar Congressional career and stint as housing secretary, his selection as a 1996 vice presidential candidate, and maybe even his successful record of outreach to minorities and the poor.

What may be missed is that Kemp is among only a very small group of individuals that successfully carried free market principles and conservative political thought forward in this nation in the years between the 1950s of William F. Buckley’s “God and Man at Yale” and the Reagan Revolution of the 1980s.

Kemp was not just an inspiration to many in the “lean conservative years” of the 1970s, ultimately he was a principle architect of the Reagan presidency itself and the economic cornerstone of the conservative movement. The unparalleled success of supply-side economics would only be overshadowed by an unrestrained Congress spending more than the increased… Read More

This morning I’ll be heading to Bakersfield for the California Republican Assembly convention this weekend. It should be an interesting meeting, with most of the GOP gubernatorial hopefuls scheduled to address the conservative faithful.

There will also be a leadership election. Sadly, CRA President Mike Spence will be ending his tenure—he was a truly outstanding leader for the CRA. The only candidate running for president is Bakersfield’s Ken Mettler. I will be running for a CRA vice president spot, along with eight other hopefuls. I may not be able to bring updates throughout the weekend, but I will post a recap at the end of the convention.… Read More

State Senator Tom Harman has rolled out some endorsements in his campaign for the GOP nomination for Attorney General. Predictably, Harman has the support of many of his colleagues in the State Senate — Dennis Hollingsworth, Tony Strickland, Mark Wyland, Mimi Walters, Dave Cox, Roy Ashburn, John Benoit, Bob Dutton, George Runner, Jeff Denham, and Bob Huff.

We’re happy for the Senator — no doubt all of those endorsements will be helpful.

That said, we would be the FlashReport if we didn’t take the opportunity (when given) to point out an "oops" — so here it is!

The release from Harman heralded that "Conservative Senate Leaders" have endorsed Harman. That said, it took us about two seconds to pick out the liberal Republican among those listed. Did you catch it?

If you didn’t, it’s State Senator Roy Ashburn. For years, Ashburn was a conservative stalwart. But in what may be a defense of term limits, the last couple of years, Ashburn has taken a left hand turn away from a commitment to free-market economics and the idea that government is too big and spends too much. Last summer he… Read More

Cars and health care today. Interesting news all around.

Sen. Harry Reid tells the Hill newspaper health care "reform" will occur by Fall with our without bipartisan support and perhaps with just a bare majority vote, rather than the traditional near "super majority" seen in the Senate.

Hispanic Caucus members are miffed about imagery included in a GOP web video, also noted in the Hill.

Politico reports on GOP branding efforts, on the Chairman Steele ongoing kerfuffle and on what former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich thinks about it all.

Finally, the Wall Street Journal has two column items of great interest. First, Kimberley Strassel… Read More

Earlier this week, the Flash Report alerted our readers to Assembly Bill 612, a bipartisan bill to close a loophole in evidence rules for family court. The bill, which is co-authored by Asm. Cameron Smyth, is a top-priority for child abuse prevention groups. Under current law, non-scientific theories and junk science can be used to influence child custody and abuse cases. Child advocates across the country are especially concerned about a debunked theory known as parental alienation syndrome (PAS). Over the past two decades, there have been countless cases where PAS has led to children being returned to abusive environments.

We are happy to report that the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved AB 612 on a 9-0 vote. Proving that, occasionally, even Sacramento gets it right. We’ll see how the bill progresses as it moves forward…… Read More

California voters (at least some of them) are poised to go to the polls in a special election in just under three weeks to decide the fate of five propositions put on the ballot by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature. The key props – 1A through 1E – are said to be essential to resolving California’s critical budget shortfall.

According to a new survey by the Field Institute, voters aren’t buying it.

First, let me say that I have not changed my opinion of the Field Poll as a historically unreliable source of information on how voters view pending ballot measures. They have been so far off on so many issues I have been involved in that I always take their data with a slab – not a grain – of salt. That said, the trend that Field is reporting (all of the above measures are trailing badly) is almost certainly correct and reflects the results of other recent polling.

That 1A thru 1E appear headed for the trashcan is not the most interesting finding of the Field Poll. The most interesting finding is that 72 percent of voters agree that voting down the measures “will send a message to the governor and state Legislature that voters are tired of… Read More

Breaking up is hard to do. That’s why singer-songwriter Paul Simon offers an alternative “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” At the caucus meeting, following the May 19th anti tax revolt elections, Assembly Republicans should fire up the 8 track and give Simon’s hit a new twist: “50 Ways to Leave Your Leader”

Assembly Republicans need to suggest an alternative career path to Mike Villines.

For his entire political life Mike Villines was an articulate and faithful leader against ghastly government growth and any new taxes. Last fall, Mike Villines repeatedly promised to oppose tax increases. He signed the famous anti-tax pledge. Then, Mike Villines began to negotiate his core beliefs out the window, to engineer and vote for the largest tax increase by any state in American history.

**There is more – click the… Read More