Assemblyman Mike Villines has sent out a letter to the State GOP’s Executive Committee meeting, predictably asking the State GOP to do what only seven Republican Legislators (our of 45) in the State Capitol have done, and that is to endorse Proposition 1A. FR readers will recall, quite easily, that Villines (along with Governor Schwarzenegger, Senate President Darrell Steinberg, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, and then-Senate GOP leader Dave Cogdill) was an architect of the February budget proposal that purported to "solve" our state’s fiscal woes through cuts and tax increases. Villines was one of six Republican legislators to vote for a deal which has hatched these ballot measures, the most controversial of which is Proposition 1A.

1A is the measure where Villines asks you to support it (and the $16 billion in additional taxes on Californians that come with its passage) in return for a "spending cap" that he says in his letter below that 1A will, "provide a permanent solution to stop the spending madness and force our government to finally live within its means."

The problem is that we are forced… Read More

If the campaign for the next GOP nominee for Governor of California is going to be won over fairly obscure inside baseball arguments about Silicon Valley business deals, we have already lost the election to the Democrats.

Across the country and especially in California,the Republican Party and its brand desperately need redefinition. Voters need to have their confidence restored in our party, and the most important need right now is for voters to understand there is a difference between the parties, and that our party and its leaders unshakably stand for lower taxes and less government. Thisshould beone of the lessons learned as a result of the recent "Tea Parties" across our state and America, and as Grover Norquist quipped, "it should take only a mildly alert Republican candidate to get in front of that parade."

Steve and Meg: most voters in Republican voter rich southern California have no idea what Skype is, let alone whether their vote will turn on who made money or lost money on anything to do with it. At a time when the flooring is giving way in our party to recall witch-hunts, statesmanship… Read More

Tomorrow, the 100-member Executive Committee (ExComm) of the California Republican Party will meet at the convention center in Downtown Sacramento. After several morning presentations on various party-building topics, at 2 p.m. the ExComm will go into session to consider only seven matters – six of them being whether to take positions on Propositions 1A – 1F which are on the special election ballot next month, and the seventh on having the party endorse a ballot measure aimed at reduce instances of voter fraud, the proponent of which is popular GOP State Senator George Runner.

With my profuse apologies to those who prefer long, drawn-out drama, I have to tell you that in my opinion, the results that tomorrow’s meeting – at least where Propositions 1A, 1B, and 1C are concerned, are a foregone conclusions. Just a couple of weeks ago, as a Board Member of the State GOP, I voted to approve a slew of appointments to the ExComm made by CRP Chairman Ron Nehring that overwhelmingly oppose these three propositions. This is in addition to those on the ExComm by… Read More

Tomorrow, the 100-member Executive Committee (ExComm) of the California Republican Party will meet at the convention center in Downtown Sacramento. After several morning presentations on various party-building topics, at 2 p.m. the ExComm will go into session to consider only seven matters – six of them being whether to take positions on Propositions 1A – 1F which are on the special election ballot next month, and the seventh on having the party endorse a ballot measure aimed at reduce instances of voter fraud, the proponent of which is popular GOP State Senator George Runner.

With my profuse apologies to those who prefer long, drawn-out drama, I have to tell you that in my opinion, the results that tomorrow’s meeting – at least where Propositions 1A, 1B, and 1C are concerned, are a foregone conclusions. Just a couple of weeks ago, as a Board Member of the State GOP, I voted to approve a slew of appointments to the ExComm made by CRP Chairman Ron Nehring that overwhelmingly oppose these three propositions. This is in addition to those on the ExComm by virtue of… Read More

"When you run a campaign based on your career in business, then that makes your past business failures a legitimate issue in the campaign," was what Kevin Spillane, senior communications consultant for the Poizner for Governor Campaign, told me when I called him a few minutes ago. he went on to say, "If past performance is indicative of future results, Californians can’t afford Meg Whitman’s disastrous record of fiscal mismanagement.”

My call to Spillane was prompted after I received a very hard hitting piece from the Poizner Campaign blasting Meg Whitman — for a failed business venture launched by eBay when she was their CEO. The business venture was the purchase of the online phone/video technology firm SKYPE. Rather than go into all of the details, I’ll let the materials sent to me by Poizner’s campaign speak for themselves. They are attached (.pdf) below.

I will say that I found it rather interesting that Poizner’s missive really launched into Whitman’s right-hand adviser Henry Gomez. I have had the opportunity to meet Gomez a few times, and he seems nice enough (if he has horns, he keeps them… Read More

This just in from California Republican Party Vice Chairman Tom Del Becarro…

At the risk of sounding a bit cliché – I must say that it’s not often in politics that you get to be a part of a near-spontaneous combustion of inspiration. Indeed, often political events are orchestrated efforts designed to deliver a crafted message. The Tea Parties of April 2009 were not orchestrated, not crafted, but instead, a true demonstration of grassroots power. I attended the event in Pleasanton, California yesterday. I was just a guest and neither myself nor any Party official played a role in putting it together.… Read More

I have been getting tons of emails since yesterday's TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Rallies around the state, all asking where GOP legislators stand on 1A.

I am pleased to report that the vast majority of Republicans in the State Capitol have staked out positions in opposition to 1A. So many so that it is easier (especially since I am blogging via Blackberry) to list out Republicans who support 1A, or have “no public position” – and there is one that this far has opted not to respond to inquiry. SO IF YOU DO NOT SEE A GOP LEGISLATOR listed below, they OPPOSE 1A (and it's trigger to enact $16 billion in taxes).

Supporting 1A: Senators Ashburn, Cogdill, Huff, and Maldonado. Assemblymembers Adams, Niello, and Villines.

No Public Position on 1A: Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cook, Emmerson, Fletcher.

No response to inquiry: Gilmore

If any legislator has changed their position from what we have listed above, please let us know so we can update readers!… Read More

Yesterday, residents from the Sacramento region gathered at the Capitol to express their outrage at wasteful government spending and higher taxes. The speakers came from all walks of life, including elected officials, Neil Cavuto of Fox News and conservative writer Michelle Malkin, and most important, ordinary citizens who sacrificed their time and efforts to make their voices heard in Sacramento.

And they have every reason to be angry. Even as hardworking families struggle to make ends meet, stretching each dollar further and further, government is looking to take away even more through higher taxes. But beyond the taxes and the issues of the day, people are fed up with a government that they perceive as distant and out of touch.

The Obama administration ignored the hundreds of protests across the country, and those in power accuse this movement as being a right wing partisan dog and pony show. While the chattering class who populate our airwaves and occupy the seats of power… Read More