Over lunch today, the "incoming" Assembly Republican class (which will apparently number 30) will gather over lunch to hold their biennial organizational meeting. Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines will be re-elected to lead his caucus — a strong statement from the GOPers that their resolve against raising taxes in Californians is still strong. In fact, according to our sources, Villines has made a rock-solid opposition to new taxes a cornerstone to his re-election pitch to his colleagues.

So the biggest question that may be resolved at lunchtime today will not be who will lead Assembly Republicans — but rather who will be Villines’ top Lieutenant going into the new legislative session. Since Villines ascended to his perch, his Caucus Chairman was Bob Huff, who has now been elected to the State Senate.

Unlike the post of Leader, which is elected by the caucus, the position of Caucus Chairman is "named" by the Leader. Who will Villines pick? Well, we here at the FlashReport have a pretty good idea… But, we make it a point, whenever possible, to NOT mettle into the specifics of intra-caucus politics.… Read More

Last Tuesday’s election was a terrible one for the Republican Party nationally. By a wide electoral vote margin, and a sizable chunk of the popular vote, liberal Democrat Barack Obama was elected President. In the U.S. Senate, Republicans lost at least five seats. House Republicans saw their number shrink by 20 seats. Clearly the message being delivered by Obama and Democrats across the country is resonating with a majority of American voters. And it is equally clear that the message of Republicans is clearly not attracting enough votes to translate to electoral victories.

As of today, the Grand Old Party stands at a crossroads. Why is the GOP losing “market share” amongst voters? Have we lost our way? What do we do now? What must the GOP do to once again be the majority party?

These are all critical questions, and must be the central theme for a serious discussion about where the GOP needs to go from… Read More

U.S. Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the elected leader of House Republicans, according to every Member of Congress to whom I have spoken, is one of the nicest gentlemen in Congress. He is affable, he is pleasant, he is considerate, and unlike former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, he doesn’t push from the “top down” (Gingrich famously relied on his Lieutenants Tom “The Hammer” Delay and Dick Armey to push for party discipline). Boehner doesn’t insist the GOP legislators form up as a cohesive group – I can’t even think of one instance where a ranking Republican member of a committee was removed because they went counter to the course charter by Boehner and his team. I can see why as a House Republican, I there is good reason to keep Boehner around. There is no pressure on you to be part of a unified Republican Team – every GOPer can comfortably vote with the Democrats or their favorite third-house interest group, with none of the “inconvenience” of punitive results from your own party.

It is not… Read More

Last Tuesday’s election was a terrible one for the Republican Party nationally. By a wide electoral vote margin, and a sizable chunk of the popular vote, liberal Democrat Barack Obama was elected President. In the U.S. Senate, Republicans lost at least five seats. House Republicans saw their number shrink by 20 seats. Clearly the message being delivered by Obama and Democrats across the country is resonating with a majority of American voters. And it is equally clear that the message of Republicans is clearly not attracting enough votes to translate to electoral victories.

As of today, the Grand Old Party stands at a crossroads. Why is the GOP losing “market share” amongst voters? Have we lost our way? What do we do now? What must the GOP do to once again be the majority party?

These are all critical questions, and must be the central theme for a serious discussion about where the GOP needs to go from… Read More

A good friend of mine who has always lived in the Midwest (Ohio, Indiana and Missouri) moved to California about two years ago. Yesterday was her first California election.

She called me today and left this message on my voice mail:

“Jennifer, so I live in a state that values the safety of its chickens more than the safety of its daughters?”

It’s sad, but true.… Read More

The race between Tom McClintock and Charlie Brown for the 4th CD is still too close to call. Right now McClintock is up 451 votes and the absentee ballots are expected to break heavily for him. Provisional ballots are the real unknown factor. Knowing that Democrats have engaged in dirty politics throughout this election, the McClintock campaign is taking every precaution to ensure that there is no vote tampering.

Senator McClintock issued the following statement earlier today: “I wish to thank everyone who voted in the Fourth Congressional District. I am gratified and thankful that my campaign emerged after election night with the lead. I have full confidence in the hard-working and dedicated election officials who are counting the remaining absentee and provisional votes. I am confident that once the process is completed I will be the Representative for the Fourth Congressional District.”

This story is developing as quickly as the votes are being counted. Stay tuned for more updates…… Read More

Day after thoughts on some local “stuff”….

SD City Attorney… Aguirre is evacuated, victim of his huge mouth and even larger ego, mixed in with delusions of grandeur and a tad paranoia. Jan Goldsmith will make a great city attorney.

52nd Congressional… Congrats to Duncan D. Hunter (now simply Duncan Hunter). Registration was tough enough to beat, add the name factor and the combo was lethal. Virtually everyone knew this was over a year ago, except for a handful of Mike Lumpkin supporters that became constant commenters on GOP blogs. And, every moment spent trying to convince GOP activists on a center-right leaning blog that Lumpkin had a chance was time that could have been used with real swing voters. And, they say the blogs have no impact.… Read More

Wherever one or more TV cameras may gather, there you shall find Gloria Allred.

The left-wing media hound attorney is going to announce a lawsuit against Proposition 8 in a few minutes.

On what legal basis? Who knows.

The political basis, of course, is media exposure for Gloria Allred.… Read More