The Case Of Rod Wright — The State Senate At The Crossroads
State Senator Rod Wright was convicted of eight felonies nearly a month ago. This coming Friday State Senator Rod Wright will be celebrating an anniversary of sorts — he will be celebrating the end of his first month serving in the California legislature while simultaneous being a convicted felon. On January 28th Wright was found […]
Huff’s Bill To End Public Transit Strikes Killed By Union-Controlled Senators
Public employee unions own Sacramento. To be more specific — public employee unions spent vast sums of money in political campaigns, almost exclusively for Democrats — and in doing so have succeeded in electing super-majorities in the State Senate and the State Assembly who will do their bidding. Oh yes, they also are the biggest […]
Co-Ed Bathroom Referendum Moves Closer to the Ballot
The group pushing the referendum to overturn California’s recently enacted law to open school showers, bathrooms and locker rooms to members of the opposite sex took a huge step forward yesterday when it was announced that a random sample of signatures submitted showed they have collected enough valid signatures to advance to the next stage […]
Calderon Scandal A Reminder About Absolute Power
“Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.” – William Pitt, British Prime Minister, 1770 The alleged corrupt behavior of State Senator Ron Calderon has been at the center of California politics since the release by Al Jayzeera America last week of a sealed FBI agent’s affidavit detailing how Calderon […]
Shrine To Big Government In Place In State Capitol
There were a number of low-points from my perspective during the tenure of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. But none was worse for California taxpayers, or for the California Republican Party, than the budget deal of 2009. At the heart of this particular budget deal was a two-year massive increase in taxes on income, sales and cars […]
SB 594 Is an Easy Bill to Support – Keep “De Facto” Public Funds out of Campaigns
When legislators reconvened from their summer recess, I penned a column in which I advised Republicans to be unified and vigilant in opposing efforts by Democrats in the final days of session to expand the size and scope of state government. I also said to keep an eye out for those issues that divide Democrats, […]
Senator Feinstein Is Misguided In Her Attempt To Narrowly Define A Journalist
The United States Senate is currently considering the Federal Free Flow of Information Act. This would be a “shield law” that would protect the ability of journalists to keep their sources confidential. Right now 49 states and the District of Columbia have shield laws in place, but the federal government does not. This is a […]
On the Passing of GOP Activist Jane Barnett
I was saddened to hear that my friend of a quarter-century, Jane Barnett, passed away this morning after a very long battle with cancer. Jane was a leader of conservatives. There is no way to really walk you through all the many roles that she played over the years in advancing the conservative and Republican […]
Democrat Vacancies Present GOP Legislators with A Significant Opportunity
The impressive victory of conservative rancher Andy Vidak in the recent State Senate special election in the Central Valley’s 16th District gives the State Capitol’s other 36 Republican legislators a reason to be unified, focused and determined as they return to Sacramento for the five week or so final sprint to the end of the […]
Trial Lawyer Efforts to Change MICRA Is A Lose-Lose Proposition For Democrats
I rarely find myself smiling at anything Senator Darrell Steinberg says these days. But his recent comments to the Capitol Press Corps that he wants to see legislation to erode California’s Medical Injury Reform Act, or MICRA in Sacramento parlance, brought a big grin to my face. To be sure, I’m a strong supporter of […]