What’s The Big Deal With Debates?

February 17th, 2010

Recently the buzz around the California Republican Party has been a demand for a debate between the major candidates for statewide office at the upcoming California Republican Party Convention taking place next month.

First there was the Young Republican Federation of California calling for a debate at the convention via an email communication earlier this week (Disclosure – I am a YRFC member).  Now Flashreport publisher and CRP Vice Chairman South, Jon Fleischman is conducting a survey of CRP Delegates.  But what is the real purpose of this debate?  Who really has anything to gain or lose?  Why is it really being called for?  The answer is pretty simple:  campaign strategy for the underdogs.

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Abel Maldonado Falls Short of Lieutenant Governor… For Now

February 11th, 2010

California State Senator Abel Maldonado has been serving under a temporary 90-day appointment to the Lieutenant Governor’s post while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been working to ensure he gets the approval of the Legislature to keep the job for the remainder of the term.  In a vote of the California State Assembly today, Senator Maldonado missed the majority required for approval by 4 votes.  In a 37-35 decision, the Assembly failed to get a majority to support the Central Coast Legislator for the permanent position.

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Carly Fiorina’s Shocking Political Hit Ad

February 4th, 2010

Most people expect to see political ads that attack the character or decisions of political rivals, but the only word that seems to come to mind when viewing Carly Fiorina’s new ad is “shocking”.  Perhaps Carly is on to something — the ad, which has been featured on Rachel Maddow’s show already has over 300,000 hits and growing.

Despite the over-the-top method chosen by the Fiorina campaign, it might very well have the intended effect — framing Tom Campbell as a FCINO.  The term coined in the ad is an acronym that stands for Fiscal Conservative In Name Only.  Maybe Carly will receive some heat for use of excessive force against Tom, but the damage will be done — the conservative voters who are likely to vote in the primary will drop Campbell because of his poor record on taxes.

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Chuck DeVore Tests Out Tele-Townhall Concept

February 2nd, 2010

Sunday Night the DeVore for United States Senate campaign once again asserted it’s technological dominance over the campaigns of its Democratic and Republican opponents.  By using a “Tele-Town Hall” to meet with his supporters Chuck was able to easily reach many people in a single forum to easily communicate his message.  The concept is really nothing more than a well packaged conference call, but by using email and social media to promote it, he was likely able to boost the attendance.

According to the moderator of the call (I was on the call Sunday, but didn’t catch the fellow’s name) there were several hundred callers who tuned in to hear Chuck talk about the issues and his upcoming campaign events.  Chuck was even able to field questions directly from listeners on the call — specifically, he spoke to a woman who asked Chuck about picking up the job market for unemployed workers over 60 years of age.  Chuck also used the opportunity to promote his 24-hour money bomb, an online fundraising drive.

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2010 California Budget Preview

January 2nd, 2010

With the new year comes another budget stalemate in Sacramento.  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to release his proposed budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.  Unfortunately, the Legislative Analysts Office report predicts that the state will already be suffering from a $6.3 billion dollar deficit during the 2009-2010 budget year, before the new budget is enacted.  Additionally, the LAO made the following predictions about the upcoming budget.

Over $20 Billion of Budget Problems Need to Be Addressed in Coming Months

According to the LAO report, the 2009-2010 budget has a $6.3 billion deficit and the 2010-2011 has a $14 billion projected deficit.  This means that the Legislature will need to address $20 billion in budget solutions before anything else.

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California Can Cut Corrections Spending Without Releasing Inmates

August 21st, 2009

Yesterday the California State Senate, considered the more contentious house of the California State government, narrowly passed a proposal by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to release 27,000 inmate from prisons at a cost savings of $1.2 billion.  California Republicans have argued that releasing prisoners is a threat to public safety.  That may or may not be true, but the fact of the matter remains that the California Correctional budget is not so tight as to warrant to release of prisoners from incarceration.  If the cost per inmate in California is compared to other states in its region, one may notice that the State pays far to much.  Rather than release offenders lawmakers can utilize other budget saving options.

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Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth and Senator John Benoit Endorse Runner for Board of Equalization

August 13th, 2009

george-runner

Senator and Taxpayer Advocate George Runner has announced the endorsement of Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth and Senator John Benoit in his campaign for Board of Equalization. This announcement comes on the heels of a successful fundraising period and the recent endorsements of Senators Aanestad, Strickland and Dutton.

In addition to being endorsed by a growing list of Republican leaders throughout the state, Runner has secured positions on the most proven and effective Republican slate mailers likely to be mailed to voters in the 2010 primary election.

“I am honored that Senate Republican Leader Hollingsworth and Senator Benoit have endorsed my candidacy for Board of Equalization,” said Runner. “Our campaign continues to see early momentum in fundraising and endorsements. I look forward to continuing the progress in the weeks and months ahead.”

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