OC GOP Endorsement Committee Update

For the last few nights, the OC GOP endorsement process has been in full swing for local "non partisan" races(as if there ever was such a thing as a non partisan race). The committee has been holding court vetting many different candidates for city councils, OC Treasurer, school boards, and water boards. Suffice to say that the new process that we have developed seems to be working out well, although there will always be room for improvements.

This term the endorsement committee members are Mark Bucher, Deborah Pauly, Bruce Whitaker, Craig Alexander, Kristine Alonzo, and Mary Young.

This new endorsement process has been hard for some members and candidates to accept. It gets uncomfortable sometimes pitting one Republican against another. I totally understand that, but we need to properly vet these candidates on their track record and their beliefs or else our party brand will not regain believability and credibility as it relates to our stated principles in the party platform. In some cases it pits long time friends & relationships against each other. I for one am for this new process. I believe it is fair and lets the committee really vet our candidates though the questionnaire and direct questioning on their views. I have already had some candidates that I wanted to see get endorsed get shot down. It is what it is.

So far we have had two rounds of early endorsements and two nights of endorsement committee meetings. Regarding early endorsements, each Central Committee member may pull any candidate up for early endorsement off the list and have a separate debate on them. It's happened three or four times each of the two nights. I happened to pull San Clemente City Councilman Joe Anderson off the list this past Monday night for a separate debate. Councilman Anderson had some votes that I wanted to discuss with him. I used a great local website called Liberty First to look through his voting record. H/T to Chris Emami who did a great job researching voting records of these elected officials on our city councils. A few votes really stood out to me. He voted to ban feeding pigeons on the pier, voted to ban walking your dog in public, and he had voted to raise fees on some things. Excuse me, but why can't I feed some damn pigeons and walk my dog when I get home from work? Who the hell does this guy think he is. Ridiculous. I wanted to publicly shame this elected official to let others know in the future that when you start voting against my simple liberties, there will be repercussions and you will not get our endorsement.

The last two nights of the actual endorsement committee meetings has been very interesting. There was a knock down drag out fight between Shari Fredinrich and Keith Rodenhuis for OC Treasurer. Shari won the 3 to 2 vote with one abstention(Mary Young). Shari was blocked of an endorsement by us before the June primary and will likely get blocked again at the full committee. Sup. Moorlach is really pushing hard for Shari. At one point last weekend at CRP I asked John why he was making such a hard push for her when he was the one that gave us Sheriff Hutchens. I got the evil stare after that exchange. I believe Keith is going to win and he is going to do a great job and I support him.

The other big contentious debate was for Orange Mayor. This pitted two friends, Carolyn Cavecche and Jon Dimitru against one another. The first words out of Carolyn's mouth were that she was sorry for her pension spiking votes and later more apologies for supporting local Democrats Jordan Brandman and Tita Smith. I spoke in favor of Jon Dimitru and also pointed out to Carolyn that "it is real easy to come before this body and apologize for bad votes when you're hoping to get our party's coveted endorsement, but I guess it has been hard for you to do the right thing when no one is watching". With that, the committee voted for Jon 4 to 2. I think he has a great chance to get the full endorsement in a few weeks.

The last thing I wanna talk about is what happened Tuesday night regarding Irvine City Council candidate Lynn Schott. There is a lot of back story to this, so I will to run through what happened last night with a measured tone because I am extremely irritated at what happened. First I want to say that Lynn is a good candidate and she is a fighter. She and Jeff Lalloway are exactly what's needed here in Irvine. I spoke in favor of Lynn's endorsement as well as newly minted 70th District GOP nominee Don Wagner. So she is sailing right along until Mark Bucher and Mary Young got their chance to question her. They proceeded to grill Lynn on what happened at the past January Central Committee meeting...also known as the night Scott Baugh gave his big speech. A lot of Tea Party types had rented a room next door to the meeting because they were very mad at the leadership of the party establishment, which BTW is a very legitimate concern and political position to hold. The room was filled with pictures and caricatures of some of these leaders as well as holding a mini town hall type of event to let people angry with the local Republican Party get an earful. So back to the meeting....Mark and Mary(both on the current Exec Comm) were obviously trying to extract a pound of flesh out of Lynn because she along with I was in this meeting listening to all these fine patriots and their concerns about the direction of the party. So instead of vetting Lynn's qualifications for the GOP endorsement, they turned their questioning into a personal attack and inquisition on why Lynn attended this meeting. Excuse me guys, can we talk about beating Larry Agran? WTF! Get your personal agendas outta here. You're obviously bitter because of the almost 40% turnover in the last Central Committee elections. You wanna know why this happened? Just look at your behavior Tuesday night. That's why you lost big because people were fed up with the direction of the party and voted for a massive change in the makeup of the overall committee. In the end though we had the last laugh as Mark Bucher just made a complete idiot out of himself and Lynn held her composure well. The other members of the committee saw through his bullshit personal agenda and voted to endorse Lynn 5 to 1. I hope to god Mark trys to make an issue at the next regular Central Committee meeting so he can be exposed for all to see.

Clarifications From Chairman Baugh Regarding Early Endorsements

I just received this email from Chairman Baugh. In it, he clarifies the situation regarding candidates receiving early endorsement consideration.

Dear Central Committee Members,



There have been several questions about our new endorsements process that I would like to clarify. First, the endorsement notice that I sent out yesterday is permitted by the rules. When our office receives an application for an endorsement, the By-Laws permit me to send the application to the endorsements committee or to the full committee. If I refer it to the full committee, I am required to provide seven days notice.


As you know, the endorsement night at the September meeting will be a fairly long meeting. Thus, in order to take some pressure off of that evening, I chose to refer several endorsements to the full committee for the August meeting. In order to take the mystery out of why somebody is on the list or not I want to share with you my thoughts.

First, did the candidate have the endorsement application submitted to me or Lauryn? Without the application, there is nothing to process. Assuming the application is covered, I then look to whether the committee knows the candidate, whether candidate is unopposed, whether the committee knows the other candidates if the applicant is opposed, along with applicants general philosophy, including the applicants view on public employee unions – among many other issues. Frankly, one of the “other” very practical issues is whether I believe the endorsement will be controversial and distracting without a sub-committee hearing. I do not want the August committee meeting to get bogged down with a debate to due inadequate vetting.

If you do not know the candidate that I have submitted for endorsement consideration, you can set an appointment with Lauryn and go over their application. You can also feel free to talk to them. I’m certain they will want to talk to you as you hold a key vote for them. Remember, each applicant still needs to get a 2/3 vote from the full committee.

If you know a candidate that wants to be considered for an endorsement, you should encourage them to file the application. The deadline is August 16. After I receive all of the new applications, I will consider noticing another special meeting of the full Central Committee in late August. Again, the purpose here is simply to take pressure off of what I expect will be a considerably lengthy September meeting. All other applications that do not get sent to the full body directly will be forwarded to the Endorsement Committee. There is no prejudice to an applicant for going through the Endorsement Committee. In fact, many applicants are better off going through the Endorsements Committee because a proper vetting and recommendation from that committee will help the applicant get the endorsement in the long run.

I recognize that getting the endorsement of the OCGOP is coveted, and the earlier the better for the candidates. However, the close of filing of August 6 (or later in some cases) presents a very tight calendar for us. Therefore, we are making every effort to process the applications quickly and fairly. The first order of business is to submit your application.

Early Endorsement List

I just received an email from our chairman Scott Baugh regarding early endorsement candidates for the OC GOP Central Committee to consider. For the most part, these candidates don't have other GOP competition, may be incumbents who have a good track record, and lastly have taken the no union contribution pledge as well as the no tax or fee increase pledge. I will be looking forward to viewing their questionnaires that they all had to fill out and considering these candidates in due course. The list of names are as follows....

Tom Tait - Anaheim, Mayor

Deb Pauly - Villa Park, Council

Jeff Lalloway - Irvine, Council

James Righeimer- Costa Mesa, Council

Baron Night - Buena Park, Council

Ed Reno - Newport Beach, Council

Leslie Daigle - Newport Beach, Council

Fred Whitaker - Orange, Council

Denis Bilodeau - Orange, Council

Kevin Muldoon - South Orange County Community College District, Trustee Area 2

Sandra Crandall - Fountain Valley Elementary School District, Trustee

Anna Bryson - Capistrano Unified School District, Trustee Area 4

Larry Christensen - Capistrano Unified School District, Trustee Area 7

Phillip Yarbrough- Rancho Community College District, Trustee 2

Mark McCurdy - Fountain Valley, Council

John Collins- Fountain Valley, Council

Guy Garrozzo - Fountain Valley, Council

If any one has any issue with this list, they should get in touch with myself or their Central Committee representatives from their district. I know most of the candidates on this list and for the most part have no problems with it, but I would like feedback from people if they have any problems with these candidates as it relates to how they have governed or their political philosophy.

I also should note that these candidates will be taken up at next Monday's Central Committee meeting at the Irvine Hyatt at 7pm. The Chairman needed to give seven days notice to members per our Bylaws to consider early endorsements. All other contested endorsements will go through our Endorsements Committee and be voted on at the September Central committee meeting.

Facebook Follies

I couldn't resist posting this over here at Powder Blue. It's a window into the mind of one Matt Cunningham and all his rationalizations why it's not hypocritical of him to get paid six figures from a big government bureaucracy and have credibility as the editor of Red County. Enjoy

Allan Bartlett: Why does Hugh Hewitt need Matt Cunningham ghost writing for him on the taxpayers dime? This is just shameful. Just remember this when you read Matt talking about "less/smaller government" at Red County.

OC Weekly article

What happens when a hack writes for a hack? Thousands of computer screens groan in digital agony under the dead...

Donna Delano: They worship at the altar of ego, greed and power

Matthew Cunningham: Oh yes, that's exactly it Donna. You're powers of observation are just astounding.

Matthew Cunningham: And Allan, we'll remember your blind devotion to Bill Hunt, defender of union prerogatives, next time you are yammering about the danger of public employee unions.

You got booted from Red County. It's about time you got over it.

Allan Bartlett: Memo to you Matt, as long as you're still the editor of RC and a hired cheerleader for that ultra liberal bureaucracy that pays you, the local OC version of RC will continue to lose credibility. Why on earth would I want to still be associated with that taint.

Donna Delano: Matt, it is spelled your, NOT you're .

Matthew Cunningham: Yeah, thanks, Donna. But my typo doesn't make your opinion any less inane.

Matthew Cunningham: Allan, you need to retire this heroic martyr myth you've erected around your departure from red County. You had no problem being associated with "that taint" when you knew I about my work with the Children and Families Commission of Orange County. Remember, you didn't quit Red County -- you were booted. And not for any of the bogus reasons you have claimed.

Furthermore, the Commission is not an "ultra liberal bureaucracy" but you would rather lean on the crutch of ignorant catchphrases than be bothered to acquaint yourself with the facts.

The most laughable aspect of your manufactured outrage is none of it has anything to do with principle. The truth is that if I had supported Shawn Nelson for Supervisor, neither you nor your creepy pusillanimous friends would give a hoot about it.

Allan Bartlett: So many lies in your last comment Matt, but hey you keep living in your own little world.

Matthew Cunningham: No lies, Allan. Not a one, Alllan. But all you have is blather.

John Gibson: Say it aint so.

John Seiler: Matt should return all the money he took from us taxpayers.

Brandon Powers: Allan, seriously. You need to knock off this nonsensical crusade. Matt has done more and been involved longer in advancing the conservative cause than you and I combined.

Last I checked, there were actually a few Democrats and actual pressing issues facing the County that could use our collective attention more than silly games of "gotcha."

This sniping back and forth among friends is just tired and lame. For the sake of all of us, move on. Please.

Allan Bartlett: Actually Brandon this a good debate worth having. Some of us are trying to bring back credibility and believability to a party that sorely needs it. It doesn't help when the editor of the longest running "center right" blog here in OC just reeks of hypocrisy. That's the issue.

Donna Delano: Seriously, Matthew; why the impotent attempt at bullying and intimidating such an inane person as myself? Threatening Allan or any other voter over whom they supported? Exactly which moron at your secret squirrel club put you in charge of who we are allowed to support? Oh, and nonsensical crusades? Since when is fighting for what is right (as NON PAID, at [Taxpayer expense] volunteers) nonsensical? The old saying is true that one cannot argue with an idiot.

Matthew Cunningham: “Debate... See More”? Don’t make me laugh, Allan. The future of the GOP somehow hinges on one client I do work for?

And for “saving” the party’s credibility we should look to you and the selective application of your ever-morphing principles? The same guy whose disdain for public employee spending for Harry Sidhu was nowhere to be found when it came to the big bucks AOCDS’s laid out for Bill Hunt?

This has nothing to do with philosophy or principle, Allan. You turn a blind eye when it suits your purposes. This is all about you and some other petty characters have a weird personal beef with me and this is an excuse to take cheap shots.

Matthew Cunningham: "Seriously, Matthew; why the impotent attempt at bullying and intimidating such an inane person as myself?"

Huh? I'm the bad guy, Donna? You don't know me. You don't know Hugh Hewitt. Yet you chime in with this heavy-handed judgment about what you think motivates us?

How about this: toss aside the straw man arguments, use a little logic and some facts, then get back to me.

Allan Bartlett: No Matthew, I am not the one getting paid six figures by a big government bureaucracy and then pretending I am the conservative authority on all things Republican in OC. You love trying to change the subject, but it won't work. So as long as you keep running up the tab on the taxpayers by helping great conservatives like Delaine Eastin and Rob Reiner, the mockings will continue.

Dan Chmielewski: I love it when conservatives fight! Makes it easier to turn the county blue. But Allan, since I couldn't tell you how you spend your day handling the investment work for your clients, I do have an idea of how a PR/PA firm works and top firms do even better than Matt's hourly rate. His estimate of hours spent on the activities done is in line with industry standards.

Matthew Cunningham: Dan, Allan finds it easier to engage in "more conservative than thou" posturing than, say, going after Democrats (which is what Central Committee members are supposed to do). And he can't even get simple facts straight (not that he cares).

Allan Bartlett: Dan, I don't care what people do for a living. If Matt wants to work for the Children & Families Commission, it's a free country. My main beef with him is that he is also the lead editor for Red County which up until recently, was a very credible center right blog that influenced a lot of Republicans.

It would be like you working for(insert your most hated Republican group or organization) and also being the lead editor/opinion writer at Liberal OC. What do you think your loyal readers and most rank & file dems think of that arrangement?

Coach Wooden Gravely Ill

The news is not good from Westwood today. Legendary UCLA Basketball coach John Wooden is at UCLA's Ronald Reagan hospital in "grave condition", but resting comfortably. I don't have enough words to express my awe of this man. Not only was he the best coach in the world bar none, he is also a great human being. I've learned so much about leadership from reading his books and studying his life. For now, coach is still with us. Take a moment to say a prayer tonight for he and his family if you could.

Allan Bartlett's GOP Liberty June 8th primary Voting Guide

The absentee ballots have been mailed out. People have been asking me about my voting guide for the upcoming GOP primary on June 8th so I figured I would whip up a quick post with all my recommendations and reasons behind them. I'll start at the top of the ticket and work my way down as it reads on the ballot.

Governor...Steve Poizner

This may turn out to be the finest rope-a-dope campaign ever run by a gov candidate. A few months ago Poizner appeared to be dead in the water. Now he's tied with Arnold in a skirt Meg Whitman. My heart lies with Larry Naritelli and Chelene Nightingale, but since this race is close, I will be voting for Steve Poizner.

Lt Gov....Sam Aanestad

This is a no brainer. Abel Maldonado should not be rewarded for being the main reason that taxes are higher CA during the last budget cycle. Vote for Sam Aanestad.

Secretary of State....Damon Dunn

This pick got harder for me in the last month because I was actually had a chance to hear Orly Taitz at our last Irvine meeting and she has a great story of how she immigrated over here from Russia. Unfortunately she has not been helping herself in the media with her over the top stands on Obama's birth certificate and a few other issues where she basically has taken herself out of contention because of the way she has come across to voters. So I'm sticking with Damon Dunn here.

Controller....Tony Strickland

I'm not impressed with Tony's endorsements the last few years, but he is my choice for Controller here.

Treasurer....Mimi Walters

It's either this or leave it blank. I have not been impressed at all with Mimi Walters. The way she handled the firing of my friend Kat Vermelis tells me all I need to know about Mimi Walters and her staff. I'm reluctantly voting for her.

Attorney General....John Eastman

This is a really hard decision because Sen Tom Harman has been a good friend to Irvine Republicans and I really like everyone on his staff. Having said this, elections are about candidates and their views. John Eastman is far and away the best conservative choice for CA Attorney General.

Insurance Commissioner...Brian Fitzgerald

The other candidate Mike Villines was the GOP leader in the State Assembly that helped deliver the largest tax increase in CA history. Don't reward him with your vote here.

BOE 3rd District....Vic Baker or leave blank

I can't in good conscience support Michelle Steel anymore after what she did to Irvine Republicans. She has been giving aid and comfort to our Democratic Mayor Suhkee Kang because they share the same race, they're both Korean. Last time I checked, that's not a very good reason to support anybody, especially if they are idealogically against most everything that you say you are for.

US Senator....Chuck DeVore

This is another no brainer. Chuck gets it. He understands that in the Constitution, there are less than 18 specific enumerated powers delegated to the Congress. He will be a great US Senator and he can beat Barbara Boxer in the fall.

US Rep 48th Congressional District....leave blank, no recommendation

This decision pains me, but really we as voters are left with no other choice when the Congressman that represents us turns his back on the document he swore an oath to uphold. He can not be rewarded for doing the wrong things when the pressure was really on him. What am I talking about? I'm talking about the Congressman's vote in favor of the largest bailout in US history(the TARP).

As for the other OC Congressional races, I would vote to re-elect Congressmen Ed Royce and Dana Rohrabacher. In the 42nd CD, I would vote for Phil Liberatore. Gary Miller also voted for the TARP and he has some ethical issues swirling around him. He deserves to be sent home. The same goes for Ken Calvert. He voted for the TARP as well and has worn out his welcome. Vote for his opponent Chriss Riggs if you live in his district(San Clemente, Coto de Caza, Corona, Riverside). In the 47th CD, this is a no brainer choice in the GOP primary. Vote for Van Tran. Van has a great shot at beating Loretta Sanchez in the fall.

70th State Assembly District....Don Wagner

This was another easy decision for me. Don is a proven conservative. He will continue the excellent representation that Chuck DeVore has given us for the last six years.

The next section is Central Committee elections. I will go through my recommendations for each district. I've been working with a lot of Tea Party people for the last year on this project. I have high hopes that a lot of new people will get elected to our OC GOP Central Committee. I designated whether I knew that certain candidates were Tea Party, Campaign For Liberty, and CRA friendly. Inc stands for incumbent.

56th AD

Only four candidates filed and they are automatically elected. If anyone wants to be on the Central Committee and you live in the city of Buena Park, this would be an excellent chance to get involved since usually not all six seats get contested each cycle.

60th AD (all or parts of Orange, Villa Park, Anaheim, La Habra & Yorba Linda)

Denis Bilodeau
Desare Ferraro.....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Mike Johnson....(CRA friendly)
Ray Grangoff....(CRA friendly)
Carol Gibbs(Inc).....(Tea Party,C4L, CRA friendly)
Deborah Pauly(Inc)....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)

It's good to see some young guys running for the Central Committee here in the 60th. Mike Johnson and Ray Grangoff will make great members.

67th AD (all or parts of Huntington Beach, Sunset Beach, Seal Beach, Anaheim, Rossmoor, Fountain Valley, Cypress, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos & La Palma)

Steve Hamilton......(Tea Party, C4L friendly)
Kristine Alonzo(Inc)....(Tea Party, C4L, CRA friendly)
Valerie Dickerson(Inc)....(CRA friendly)
Matthew Harper....(CRA friendly)
Mike McGill(Inc)....(Tea party, CRA friendly)
Scott Baugh(Inc)....(CRA friendly)

Steve Hamilton and Krissy Alonzo are at the top of my list here in the 67th AD.

68th AD (all or parts of Costa Mesa, Westminster, Newport Beach, Fountain Valley, Stanton, Midway City, & Garden Grove)

Jeff Matthews....(Tea Party, C4L, CRA friendly)
Mark McCurdy(Inc)....(Tea Party, C4L, CRA friendly)
Tyler Diep(Inc).....(CRA friendly)
Bob Green....(Tea Party, C4L friendly)

Whatever you do...please do NOT vote for Janet Nguyen here if you live in Costa Mesa, Westminster, Fountain Valley, & Garden Grove. The Central Committee already has enough primadonnas on it. I'm only recommending four people in this race.

69th AD (all or parts of Santa Ana, Garden Grove & Anaheim)

Tim Whitacre(Inc)....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Scott Carpenter....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Brett Franklin(Inc)....(CRA friendly)
Lupe Moreno(Inc)....(CRA friendly)
Cam Mangels....(Tea Party, C4L friendly)
Cuong Sinh Cao(Inc)....(CRA friendly)

Again, please do NOT vote for Harry Sidhu the carpetbagger here. He needs to lose this and the Supervisor's race and go back to the 3rd District in Anaheim Hills.

70th AD (all or parts of Irvine, Newport Beach, Tustin, Corona Del Mar, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach & Laguna Woods)

Allan Bartlett(Inc)....(Tea Party, C4L, CRA friendly)
Megan Barth....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
John Draper....(Tea Party, C4L friendly)
Scott Voights....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Tom Fuentes(Inc)....Chairman Emeritus and a good friend (CRA friendly)
Carol Price or Lynn Schott....(Tea Party, C4L friendly)

Many good friends running in this district. If you vote for one person, obviously please vote for me. There's more than six people I would support in this race. There's a few incumbents with whom I enjoy good rapport. No one on the committee is indispensable and it would be nice to get some new people elected.

71st AD (all or parts of Rancho Santa Margarita, Tustin, Irvine, Mission Viejo, Orange, Trabucco & Coto)

Linda Barnes....(Tea Party friendly)
Mark Dobrilovic....(Tea Party, C4L friendly)
Tony Beall(Inc)....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Jon Fleischman....(CRA, C4L friendly)
Ed Sachs....(Tea Party friendly)
David Duringer....(Tea Party friendly)

This district has a strong Tea Party candidate movement in it. It's great to see. I hope this entire slate gets elected.

72nd AD (all or parts of Fullerton, Brea, Placentia, Anaheim & La Habra)

Bruce Whitaker(Inc)....(Tea Party, C4L, CRA friendly)
Shawn Nelson....(Tea Party friendly)
Zonya Townsend(Inc)....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Rick Rios(Inc)....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Marilyn Davenport(Inc)....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Micheal Nutto....(CRA friendly)

73rd AD (all or parts of Dana Point, Laguna Hills, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel & San Clemente)

Craig Alexander(Inc)....(CRA friendly)
Mike Munzing....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Chandra Chell....(Tea Party, C4L, CRA friendly)
Catherine Richardson....(Tea Party, CRA friendly)
Norm Dickinson(Inc)....a good guy, straight shooter

I didn't endorse for all six spots here, but this is a good slate. Mike Munzing is a rising star in this district.

Superior Court Office #50....Julian Bailey

Mr Bailey's opponent here, Lon Hurwitz has donated to a laundry list of national liberal Democrats.

Superintendent of Public Instruction.....Alexia Deligianni

County Assessor......Claude Parrish

Clerk Recorder....Hugh Nguyen

Please do not vote for the incumbent, Tom Daly. Hugh Nguyen is a great candidate.

District Attorney......Tony Rackauckas

Public Administrator.....John Williams

The BIG ONE....OC Sheriff......BILL HUNT

I've written extensively about this race. Just mark the spot for Bill Hunt and watch the establishment scramble like cockroaches. This is the most important race IMO in this June election.

Treasurer....Keith Rodenhuis

Propositions.....

Prop 13...YES
Prop 14....NO
Prop 15....NO
Prop 16.....YES
Prop 17....YES

Whew

Clerk/Recorder Watch: Another Epic Tom Daly FAIL!

Another day, another Tom Daly epic fail.  At the rate Daly is going, he might not file for re-election.  Quick someone call Harry Sidhu and let him know that there are two new potential political openings for him to salivate over....Clerk & Treasurer. 

A few years ago Daly persuaded the BOS that he needed more archive space/ and or general space to ever expand the imperial government empire known as the Clerk Recorder.  Once again we have to give major props to Friends For Fullerton's Future blog for doing the digging via public records request and blowing the lid off of Tom Daly's epic incompetence and malfeasance.

Back in 2008, a building was purchased for $2.1 million in downtown Santa Ana(433 W. Civic Center Drive) to expand the Clerk's office/archives and for other purposes.  The building was purchased "as is" with a caveat that the county "would pay for minor repairs".  But nothing is ever minor when it comes to Tom Daly's incompetence.  Two years after the purchase, the building is still sitting vacant collecting dust.  It seems that a feasibility study was done(at a cost of $100k)and the options to get the building ready for occupancy are....to put it mildly, very expensive.

Here are the three options the architectural firm came up for the building.....ready for this?

1. $2.8 million to remodel the building to make it usable; ADA, structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, replacement, etc.

2. $5.7 million to remodel as above, and expand the building to accommodate the proposed use.

3. $7.6 million to demolish the building and start over again.

Did you guys get that?  At the very minimum, this boondoggle is gonna cost $2.8 million more just to make the building usable again!  If they go with the middle option, it will cost $5.7 million for the proposed use.  Are you pulling your hair out yet?  Lastly we have the nuclear option....junk the whole thing and start over from scratch....at a whopping cost of $7.6 million!

If they wanted to make a video of "Government Gone Wild", you couldn't pick a better topic than Tom Daly.  Thanks for nothing Tom.

 

47th CD Watch: Breaking News.....Quang Pham Suspends His Campaign

I just spoke personally with my good friend Quang Pham.  He has decided to suspend his congressional campaign.  I know this was a hard decision for Quang to make, but it was the right decision.  He has decided that he will step aside for the good of the GOP team this November.  I salute him for this.  Here is his press release....

Quang Pham Suspends Congressional Campaign

For Immediate Release                                              

March 5, 2010                                                            

Contact: (714) 653-1140 or media@PhamForCongress.com

 

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – Quang Pham, fiscal conservative and Republican candidate for California’s 47^th Congressional District, said today that he will no longer seek the nomination. The filing deadline to appear on the ballot is March 12.

        “Winning a seat in Congress requires full commitment of time and money,” said Quang Pham. “Yet my business and my employees now need all of my focus.  In addition, the dynamics of the race have changed significantly.” 

         Several senior Republican leaders praised Quang’s candidacy and his political future.  “Quang’s energy, passion and intelligence are impressive. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) just enrolled him in our Young Guns Program. Perhaps more importantly, Quang is the consummate team player, and his future in Republican politics is bright,” Congressman Kevin McCarthy, chief deputy whip and head of recruitment for the NRCC, said.

           As a business owner and Marine Corps combat veteran, Quang Pham thoroughly impressed many of us in the New Majority,” Tom McKernan, Chairman of New Majority Orange County added. “We admire his desire for unity and his commitment to the long term success of Republican values.  We are encouraging him to stay active with the Republican Party.”

          “According to recent polling, Quang Pham would have been competitive in the primary election,” Congressman Ed Royce said.  “But he realizes that the ultimate goal is to defeat Loretta Sanchez and that a bitter primary fight would leave the winner with fewer resources to accomplish our mission.”

            Scott Baugh, Chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, added, “I applaud Quang Pham and I respect and support his difficult decision.  We welcome his participation with open arms.”

 Finally, Quang Pham recapped, “While campaigning, I have met many wonderful people locally and nationally.  I especially thank General William Lyon, a leader among leaders, Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, Rod McDermott, Bill H. Lyon, Doug Hamlin, Tom Davin, Carol Rudat, Jeff Stack, Bob Longpre, Marsh Carter, Marjie Shahani, Jim Harker, Bob Mosier, Ron Martell, and Mike McGill.  Thanks to my campaign consultant, Joe Giardiello, campaign manager Nathan Miller, fundraiser Alexandra Wilcox, and to Nick Lecong for his help with the Vietnamese American community and media.

 I thank members of the media, activists, and bloggers who have covered this race since last May and who have shown an interest in learning about me, a first-time candidate.  Continue to hold elected officials and candidates accountable to taxpayers and voters.

 Most of all, I thank my wife, Shannon, my mother, my sisters, and my personal friends who have encouraged me and supported me.”

A resident of Orange County since 1990, Quang Pham is an independent businessowner, decorated Marine Corps combat pilot, author of A SENSE OF DUTY: OUR JOURNEY FROM VIETNAM TO AMERICA, and community leader who was a candidate for Congress in California’s 47th District.  For more information, please visit www.PhamForCongress.com.

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We Have A Mike Duvall Sighting....

The guys over at Friends For Fullerton's Future have posted up a great "get" with the first interview of Mike "Drippy" Duvall since his resignation in disgrace last year.  I don't know what Mike's motivation is for coming out and spilling the beans at this moment, but I'm glad he did.  We all like to watch a good train wreck and this definitely fits the description. 

According to Mike, he believes it was a conspiracy to take him down.  Quoting from FFFF....

Although he can not fully explain their motives, Duvall stated that he believe the likeliest scenario is that he was set up by a conspiracy involving Jeff Miller, the assemblyman from Corona, and his aide.  He believes the whole thing was either orchestrated or exploited by Republican operative Jon Fleischman, likely in retaliation for the forced resignation of Fleischman’s wife, a former employee in Duvall’s local office. He claimed that Fleischman had become extremely hostile to him personally.

According to Duvall the “hot mike” on the day his comments were recorded was Miller’s, not his; that in retrospect Miller seemed to coach the conversation into its lewd direction; and that Millers aide almost immediately went to retrieve a copy of the recording. Duvall stuck to his story that his comments were not a true revelation of anything that actually happened, and in fact he was just repeating stuff told to him about another legislator altogether.

Really Mike?  If you didn't "do" the lobbyist, then why did you circle the wagons and then resign?  I mean I have to say, you really aren't believable at all here.  I'm questioning why you would even want to open up this scab at this time. 

I have heard through the grapevine that there is a lot more to this story than meets the eye.  For now though, Mike says he is the victim

Lastly, I don't if I should be thanking Mike for the reference to "eye patch underwear", but it sure was funny.  Anytime I hear that phrase I will always know where it came from.

Congrats again to the FFFF blog for scoring this interview.

 

 

Deal Me In For Online Poker In The US

There is an effort underway in Congress to end the ban for online Poker here in the US and regulate it.  I say that it's about damn time.  There's no way that in a free country, that online Poker should be banned. 

For a little history on this issue, back in 2006, the Congress passed the Safe Port Act. A provision of the Safe Port Act was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The UIGEA, as it is more commonly known, made it illegal for financial institutions to process gambling payments, whether it is to a gambling site or to the player.

The UIGEA was meant to go into effect in December of 2009, but a legislative war had erupted nearly six months prior. Barney Frank (D-MA) had begun the fight to overturn the UIGEA. After gathering 65 cosponsors to his bill, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, Frank managed to delay the UIGEA by six months.

So we are getting closer to the June 1st deadline for this act to go into effect.  The purpose of this post is to raise awareness of this issue for everyone that loves freedom and doesn't like the government telling them what they can and cannot do in private with their own money as long as they are not hurting anyone else.  I'm sorry to say that there are a lot elected republicans that have this vicious authoritian streakin them that want to try and run everyone's lives. 

I hope our CA GOP Congressmen and women will get behind this effort to regulate online Poker and keet it safe and legal here in the US. 

Lastly I will post a press release I received from the Poker's Players Alliance...

 

 

the State of Play of Online Poker

  Within the next 6 weeks, Members of the House Financial Services committee will be taking a key vote on legislation related to internet gaming, which includes protections for online poker.  Major developments over the last month have created a winning hand for the game of poker.   

In November…the Federal Reserve and Department of Treasury extended the deadline for enforcement of online gambling laws until May 1, 2010.  This extension was granted in order to give lawmakers and financial institutions more time to clarify definitions contained in UIGEA, as well as develop policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the law.   

In December…House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) held a hearing on his legislation to license and regulate online gambling, which will clarify that games of skill like poker (that are already legal offline) are protected under the law.  More congressional action is expected shortly in order to accommodate the time frame granted by the Fed and Treasury, and now is a vital time to ensure Members of Congress are educated on the state of poker and how this legislation will impact the right of all American’s to play online. 

Key Points on Financial Services Legislation 

Enforcing the Law to Protect Consumers - Millions of U.S. consumers currently play poker online through offshore sites, outside of American oversight and thus offering no consumer protections.  A recent study conducted by Harvard professor and former law enforcement officer Malcolm Sparrow concludes that a prohibition on online gambling would only serve to push online gambling underground and away from any law enforcement protections.  Simply turning a blind eye to protecting American consumers, especially children and problem gamblers, is not a solution. 

Increasing Tax Revenue and Economic Benefits - Attempting to prohibit online gambling sites is an impossible task, with sites popping up off shore and away from American law enforcement.  These sites bring with them a considerable amount of jobs that are leaving the U.S. to countries with more refined gambling laws.  Additionally, more than $50 billion of tax revenue is being left on the table or sent to other countries – funding that could be used to pay for health care, schools, and community interests.   

Protecting Internet Freedom - Through licensing and regulation, the rights of individuals to play poker at a time and place of their choosing can be protected, all while keeping those who don’t have that right – namely children and problem gamblers – off these sites.  As the Harvard study specifically states, technologies that are currently available and are being used in other countries can reduce the risks associated with underage and problem gamblers, money laundering, fraud, privacy and security. 

 

 

Pay To Play 101....A Lesson From Tom Daly

When the going gets tough at county hall, the tough create a pay for play scheme for a phantom sports hall of fame.....so say the guys over at Friends For Fullerton Future. 

This one looks like a classic case of political corruption.  The protagonists of this story are former 4th District Supe candidate and current OC Clerk/Recorder Tom Daly and OC Water Board member/political consultant Brett Barbre.  Just to show that political corruption has no partisan bounds....Tom Daly is a Democrat and Mr Barbre is a Republican. 

I will lay out the Cliff Notes version of this story and leave the details to guys over at FFFF.  

- Tom Daly hires and pays Mr Barbre $48k in 2008/09 for consulting work on a "sports hall of fame".

- from public records requests it is proven that there is hardly anything of value to show to us taxpayers of what this $48k bought.

- this money was paid out in a time of a huge budget crisis & massive layoffs of county workers

- Tom Daly gets to add a high profile Republican to his list of supporters and reaped campaign contributions from Mr Barbre to the tune of $1000....how about that.  What a great return on your investment if you're Brett Barbre. He receives $48k and only has to pay out a $1000 bribe contribution.

- I myself noted Brett escorting Daly's hand picked successor at the time, Renee Ramirez, around at a recent Central Committee meeting.

All this begs the question from us working stiffs out here trying to earn an honest living...does this arrangement seem dishonest & corrupt to the average person out there?

US Senate Watch: Carly Bombs in OC

I've heard & seen a lot of political speeches over the years.  It's safe to say that the one that CA GOP US Senate candidate Carly Fiorina gave at the OC GOP Central Committee this past night will not go down in the history books for its brevity or genuineness. 

Not only was her speech boring, she lacks any sort of credibility on her self described political philosophy of "I'm a conservative".  Really Carly?  Real conservatives don't support massive bailouts like the TARP which I saw you shill for numerous times on the financial channels like CNBC and Bloomberg when you were "giving Sen McCain advice" on financial issues during the last presidential campaign.  With help like that, who needs Democrats.  

This was supposed to be a brief five minute speech that Chairman Baugh graciously gave her for a chance to introduce herself briefly and talk just a few minutes about her campaign.  Instead you burned him and all of us who had to listen to you drone on for over thirty five minutes of stuff we really didn't need to hear.  By minute fifteen I couldn't help but to keep looking at the time wondering when she will give us a reprieve.  Everyone was getting fidgety and then she would start talking about another irrelevant topic.  I was like...."no not another friggin story".  Just shoot me.  Yeah we get it that you were a businesswoman.  My political bs detector has been up with you from the day I heard you were thinking of running.  Just because you say you are a conservative, doesn't mean you are.  We've seen lots of Republicans the last few years who have all but trashed the word conservative with their wholesale sellouts on issues of smaller government and adherence to the Constitution. 

So I guess to sum it up, it was a pretty forgettable speech.  Go tilt at some more windmills of Demon Sheep ma'am.  baaaaaaaaah

My Thoughts On Scott Baugh's Speech Tonight

The OC GOP Central Committee heard a rousing speech tonight by our Chairman, Scott Baugh.  I want to go through it with the readers and give some of my thoughts about how we will all hold him accountable to his own words (my thoughts will be in italics below the lines of speech I am commenting on).

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This is a very difficult speech to give because it involves an introspective look at our own party and what I see are some very disturbing truths.  They are so disturbing in fact that I considered not continuing as your Chairman. Instead, I decided to share my thoughts and my convictions that we must chart a new course for our party, our communities, our state and this nation.  

Good start 

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”  Tonight, we should all fear for our country.  While we don’t face the guns, death and sacrifice that confronted our forefathers, we face something far more insidious – a decay and destruction of our liberties.  This decay comes from an enemy within which makes it difficult to confront.  Unfortunately, this decay comes in part by Republicans who have played a significant role in the advancement of a progressive agenda in this country.  The decay is eroding our most fundamental values and must be stopped.

The names of George Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger come to my mind as well as certain legislators i.e. Abel Maldonado, Anthony Adams, Roger Niello, Mike Villines, etc

Our state is severely broken.  We face a badly damaged country run by political parties, unions and corporations that are stealing any hope of a bright future from our children.  But we do not despair.  In all things we have choices. 

 It was 46 years ago.  Citizen Ronald Reagan delivered a speech about choices.  In that speech he spoke of excessive federal spending.  He spoke of whether we believe in self-governance.  He spoke of whether elitists in a distant capitol can plan our lives better that we can.  He spoke of -- everything we are facing today.  He called the speech, “A Time for Choosing.”   In the face of some very disturbing facts, and a generation later, we now face our own time for choosing.   

This was a great Reagan speech.  We should follow his advice of "trust but verify".  Many words and promises have been made in the past.  We are going to hold the Chairman and the entire Executive Committee of the party accountable for these words.

Our country is 13 trillion dollars in debt.  We will add one trillion dollars in new debt each year in the foreseeable future.  Worse yet, there are no consequences for failure.  We have a bailout, a loan or an economic stimulus for anything that fails the test of the free market.  Let me repeat.  We have a bailout, a loan or an economic stimulus for anything that fails the test of the free market.

Again there are certain legislators right here in Orange County that won't pass these new standards because they supported the massive trillion dollar TARP bailout.  In fact one of them was going to receive our coveted "Legislator of the Year" award, but I digress.

We are the most irresponsible generation this country has ever known with nearly 120 trillion dollars in debt, unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities.  This is $400,000 for every man, woman and child in this country.  How do we defend or explain this – particularly to those who had no part in the creation of these obligations?

How do we defend this?  Answer: we can't

Sadly, our generation is creating indentured servants of our children and of children yet to be born.  We make no sacrifices and take no responsibility.  We only consume and borrow and then consume more.  We are the first generation in the history of this country that has actually chosen not to sacrifice on behalf of future generations.  This is unconscionable and immoral.

ditto unconscionable and immoral

In contrast, my grandfather was part of the greatest generation.  He was frugal.  He never asked for anything and certainly never bragged about anything.  Yet he had so much to brag about.  He was a decorated World War II hero who was at the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge where 19,000 fellow American soldiers died.  He did tours of duty throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.  He bled for our country and he walked away with numerous commendations, including a bronze star and a purple heart.  I learned of his heroics only after death when he was 86.  I asked my grandmother why she never told me.  She replied that she never knew.  You see, my grandfather believed his service was nothing more than a duty to be performed and not talked about.  How is it that his generation was so great and we have become so selfish, narcissistic and dependent?   

These are good questions

Our fifty states are in no better shape than our country with two trillion dollars in unfunded pension liabilities.   Why?  Because we allow public employees to retire at 50 or 55 with pensions ranging from $100,000 to as high as $250,000 -- guaranteed for life!  And, with trillions of dollars in bonded indebtedness, some of our 50 states are flirting with bankruptcy.  California is leading the charge.  We have ½ trillion dollars in debt – and we are still asking for more.

It might be to late to save CA and the nation from insolvency and bankruptcy

You would think that after running up this massive debt our politicians would stop spending and living beyond our means, but they don’t.  They are addicted to power and spending.  They will say and do anything to keep feeding their addictions.  How often do you hear our politicians say they are fiscally prudent and then vote for more spending? 

we hear it all to often

This is not to say that all politicians are bad.  We have many honorable elected representatives and patriots in Washington and Sacramento today.  I do mean to say, however, that the spending addictions we see in Washington, Sacramento and in cities throughout Orange County know no party affiliation. 

It's worse for our party because we are supposed to be the party of fiscal restrait and discipline.  We have lost all believability and credibility on fiscal issues.

Many Republicans have been just as guilty as Democrats.  In point of fact, under George Bush’s presidency – with a Republican Congress for six of those years – our government grew, entitlements expanded, and our national debt was nearly doubled!  This is a very inconvenient truth.  And, this is precisely why a recent Rasmussen poll revealed that 75% of registered Republican voters believe elected Republicans are out of touch.

In defense of their spending, I often hear Republicans say that we just need to understand their votes represent the best deal they could get.  I know.  I’ve been there before when I was in the legislature.  I, too, cast some bad votes.  Confession of a bad vote is healthy and redeeming.  But to simply say that “we don’t understand” is condescending to the people who vote them into office.  I don’t need to “understand” your votes if my liberties are reduced while progressive policies are advanced. 

I hear this a lot too.  Well Allan you just don't understand how things are done up here or back in DC. 

Elected representatives are our public servants; they are not our public masters.  The problem is that they often become isolated from their constituents; yet, in their arrogance and in the intoxication of capitol politics they claim that they know what’s best for their constituents.  It is time they represented “we the people” and stop pursuing their self-interests with preservation of their public office being their top priority.

Our elected officials work for us and not the other way around.  They better start remembering this truism.

Unfortunately, we as party officials share in the blame because we failed to confront the duplicity of Republicans who claim to be for limited government and then vote for ballooning debts and increased spending.  The question is whether we have the resolve to change this status quo. As a country we have been here before and we know what to do. 

After King George passed The Tea Act of 1773, the American colonists dump 342 chest of tea in to the sea.  In response, King George passed The Coercive Acts in 1774 to strengthen British rule.  These acts were dubbed The Intolerable Acts by the colonists, and led to the first American Revolution.

A massive Tea Party is brewing this November.  

Ladies and gentlemen – look to our nation’s capitol.  The $800 billion Stimulus bill that no one read, the Health Care bill that Americans do not want, and the Cap & Trade bill that no one can afford are The Intolerable Acts of our day!

It is time for a Second American Revolution.

Ditto

Thomas Jefferson said: “When governments fear the people there is liberty; when the people fear the government there is tyranny.”  You need to know that your government and most of your elected representatives do not fear you.  That’s why they don’t even flinch when they vote for the Intolerable Acts of our day like failed stimulus packages and certain to fail health care packages.

I love this quote from Thomas Jefferson.  Oh and yes it's obvious that our representatives don't fear us.  

Our Second American Revolution can only succeed if it obtains its energy from leaders like you here tonight.  We cannot count on our elected Republican leadership.  I don’t hear from them that they want a revolution.  I don’t hear from them that they want to restore our liberties.  I only hear they want their power back.  What will they do with it?

The only reason to vote Republicans back in power IMO is to hope for gridlock/be a check on the socialist Obama Presidency.  I know for a fact that our DC leaders have not learned their lessons. 

I don’t just want “Republicans” back in power.  I want Republicans who are reformers in power.  Having Republicans back in power simply because Democrats have failed in their social experiments is not good enough.  What have we accomplished if Democrats and Republicans trade power every few years while we slide into irreversible decline?

Let me be very clear about Democrats.  I don’t want Democrats in power at all.  The Democrats in Washington today -- from the President down to the members of Congress -- are engaged in a wholesale change of the American landscape that is designed to permanently eliminate our liberty in exchange for their ideal view of the world. 

I think all Republicans will stipulate that 99.9% of Democrats are bad.

Here in California we are dominated by a coalition of liberals who engage in rank hypocrisy in the pursuit of their utopian world.  They claim they are business friendly while they heap on taxes and regulations that drive business out of this state.  They claim they want affordable housing while they prevent new construction with environmental terrorism.  They claim they want money for the blind, the disabled, and for school children, yet they routinely bestow more benefits on public employees that are draining our public coffers. 

 Unfortunately, as bad as these Democratic policies are, we have higher taxes and more debt today because year after year Republicans provide the margin of votes to make it happen.  This unholy alliance is destroying our state and our country.  Moreover, it undermines our justification as a party for public support. 

So true.  Prime example is all six Republicans that voted for more taxes here in CA last year.

It is this very real threat to our liberties by this coalition of liberals and accommodating Republicans that makes it imperative for us to clean up our own house, restore our credibility with the voters, and to put this country back on the path of self governance.  What good is a big tent if the tent is so big that it collapses the very principles that we hold dear?  Abigail Adams stated in 1812 that, “A house divided against itself – and upon that foundation do our enemies build their hopes of subduing us.”  

 We need to understand the proper purpose of a political party.  The purpose is not the raw accumulation of power and technical majorities.  Its purpose is to gain a majority in order to implement policies articulated in its platform.   Therefore, we in this party, and in party organizations throughout this country, will only succeed if we fundamentally change the relationship between the members of our Central Committees and the candidates and officeholders who we support. We can no longer support a paradigm where we automatically endorse the product but have no say in the condition or quality of that product.  We no longer have the luxury of merely registering voters and getting them out to vote – this is unsustainable and with your help – THIS ENDS TONIGHT.

I really want to believe this, but we will see going forward real fast if we are serious about these words.

Your call to action tonight is to meet with your local, state and federal elected representatives.  Your call to action is to challenge your representatives when they stray from the path of limited government.  Your call to action, quite simply, is to hold them accountable to the limited government platforms that they campaigned on.

So, whether the elected Republican is in Washington chasing pork laden earmarks lacking in transparency and voting for a greater role in government, or in Sacramento supporting higher taxes and bloated bonds for water and stem cell research, or in Orange County voting for outrageous public employee benefits – you will no longer find automatic sanctuary in this party.  We will hold you accountable and your protection ENDS TONIGHT.

good red meat applause line

And, if you are a candidate seeking an endorsement or support from this party, the standard for support will not be whether you garnered enough votes in this body by hiring slick consultants and cashing in on friendships. 

Whoa!  Now were talking.  I've learned a sad fact that a few GOP political consultants have way to much power and influence over what goes on here in OC.  Glad to hear we are cutting them off....alledgedly. 

The standard will be whether you have a proven commitment to limited government, because I am tired of politicians who campaign based on the advice of consultants rather than the conviction of their hearts.  I am tired of politicians who have no vision for liberty and no unqualified commitment to its protection.  I am tired of politicians who want to occupy a seat of power but do doing nothing to advance the cause of liberty.

Excellent

For example, I don’t want to see Republicans voting the so-called right way on the pension issues facing us today.    I want to see Republicans taking political risks by offering pro-active solutions that include creating two or three tier pension systems that would allow us to get our books back in order.  For our electeds this means risk and political courage to place your principles above your office, because some unions in this county are threatening city council members who dare to address this problem.

Public Employee Unions are evil.  Agreed

The rest of us must return to the concept of sacrifice as embodied by our founding fathers and carried on by generations that followed.  I’m not talking about the sacrifice of wounds, loss of limb and death that so many of our honored men and women endured in defense of this country.  For most of us this is not the type of sacrifice that we face.  But, we do owe it to these brave soldiers to honor their sacrifice by giving up some of our comforts and securities in order to leave a better and stronger nation for future generations. 

We can honor their sacrifice by giving resources that we have.  For some of us it is money.  For many of us it is time stuffing envelopes, walking precincts or making telephone calls.  But, we need more than time and money.  We need your talent, your ideas and your solutions.  We need your technology and communication skills – whatever your asset is, we are asking you tonight to engage -- and measure your sacrifice in this Second American Revolution.

This sounds great.  Where do I sign up?

In addition to our duties as Central Committee members, I am asking you tonight to decide if you have a calling for public office.  There will be no incumbent Republican protected who is not like minded in the spirit and word of this speech tonight.  As Chairman of this party, the doors are open – will you walk through them?

The reason that I asked you to walk through these doors is because even here in conservative Orange County electing people with an “R” behind their name has not yielded freedom based outcomes.  There is no clearer illustration of this than the abuses we have seen with public employee unions.

I hope good liberty minded candidates will step up this election and run

Most of you tonight are not offered a pension plan from your employer at all.  Some of you receive a modest contribution from your employer in the range of 3-5%.  A rare and extremely generous employer may contribute 15% of your salary towards your retirement.  Compare your situation with public safety workers in Orange County – you the taxpayers are currently contributing 51% of payroll to their pensions.  If you think that is bad, in 2014 the contribution will be astounding 84% of payroll.  To illustrate, if somebody is making $100,000, our county will have to pay an additional $84,000 just to cover the cost of their pension.  

Pensions are unsustainable at the rate we are going.  Something has to give.

It is no surprise that Democrat Willie Brown – the former speaker of the State Legislature and former Mayor of San Francisco – recently stated,

“…at some point, someone is going to have to get honest about the fact that 80 percent of the state, county and city budget deficits [in California] are due to employee costs.”

That time is now. 

So, taking a moment to be specific about what we can do here locally to address this imbalance, I am proposing for this Central Committee a couple minimum standards for candidates in order to obtain support from our party. 

We're listening....

First, no candidate will be supported by this party who does not endorse and help pass the Paycheck Protection initiative. 

Excellent idea.

The Paycheck Protection Initiative is a policy rooted in freedom.  It will not in and of itself solve our problems here in California but it will cut the money flow that is used to produce such imbalances in the way Sacramento functions.

Millions of dollars that union bosses spend each year on initiatives and candidate support are nothing more than stolen money from the rank and file.  Whenever the union bosses need more money for their agenda, they don’t ask the employees if they will contribute.  No, they simply deduct if from their paychecks.  Thomas Jefferson said, “To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.”

With your help, we can end this tyrannical practice.

I'm ready to help charge this hill if we really mean it.

The second item I want to propose tonight as a minimum standard for our support is that no candidate will be supported by this party who receives contributions from public employee unions.  If you have already taken their money -- give it back.  This proposed prohibition would not apply to money voluntarily donated by union members.  You see, union members are honorable, hard working and decent.  It is many but not all of the unions themselves and their empires that have a stranglehold on our political systems.    

I realize it is possible to take union money and vote against their relentless pursuit of the public purse, but far too many of our elected officials have taken their money or endorsements and then voted with the union bosses.  Occasionally, a bright line is necessary in order to restore balance.

These standards are near to impossible, but I'm open to see if this will work.  This is one area that we will find out right away if we are serious about all this talk.

In the coming months, we as a Central Committee can work on other ideas and standards for local, state and federal offices that will help put us on the right path. 

But in the meantime and in closing, I want you to see that the abuses in our local, state and federal governments are too great to ignore.  They are leading to our demise. 

On April 19, 1775, a small group of 77 alarmed citizens fought the first battle of the American Revolution in the fields of Lexington and Concord Massachusetts.  235 years later, the first battle of the Second American Revolution will be fought in that same state.  Tomorrow, the citizens of Massachusetts will vote on the people’s seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy.  An unknown, under-funded, underdog, Scott Brown, has shaken the foundation of every liberal Democrat in that state by threatening to do the impossible – taking the so-called “Kennedy Seat” away from them.

I hope Scott Brown wins as well tomorrow if for no other reason than he says he will be the 41st vote to uphold the fillibuster against Obamacare.

Folks, those 77 daring patriots did not win the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Like Scott Brown, they faced overwhelming odds – 700 British Redcoats and 1,700 reinforcements. But, the Patriots gave them a beating that was only a sign of things to come.

Tonight I want to take you back to the beginning of my remarks and refer you once again to the indelible words of Thomas Paine:

These are the times that try men’s souls.  The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.  Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.  What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.  Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.

What will your role be in the Second American Revolution?  Will you be a summer soldier - a sunshine patriot?  Or, will you give sacrificially in order to restore this country to Freedom? 

Let’s move forward together.

This was definitely a great speech by Chairman Baugh.  We need to trust him, but verify that he means what he says.  I'm ready to back him up for these ideas if he is serious and so should the rest of the Central Committee. 

Norby Defeats The Ackermans

The race for the 72nd AD is finally over. Supervisor Chris Norby has defeated Linda Ackerman and the Republican establishment by an almost 2 to 1 margin when it's all said and done.

There are so many things to talk about in this election. First I want to congratulate Supervisor Norby and his team for running a superior campaign. He knew going into this election that it was going to get ugly early and often, but I don't think even he knew how nasty this race would get. It took a lot of intestinal fortitude to weather all the attacks that came his way via the Ackerman campaign. Chris had the advantage early on in this election and never relinquished it. He pressed this advantage to the point where now he will be the next Assemblyman come January barring any disasters.

As for the Ackerman campaign, I don't have very many nice things to say. She, Dick, and most of the Republican establishment that supported and endorsed her were defeated tonight by an almost 2 to 1 margin. Her campaign spent in the neighborhood of $350k dollars between what she raised and the IEs for her and she only received 2400 more votes than Richard Faher who didn't spend any money at all! LOL! This has to be unprecedented. Her campaign went hard negative right out of the gate before many even knew who she was. That's a great way to introduce yourself...haha. As we see by the results tonight, the blowback from her negative campaign was that she lost big. The voters were smart enough to see through all of her ridiculous negative mailers. I read Linda's statement from earlier tonight that she congratulates Supervisor Norby on his victory. That's very nice of her, but it's not sufficient. She and Dick need to endorse him now for the good of party unity. We'll give you a few days to lick your wounds and get over the bitterness that you and Dick are probably feeling towards Chris right now, but it's time to finally end this ugly chapter in OC political history and endorse Chris for the runoff. It's the right thing to do.

The other big loser in this campaign is most of the establishment in my party that early on, circled the wagons for Linda. How did that work out for you guys? The whole ethics process in the Central Committee was one big joke. Ackerman brought in all her high paid slick lawyers to the first subcommittee hearing and eked out an admonition from the Executive Committee that were in the tank big time for Linda. Now the Dems can say that, look, even the Republicans admonished Norby. That's real helpful. Thanks guys. I argued early on that our party has no business being the referee of an election contest that gets ugly because we as a party, for the most part, have no credibility right now to judge who is ethical. The voters are smart enough to figure these things out. Chris Norby now has ultimate letter of admonishion against Linda Ackerman....it's called victory. I hope this is a lesson learned.

Sheriff Arpaio/Bill Hunt Event Roundup

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is everything as advertised and more.  It was very generous of him to come out from Phoenix to headline the fundraising event for OC Sheriff candidate Bill Hunt.  Here's a flavor of what it was like...

So I'm pulling into the parking lot before the event and sure enough there are lots of protesters and media outside the Phoenix Club.  It looked mostly like La Raza types and local spanish media.  They were all speaking spanish over the bullhorn.  I still will never understand that.  We speak English in America guys. 

The event itself lasted about two hours.  I'm gonna say there were about 300 people there give or take.  250 seat had been presold before the event and there were lots of walk ups.  We were first treated to a speech by James Madison look a like Dana Parker who gave us some great insights to the Constitution and the parallels of debates going on today and what was being debated during the Constitutional Convention.  The one take away I got from Dana's speech was his telling of how some people(liberals usually) like to say that the Constitution is a living breathing document.  He reminded us that if we want to update it, there is an amendment process that the founders gave us for times when a broad consensus can be reached on amending the document.

The next speaker was Sheriff Richard Mack.  I had seen him speak a few months prior at a previous Bill Hunt event.  Sheriff Mack earned fame by suing the federal government over the Brady Bill and he won.  He likes to say that "he was the only one to sue the Clinton Administration over a non-sexual matter and not only won, but live to tell about it".  He then read a little of the Supreme Court decision that struck down parts of the Brady Bill.  He quoted Justice Scalia a lot.  One of the best Scalia quotes from this case...

"The Constitution protects us from our own best intentions"

How true this is, especially when we are talking about this Obama Administration.  My pocket Constitution doesn't say anything about socialized healthcare. 

Bill Hunt was next to speak, but before he spoke, he was given about a ten minute introduction by Tim Whitacre for all the viewing audience at home online.  The event was streamed live on Bill's website thanks to James Sugra.  Tim gave everyone who doesn't know Bill the cliff notes version of Bill's life the last six years.  So Bill got up and spoke for about fifteen minutes.  His best line of the night really hit home....

"It may have cost me my career in the short term, but I'm standing before you tonight and the other guy is heading to jail."  Obviously a reference to disgraced and convicted former Sheriff Mike Carona.

Lastly we had Sheriff Joe batting clean up....and boy did he deliver.  This is one of the most down to earth people I have ever met.  Lynn and I had a chance to meet Joe before the event.  He noticed that Lynn has a striking resemblence to Sarah Palin, LOL.  I told him it would be our pleasure to have Lynn come out to any event he has in Arizona when he needs a Palin stand in.  Done deal.  The speech itself was awesome.  I didn't get the sense that Sheriff Joe does many of these events, but the guy turns out to be a comedian.  He had the crowd rolling with laughter.  He are some excepts of the speech(H/T to Matt Coker of the OC Weekly)....

1) "I apologize for the protesters outside. They go wherever I go, If you know a good Mexican restaurant, go and tell them where it is. I know in Phoenix I can't go to a Mexican restaurant. When I walk in, most of the workers run out the back door or spit in my food."

2) "[Hunt] and I come from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We are probably the only two Republicans who came from there. We're both out west now. I'm older than he is. When I retire, I'll ride off into the sunset, but I don't ride a horse. I'll use a convertible."

3) "I'm a senior citizen. Sometimes I pick up a lot of votes because of that, especially in Sun City. When I talk in Sun City, I always tell them my age. In Scottsdale, which is snotty, kind of like Orange County, I tell them I'm 45."

4) "When I first ran for sheriff, I made a mistake. I've been married for 53 years. That's not the mistake. I never see my wife. The mistake I made was I said the sheriff should be appointed, not elected. If I had been appointed, I would have been fired 17 years ago. There would be no tents, no underwear, no nothing."

5) [Looking around for Hunt while talking about the candidate] "Where's Bill? Is he trying to get votes outside? I hope he speaks Spanish."

6) "We got Army tents from New Mexico. We made a midnight requisition. We set them up at a waste disposal plant. A half million people have gone through the tents. We only put the convicted people there. The 8,000 innocent people are in jail."

7) "We went to the Supreme Court. I got sued because I took away [inmates'] porno. They sued me, and I won that case. They try to sue me all the time. They can sue my toilet."

8) [After being informed Bill Campbell was the member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors who'd recently visited his tents] "Why isn't he here? I'm here. Your sheriff [Sandra Hutchens] did not come. A captain did. I told the captain, 'Why are you here? Where is the sheriff?' He said, 'I dunno.'"

9) "I'm tough on animal abuse. If you abuse a dog, cat or horse, you are put in pink handcuffs. You go directly to jail. I don't care who it is. We just arrested a 61-year-old lady. She had all these animals. I had a nice jail that was empty and air conditioned because the inmates are in tents. So that's where we put the animals. But I put my foot in my mouth. I said we paid more to feed the dogs than the inmates."

10) "We have 300 dogs. They'll spend 20 years behind bars, then we'll euthanize them. We have a special area for the cats. Someone called it Sheriff Joe's Cathouse."

11) "I'm opposed to house arrest. You get to go have a drink, do porno."

12) "I do get celebrities. My friend [Glen] Campbell did 10 days in jail. I had him do a little concert for me. Mike Tyson had to be isolated a little in the tent. He likes biting ears. Can you imagine the lawsuits if he bit other inmates' ears?"

13) "I spent 25 years in drug enforcement. I'm one of the people who knows what a border is. Most politicians wouldn't know where to find it."

14) "Nine [federal] attorneys came after me, investigated me, because I enforce all of the laws. Sad, very sad. So I kicked them all out. I gave the FBI director pink underwear. They got very quiet."

15) "These guys outside have signs of me with Hitler, Nazis. They brought some of their signs. They hold them in front of my office in Maricopa County. I could pay them to do it every day. I had Al Sharpton come out [to protest]. I raised a lot of money from that. I should have paid for a first-class ticket for him."

16) "I've been sheriff for five terms. . . . I could be governor, but I don't want to be governor. I want to be sheriff. I get more press in one day than the governor does. And, two: I can lock up the governor."

17) "I've stopped human smugglers heading for California. You people should thank me. Why doesn't The Terminator call?"

18) "If they don't like me, don't insult the uniform. That's what they do: insult the uniform. One thing they know is I'm elected, they can't get rid of me. That's why I'm running again. I have a book titled America's Toughest Sheriff. My next one is going to be America's Oldest Sheriff."

All in all, it was a great night in OC.  The campaign probably raised in the neighborhood of $50k when all is said and done and Sheriff Joe said it would be his pleasure to make a return appearance in a few months when the campaign starts heating up.

Here's the Register story about the event.

 

Great Cartoon

This a funny cartoon dovetailing off of the story of the Northwest airline pilots who flew right past their destination 150 miles last week.

West Coast Movie Premiere of "For Liberty"

Tomorrow mid morning down at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach, the Orange County chapter of Campaign For Liberty is hosting the West Coast premiere of the movie "For Liberty, How the Ron Paul Revolution Watered the Withered Tree of Liberty".  We have a great lineup of local elected officials and candidates that are also going to be down there.  A few of the confirmed guests include:

Allan Mansoor...Costa Mesa City Councilman and candidate for the 68th AD,  Bill Hunt....candidate for Orange County Sheriff,  Chris Norby....OC Supervisor and candidate for the 72nd AD,  Don Wagner....South Orange County Community College Trustee and candidate for the 70th AD and potentially a few more as well that are not confirmed as of yet.  here are the details:

WHEN: Saturday morning, October 24 ---10am

LOCATION:

Regency’s Historic Lido Theatre

3459 Via Lido

Newport Beach, 92663

(949) 613-8351

You can purchase tickets at the box office starting today for $10 each, or you can go to this link – http://forlibertymovie.eventsbot.com for more details and to purchase tickets in advance.

 

 HERE IS THE SCOOP ON THE MOVIE:

As the 2007-08 presidential campaign cycle offered up the usual slate of Washington insiders, Ron Paul, an obscure Congressman from Texas brought an alternative voice that challenged the political establishment. Advocating a philosophy of sound money, a non-interventionist foreign policy, strict Constitutionalism, and individual liberty, Dr. Paul inspired a unique grassroots movement unmatched in American history – the repercussions of which continue to reverberate today and into the future of the American psyche.

For Liberty: How the Ron Paul Revolution Watered the Withered Tree of Liberty follows this historic campaign from the perspective of grassroots activists, and showcases the unique, often bizarre, yet groundbreaking projects they undertook as they brushed aside traditional campaign methodology. For Liberty features an all star cast of grassroots leaders, organizers, activists, authors, talk show hosts, musicians, media experts, historians, artists, and more.