Sharon Runner: Tough, Fair, Common Sense Leader

Governor Schwarzenegger deserves enormous credit for his wisdom in appointing former Assemblymember Sharon Runner to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. Complaints from the far left are unwarranted and reflect a kneejerk mentality by some union officials.

I've known Sharon Runner for years. She is incredibly bright, compassionate and brimming with common sense. She has a way of cutting through the clutter of complex issues and getting to the heart of the matter, and doing so in a way that often disarms her opponents. This probably explains why those who seek to use boards like the ALRB to drive an ideological agenda won't find much comfort in Sharon Runner's appointment.

We're pleased the Governor appointed her, and look forward to her confirmation. Hopefully, the Senate will put partisan and ideological concerns aside in confirming this first class leader to this important post.

Obama's $1 Trillion Tax Hike

So much for centrism or bipartisanship -- those ideas flew right out the window with Barack Obama's proposed budget and its $1 trillion in tax increases over the next ten years.

Higher income taxes, capital gains taxes, and more are all on their way, and Democrats in Congress are unlikely to do much to stop the increase. In fact, you can bet some will do whatever they can to make the increases higher. Details from ABC News

Another sign how Republican reinforcements in Congress are badly needed. Here in California, we have a few opportunities for that. Developing...

Congratulations New CRP Regional Vice Chairs

At our highly successful state Republican Party convention this weekend delegates elected four new Regional Vice Chairs: Tom Hudson (North), Larry McCallon (Inland Empire), Mike Osborn (Central Coast) and Morgan Kelley (Bay Area).

They join four Regional Vice Chairs who were re-elected to the Board of Directors: Jon Fleischman (South), Doug Boyd (LA), Laura Gadke (Central Valley), and Patricia Welch (Northwest).

Congratulations to all of our new and returning Regional Vice Chairs.

Dem Jerry McNerney Hit on Stimulus Bill

Democrat Congressman Jerry McNerney is the target of a new radio ad campaign by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) for his support of the stimulus (spending) bill.

Release:

NRCC Hits Jerry McNerney on the Airwaves
New Radio Ad Takes McNerney to Task for Picking Pork over Jobs

Washington - The NRCC announced a new radio ad hitting Jerry McNerney for supporting a trillion-dollar spending bill chock full of wasteful Washington spending instead of working across the aisle to create real jobs for struggling middle-class families.

"While middle-class families are hurting and looking to their leaders for help, Jerry McNerney has failed to deliver real relief," said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. "Jerry McNerney had a choice to pass an alternative proposal that would have created twice as many jobs at half the cost and in less time, but he chose to pass this package of pork instead. After running on a platform of fiscal responsibility, Jerry McNerney now has the obligation to explain why he’s willing to pile even more mountains of debt onto our grandchildren without regard for how middle-class families’ hard-earned tax dollars will be spent."

Jerry McNerney said he would fight for fiscal responsibility in Washington:

"I am fully committed to fiscal discipline and responsibility…"

Jerry McNerney went back on his promise by voting for $335 million in STD prevention, $75 million for smoking cessation and even $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts.

The ad will hit the airwaves just as McNerney heads to his district to face his constituents and try to explain why he voted for a trillion dollars in wasteful spending in the middle of an economic crisis.

Remembering Trinie Bowling: GOP Volunteer

The Republican Party lost a tremendous and unmistakable stalwart when long time volunteer Trinie Bowling passed on this month.

Trinie had an extraordinary life -- from spying on Japanese troop movements in her native Philippines as a child to being thanked for her years of activism by President Bush last year (photo).

What I'll remember most about her is how after every single meeting of the Republican committee in San Diego, Trinie would come up to me, giving me a few words of thanks and encouragement, and emphasize how important it is that we succeed in this great cause that unites us.

Her dedication to our cause, as expressed by her passion and her demonstrated commitment through thousands of hours of volunteer time, inspires us all.

Here are a few articles where you can read a bit more about this extraordinary person:

Former WWII Spy Greeted by President Bush (10News)

Bush Thanks a GOP Stalwart (RedCounty)

Fallbrook Woman's Dedicaton Calls for a Party (North County Times)

Republicans Pull Even in Generic Congressional Ballot

This just in from Rasmussen Reports...Republicans and Democrats are now even in the natioal Congressional generic ballot test. The test is a key indicator of partisan strength among voters.

Specifically, Rasmussen finds that 40% of Americans would today vote for a Democrat candidate for Congress, while 39% would vote for a Republican candidate, a statistical tie. Last November, Democrats led in the generic ballot test by 7%.

The narrowing in the generic ballot test comes as Democrats have become increasingly identified with the expensive, pork-laden "stimulus" bill moving through Congress.

Rasmussen: Latest generic Congressional ballot numbers

Dem Congressman Blasts Pelosi/Reid for Failure on Stimulus

A Democrat Member of Congress has confirmed what we have been saying for weeks -- that the hyperpartisan Democrat leadership in Congress has failed in moving forward an economic recovery plan with any degree of bipartisanship.

While talking in bipartisan or nonpartisan terms is a favorite political tactic, the true test comes when the votes are tallied. While there has been plenty of lofty rhetoric, the fact that the so-called stimulus bill made it through the House without a single Republican supporting it shows the extent of the Democrat failure

Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) put this this way: "In order for us to get the confidence of America, it has to be done in a bipartisan way...We have to have everyone -Democrats and Republicans standing on the stage with the administration -saying, 'We got something done that was efficient, stimulative and timely.' ... I truly feel that's where maybe House leadership and Senate leadership have really failed."

We concur.

On Reagan Day, His Principles are Still Tested

Today is Ronald Reagan Day -- one which deserves to be recognized around the world for the impact this Californian continues to have on the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

While some sophisticates dismissed him as simplistic, in truth Ronald Reagan understood the inherent strengths of freedom and self-determination, and the inherent weaknesses in government coercion and totalitarianism. When some predicted the Berlin Wall would last for a hundred years, it could barely stand for more than a few months after he left the White House because Reagan's view was right and the liberal view that "detente" was the best the world could hope for was wrong.

Here at home, Americans keep more of what they earn because President Reagan was determined to bring tax rates down out the stratosphere, not only to help the economy but out of a commitment to a solid principles of liberty and free enterprise.

Those same principles are being tested today. When President Reagan took office the nation was truly in its greatest crisis since the Great Depression. His leadership and beliefs steered America through the crisis not with bailouts and takeovers, but by cutting burdensome government regulations and slashing taxes to increase incentives to work, save and invest.

The result was the longest peacetime expansion in American history.

Our party's challenge now is not to hark back to an earlier time when the Gipper was in the White House, but rather to find new ways to adapt Reagan's solid principles to today's world, and demonstrating how when applied, the tenets of conservative governance produce a better quality of life for people.

For these reasons, among many more, we recognize today as Ronald Reagan Day.

OVER: Obama's Honeymoon

Failed cabinet appointments. Questions over ethics standards. Flagship legislation languishing in the Senate. Promises of bipartisanship evaporating. And this is just after two weeks.

Barack Obama is learning that governing is much more difficult than campaigning, particularly when success hinges on Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid moving the agenda in Congress. In the House, any prospect of bi-partisanship has been blown up as Democrats forced through a bloated, wasteful spending bill packaged as "stimulus," drawing zero Republican votes.

Meanwhile, the bi-partisanship in the Senate comes in the form of both Republicans and Democrats opposing the same wasteful "stimulus" bill that will only "stimulate" further growth in government with more than three dozen new programs and billions in debt.

While the overspending/stimulus bill is bogged down in Congress, the wheels have come off one Cabinet-level appointee after another, raising serious questions about the vetting process which the White House communications hacks were touting as the greatest ever. Yup -- so great they didn't notice Tom Daschle's, Timothy Geitner's, or the Solis' family's array of tax problems.

Tough to argue that paying higher taxes is a "patriotic" duty, as Joe Biden did, when your own team doesn't step up to pay the taxes they already owe.

Finally there's the political decision to close the Guantanamo Bay terrorist prison without first determining where these killers are supposed to go (we nominate Alcatraz, right in the middle of Nancy Pelosi's district). One report shows 61 of the Guantanamo prisoners who have been released returned to their previous occupation of killing people. The remaining prisoners are even more hard core. In whose neighborhood should these killers be housed?

Yes, the honeymoon is certainly over. And now is the time for Republicans to offer a clear alternative to where Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid want to take the country. The comeback starts here.

CRP Tech Chairman Featured in Journal

The CRP's Technology Leadership Committee is racing ahead bringing together leaders in California's tech community to help make our state party the national leader in the use of new and emerging technologies in our operations and communications. The initiative is chaired by David Kralik of Newt Gingrich's organization. David has a great column running in CNET today highlighting the promise of "cloud" computing and why the federal government is behind the curve here.

This article is not just for technies -- it gives non-techies a glimpse into where the future of computing lies and what to expect in the years ahead.

KRALIK: Let's Move the Feds Into the Cloud

Terror Networks Find Refuge In South America

After cutting ties with Israel, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has become an open supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah. The authors of a new book, “The Threat Closer To Home: Hugo Chavez And The War Against America,” notes that besides the monetary support, Chavez is also providing a safe refuge for these terrorists.

The U.S. State Department still believes that Iranian operatives were behind the two terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires - the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center.

Chavez recently welcomed Russian warships to his country, and has frequently visited with Fidel Castro and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. There is growing fear among U.S. allies that Hezbollah is establishing a growing number of terrorist cells in South America.

Let’s see how Obama’s policy of meeting without preconditions, described during the campaign, holds up to the reality of international terrorism and diplomacy. 


Link to complete article written by: Sholomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent.

France: More Conservative than America?

It's official. For the first time in my life the French government is more conservative than our own government in Washington. The evidence comes in the form of the headline: "Paris Rejects Obama-Style Stimulus Plan."

Apparently the government of French President Nikolas Sarkozy is rejecting pressure from left wing groups to shovel money out the door regardless of whether such spending would actually help the economy (it wouldn't).

Article: Paris Rejects Obama-Style Stimulus Plan