Free Republic

Thank you all very much. I’m reluctant to start making individual thank you’s because so many have done so much in this campaign – but I do want to say – first and foremost – a special thanks to my wife and family for all they have endured during this campaign. At least I have the chance to fight back; they have to just sit there and take the abuse day in and day out. And then they have to put up with me when I get home at the end of a campaign day. And yet they’ve been resilient...

Sleight-of-hand relies heavily on misdirection and distraction. The Proposition 99 campaign tries the same trick on voters, attempting to get Californians to look only where it wants, while ignoring the most important issues in eminent domain reform. Proposition 99 was crafted because Proposition 98 had qualified for the ballot with a good chance of winning, backed by many documented abuses of emotionally appealing “little guys” steamrollered by the politically powerful—i.e., to defend the beneficiaries of eminent domain abuse against real reform. 99 does nothing to restrict eminent domain to justifiable public uses. It “protects” only owner-occupied primary residences, while undermining...

Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado is running for reelection this year - as both a Republican and a Democrat. The Santa Maria lawmaker turned in signatures earlier this week to qualify himself as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary of his 15th Senate District, though he is already unopposed for the GOP nomination. Maldonado's campaign said the rare move was intended to give the moderate Republican's Democratic supporters - including his mom - the right to vote for him in the primary. "Abel's mother, who is a Democrat, said, 'Son, I want to vote for you in the Democratic primary...

He denounced it as a political stunt and power play, but was the recall campaign against state Sen. Jeff Denham the best thing to ever happen to his political career? The upside for the Atwater Republican grew immensely this week when Senate leader Don Perata, D-Oakland, called off the campaign. Denham, who has raised considerable funds to fight the effort, vowed Thursday to continue his defense because his name will still be on the ballot June 3. Indeed, some local Democrats intend to keep campaigning against the senator on a grass-roots level. Ads against him have already run. But Denham...

The Log Cabin Republicans of California, a gay GOP organization, has endorsed a number of Inland candidates in the June primary. The group said it didn't focus on "gay issues" in making its decisions because gays and lesbians already have many rights in California. Instead, the group looked at candidates' positions on issues such as lower taxes and public safety, said James Vaughn, the Log Cabin Republicans' state director. "The gay wars are over. We've moved on," Vaughn said. "We want to support Republicans who want to win elections, not fight losing battles." The group took neutral positions on some...

One consequence of the state's first February presidential primary election – unintended, perhaps, but a consequence nevertheless – will almost certainly be an extraordinarily low voter turnout for the June 3 regular primary. Primary elections generally see subpar turnouts, in part because independents have almost no motivation to vote. But June's election will be especially devoid of motivation – no presidential contest or any other statewide candidate duel, only a handful of meaningful legislative or congressional primaries and just two statewide ballot measures, both of which deal with the very arcane issue of property seizures by local governments. We'll have...

California 21 (all of Tulare County and the eastern half of Fresno County) Mitt Romney, 18,477 (36.1) John McCain, 18,261 (35.7) California 49 (much of Northern San Diego County and southwestern Riverside County) Mitt Romney, 24,264 (38.8) John McCain, 23,608 (37.7) California 52 (parts of Imperial and San Diego counties) Mitt Romney, 30,034 (40.3) John McCain, 27,844 (37.4) District 25: Romney down 1.9% (91% reporting) District 26: Romney down 7.4% (83.8% reporting) District 41: Romney down 5.7% (76.5% reporting) District 42: Romney down 0.2% (97.6% reporting) District 43: Romney down 11.2% (68.4% reporting) If things stay this way, the tally...

(snip) In television ads that began airing the first week of January, Governor Schwarzenegger urges voters to endorse Propositions 94, 95, 96, and 97, which would expand gambling operations. ... The agreements allow four tribes [Agua Caliente, Pechanga, Morongo, Sycuan] ... to add 17,000 slot machines to the existing 8,000. In exchange, the tribes will give the state between 15 and 25 percent of the revenue from the added machines. Last May, Schwarzenegger estimated that the compacts would generate $293 million just this fiscal year, but state finance spokesman H. D. Palmer says this figure has since been revised downward...

Ballots, are being sent. What are your thoughts for Props: 91 - Transportation funds, Constitutional Amendment 93 - Limits on legislators Terms in in Office - Constitutional amendment 94, 95, 96 and 97 - Referendum on amendment to Indian gaming

Local GOP preparing for big choice By: SUNANA BATRA - For the North County Times A frequent commentator on politics, and the manager of John McCain's 2000 campaign for president, Mike Murphy's keynote speech at the Lincoln Club of San Diego County's annual dinner last week was witty, insightful and, at times, cutting. "San Diego has always been the spark plug in California and holds an important role nationally," he said. He spoke of the new ground California will break on Feb. 5, when we will hold our presidential primary. Murphy suggested that since we will have the most compressed...

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a lame duck Republican governor, albeit a fairly popular one who touts his environmental credentials and has ambitious plans on health care, infrastructure and education reform. Barbara Boxer is a U.S. senator who has gained some clout on environmental issues now that Democrats have regained control of the Senate but who, as usual, has a less-than-commanding approval rating among California voters. As it happens, Schwarzenegger's and Boxer's current terms expire simultaneously three years hence, raising the intriguing scenario that the one-time action movie star -- barred from seeking the presidency because of his Austrian birth -- would...

The California Republican Party is embroiled in controversy over its refusal to allow the fastest growing voter group – independents – to vote in presidential primary elections, even though Democrats do. The dispute pits Republicans who believe the party must preserve partisan purity at all costs against those who contend the party is undermining its long-range viability by stiffing nearly 20 percent of the state's voters when membership in both major political parties in California is at an all-time low. “At the end of the day, this really is an issue of who it is that should be choosing a...

Effort to halt oath of office hinges on legal inactivity of attorney general-elect A group of Republican activists has revamped its lawsuit challenging outgoing Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown's eligibility to serve as state attorney general. The amended complaint filed Wednesday in Sacramento County Superior Court seeks to prevent Brown, 68, from taking the office to which 56 percent of voters elected him Nov. 7. While the original lawsuit, filed Oct. 19, named local voter registrars as defendants in an attempt to get Brown booted from the ballot, the new complaint names Secretary of State Bruce McPherson and state Controller Steve...

I have enjoyed reading articles about the election, some of which I agree with, others I do not. But as Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." And the fact is the California Republican Party is much stronger today than it was three years ago. In 2002, a Republican "red tide" did not stop California Democrats from winning every statewide office. Pundits, Republican and Democrat, said Republicans could not win in this "bluest of blue states." Just four years later, in the worst year for Republicans nationally since 1974, those...

On election day and night — only three weeks ago, although it seems much longer — several people asked me if the turnout would be over 50%. The answer, of course, was of course. But for some time it looked lower, and quite a few people, many of them on a losing campaign or two, went on about this as though it somehow justified their losing. “Schwarzenegger may have won big,” this sentiment went, “but only 35% turned out in Orange County in the lowest statewide turnout ever.” Many thought statewide turnout would be under 50%. But they, perhaps, forgot...

The bipartisan glow that swathed the state Capitol this year may give way to partisan rancor, as combative conservative Michael Villines prepares to lead Assembly Republicans in the next legislative session, political observers say. Villines, a Clovis Republican who was raised in San Jose, seized power by riding the support of conservative lawmakers, who rejected the more accommodating leadership of former minority leader, San Diego Assemblyman George Plescia. But the move may end up marginalizing the Republican caucus. "They've gone for a guy who was in (Gov. Arnold) Schwarzenegger's face in opposing the bond measures, and rendered themselves a little...

What happens in Washington, D.C., can affect state and local elections. That's what happened on Election Day, when Republican voters stayed home in droves, discouraged from turning out to vote by media reports that the Congress was going Democrat, said Stephen Kinney, a partner with Public Opinion Strategy, a Republican polling company. "The Republicans stayed home because the election was nationalized," Kinney told a breakfast meeting of the San Gabriel Valley chapter of the Los Angles County Lincoln Clubs on Friday. Kinney said many statewide Republicans - from lieutenant governor candidate Tom McClintock to Secretary of State Bruce McPherson -...

Democrat grabs slim lead as phone-call accusations fly Republican lawyers are investigating potential campaign fraud in the hotly contested 34th state Senate District race after Friday's ballot count pushed the Democratic candidate ahead by 783 votes. Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman said he suspects Democrats working on Lou Correa's campaign may have coordinated with an independent campaign committee to siphon off conservative Republican votes from GOP candidate Lynn Daucher. Correa flatly denies the allegation, saying, "I had nothing to do with it." Ackerman says party attorneys also are investigating who funded last-minute campaign phone calls that attacked Daucher, including one...

(The writer is an attorney and president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.) In politics, sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. Just ask the national Republican Party. However, there is no doubt that California taxpayers “ate bear” last week by scoring some great electoral victories. First, the four statewide tax increase measures on the statewide ballot were soundly defeated. Propositions 86, 87, 88 and 89 would all have increased taxes on somebody and would have resulted in additional costs to everyone. High priced political consultants have become expert at writing ballot measures whose actual costs...

Conservatives: Aloof governor doomed the GOP If you've seen even one national political convention, you've witnessed this scene: On the final night, as confetti flies and balloons drop, the head of the party's ticket clasps hands with his running mate and they lift their hands high in a show of confident, optimistic togetherness. Given that clichéd expectation, it was startling to observe this summer's California Republican Party convention. The running mate on the GOP ticket, lieutenant governor nominee Tom McClintock, emceed the Friday night dinner. By 11 a.m. Saturday, he was sneaking out the back door, departing before Gov. Arnold...

Conservative Republican Assembly legislators signaled they are prepared to make life difficult for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by installing a combative conservative as their leader, a move experts said might backfire and actually marginalize the GOP caucus. Republicans are the minority party — they hold only 32 of the 80 seats in the Assembly — and generally are only able to influence legislation — on taxes and budgets — when a two-thirds vote is needed.

WHAT label can be put on the California electorate, circa 2006? Clearly this is not a conservative state, not with our penchant for borrowing and Jerry Brown set to become our next attorney general. Yet it's not quite liberal, either: Faced with the chance Tuesday to stick it to two of the left's most hated bogeymen - Big Tobacco and Big Oil - through Propositions 86 and 87, Californians declined. Conventional labels don't apply here. Far more than partisanship or ideology, the key factor in California's 2006 statewide races seems to have been money. In almost all cases, the campaigns...

LOS ANGELES - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tirelessly promoted himself and his ambitious package of public works bonds en route to his landslide re-election. But he spent little time campaigning for fellow GOP candidates gunning for six other statewide offices on Tuesday's ballot. Some experts believe that was one reason only one other Republican joined Schwarzenegger in victory. "Arnold is bigger than the Republican Party in California," said Thad Kousser, an expert in state politics at the University of California, San Diego. "He wants to be known as the person who rebuilt the infrastructure of the state rather than the person...

LOS ANGELES - Democrat John Garamendi won a close race for lieutenant governor, as Republicans faltered in their efforts to win statewide offices and gain power in Sacramento. Garamendi, who currently serves as insurance commissioner, edged out conservative Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, an anti-tax ideologue, in Tuesday's election. Democrats also won races for California attorney general, treasurer and controller. "The conclusion to be drawn here is that California is still a true progressive state even though it has a nominally Republican governor," Garamendi said. With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Democratic state Sen. Debra Bowen had a slim lead...

LOS ANGELES - Despite millions of dollars in campaign spending and a flood of attack ads, the 2007 California Legislature could end up with the same partisan lineups as the 2006 version. Democrats won 47 of the Assembly's 80 seats and were leading in a 48th district that was too close to call early Wednesday. Republicans captured at least 32 seats, the number they had going into the election. In the Senate, where half the seats were on the ballot, only one seat had a chance of changing hands - the lone district held by Democrats in heavily Republican Orange...

Welcome to the live thread for the California Primary Election. Polls are open until 8pm tonight. If you are a registered voter, it is your duty to vote and defend your rights and civil liberties, protect your pocketbook, and vote the bums out where applicable. Feel free to discuss issues key to your local area that others may be interested in. Post your polling place experiences if you like. And post numbers as they come in later tonight.

Northern California radio stations got something extra Monday with the monthly emergency alert system test transmitted by fellow station KFBK -- and at least one of them was none too happy about it. The test, complete with raspy alarm and tone, didn't end with the familiar words, "This concludes the test of the Emergency Alert System ... " Instead, it segued into a political advertisement by Republican Dick Mountjoy, who is running for U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Dianne Feinstein, and another spot for a mortgage company. "In layperson's terms, it's called operator error," said Jeff Holden, station manager for...

SACRAMENTO - California's top election official predicted Friday that 55 percent of registered voters will cast ballots in Tuesday's election, fewer than in any general election in state history except one. How a relatively low voter turnout might affect the outcome of races for statewide offices such as governor and lieutenant governor, as well as controversial proposals to impose higher taxes on oil companies and tobacco, is anyone's guess. Conventional wisdom holds that a lower turnout favors Republicans, whose voters are more reliable about showing up on Election Day. That could translate into a big night for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger...

SACRAMENTO — If the polls are correct, Gov. Schwarzenegger is on his way to a big win Tuesday. But is he popular enough to pull other Republicans across the finish line? In what is being billed nationally as the year of the Democrat, California might buck the trend. At least that's the hope of Republican strategists, who for weeks have talked about a so-called coattail effect: the theory that a big win for the popular Republican governor could mean good things for the GOP in other statewide races. Republican analyst Dan Schnur has even compiled a "coattail index." It says...

As Phil Angelides' hopes of becoming governor of California sink to zero, political junkies and interest groups are turning their attention to a handful of other statewide offices that, with less than a week of campaigning remaining, are still in contention. The big question is whether a very strong re-election vote for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps even a landslide, will translate into Republican gains in down-ballot contests, especially if Angelides' poor showing depresses Democratic turnout. As a new Field Poll underscores, Democrats have pretty much sewed up two of those offices, attorney general and treasurer. Former Gov. (and current Oakland...

I DON'T KNOW what was more disturbing, the lame attempt to suppress immigrant voter turnout in California's 47th Congressional District or the breathless reporting and hyper-indignation that followed it. Editorialists called the incident "despicable." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger labeled it "racist" and a "hate crime." The chairman of the Orange County Republican Party called it "grotesque and obnoxious." You'd think they were all talking about a lynching, or at least a cross-burning. But no, it was a rather pedantic letter sent to fewer than 14,000 foreign-born Democrats with Spanish surnames in Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Anaheim. It didn't matter that...

These guys should be running for governor: Democratic Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi and Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock. They'd make the race a lot more interesting — less predictable, much closer, more focused, offering a clearer choice of views and visions. (snip) These candidates are interesting in themselves — both knowledgeable, thoughtful, experienced policy wonks. As insurance commissioner, Garamendi helped write workers' compensation reform, has forced down homeowners' premiums and decreed that auto rates should be based on driving records, not where a motorist resides. McClintock, a longtime conservative legislator from Thousand Oaks, was the crusader who deserves the most...

If she weren't running for secretary of state, Debra Bowen might consider Santa Cruz native Bruce McPherson the best fit for the job. As state senators, both traveled to Iceland to study geothermal energy; when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed McPherson to fill the secretary of state post last year, Bowen was part of the unanimous vote that confirmed him. "I consider him a friend," said Bowen, D-Redondo Beach. "When the governor nominated Bruce, I told him that I thought he was the second best person for the job." This November, Bowen hopes voters will agree with her. Bowen and McPherson,...

Dick Mountjoy for U.S. Senate Good Old American Rally!!!! ******************************************* Bring your biggest American Flag Mountjoy for U.S. Senate signs and campaign literature will be available as well *******************************************October 30, 2006 4 pm to 6 pm Grand Ave. and Pipeline Chino, California Let's show Chino what we want Dick Mountjoy In! Dianne Feinstein Out!! ******************************************* Come meet the man himself with a vision for California's future. ******************************************* We will have plenty of signs and petitions to send home with you!!! Let's Roll!!

TWO relatively young Southern Californians, Democrat John Chiang and Republican Tony Strickland, are vying to succeed Steve Westly as state controller. Chiang, 44, has a bachelor's degree in finance and a law degree. He has served on the State Board of Equalization the past eight years and previously had been a tax law specialist for the IRS and an attorney in the controller's office under Gov. Gray Davis. Strickland is only 36, but already has served six years in the Assembly, where he forged a reputation as a fiscal watchdog. He has a bachelor's degree in political science; counts our...

The California secretary of state, the attorney general, and the state Democratic Party are seeking to intervene in a lawsuit filed by state Republican Party leaders challenging Democratic candidate Jerry Brown’s eligibility to run for state attorney general, Brown’s attorneys said yesterday. Zachary Wasserman of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean in Oakland, representing Brown, told the MetNews that it’s his understanding that attorneys representing plaintiffs Thomas G. Del Beccaro, Contra Costa County Republican Party chairman; Adam C. Abrahms, head of the Los Angeles chapter of the California Republican Lawyers Association; and others, have stipulated that Secretary of State Bruce McPherson...

Statement Regarding Suit Joinder October 23, 2006, 6:00 PM Today we were contacted by the Attorney Generals Office and the Secretary of State. Each expressed that they would seek to join the lawsuit as nominal defendants in an effort to be heard in this matter. Although the Plaintiffs are skeptical of the motives of the existing AG Bill Lockyer, we felt that the interests of justice would dictate that we agree to allow them to join the suit without opposition. We agree that they probably have an interest in the outcome of the suit given that it affects their...

THE TWO major-party candidates for California secretary of state could not be more different in style or in philosophy about the role of the office. Incumbent Bruce McPherson, a Republican, is an engaging, low-key centrist with great faith in modern electronic voting systems and great concern about the potential for shenanigans at polling places. Sen. Debra Bowen, a Democrat who brings a lawyerly edge and high-tech guile in her approach to public policy, is highly skeptical about the current safeguards on electronic voting systems. One trait these two veteran politicians share is a high level of competence. It's unfortunate they...

(snip) Although the governor has expended virtually no political capital helping down-ticket Republicans, some of them are holding their own. Conservative stalwart Tom McClintock, the Simi Valley Republican senator, is neck-and-neck with Democrat John Garamendi for lieutenant governor. Garamendi is plagued by the Executive Life scandal that took place the first time he was insurance commissioner, in the early 1990s. As the LA Times reported, Garamendi used his office to seize the California unit of First Executive Corp., a junk-bond funded company that began to implode after junk-bond prices collapsed. Garamendi then sold the company to French investors as a...

THE BEE RECOMMENDS GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger LT. GOVERNOR — John Garamendi SECRETARY OF STATE— Bruce McPherson CONTROLLER — John Chiang TREASURER — Bill Lockyer ATTORNEY GENERAL— Chuck Poochigian INSURANCE COMMISSIONER— Steve PoiznerU.S. SENATOR — Dianne Feinstein

Republican state senator trails better-known Jerry Brown in polls. Chuck Poochigian first volunteered in a political campaign in 1977 at a rally where George Deukmejian was ramping up his bid for state attorney general -- and accusing then Gov. Jerry Brown of being soft on criminals. Nearly three decades later, it's Poochigian's turn to run for attorney general -- and accuse Brown, now Oakland mayor, of being soft on crime. [Podcast: Jim Zamora interviews AG hopeful Chuck Poochigian. ] "I guess you could say it's ironic that we're still having these discussions about Jerry Brown and crime in 2006,"...

SACRAMENTO - Experts are pointing stakeholders worried about California's governor race to differences between campaigning and elected office -- a contrast immortalized in "The Candidate," as the victor asked: "What do we do now?" If elected, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides says his California would be kinder to working families, more generous to students and more welcoming to immigrants -- all while keeping books in the black. But political analysts said in interviews that his vision is fiscally unrealistic. Whittier College political science professor Richard Harvey said Angelides "has been in and around politics long enough so that he can...

The Republican candidate for one of California's two seats in the Senate — potentially one of the most powerful legislative positions in the country — walked alone into a banquet room at the Pomona Valley Mining Co. restaurant on a recent morning and looked around. The regular meeting of the California Federation of Republican Women, Southern Division, was underway, and the candidate, Dick Mountjoy, portly beneath a shock of white hair, stood mostly unnoticed. As a woman at the head table talked of plans for an upcoming convention, Mountjoy slipped small stacks of pamphlets and bumper stickers from the pockets...

"It's possible Angelides will sour the downballot races," Republican consultant Mike Murphy, a Schwarzenegger confidante, told me recently. "That's certainly a looming possibility," respected Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, agreed. Angelides, the panicked swimmer, is starting to pull anyone near him under the water. Core Democrats will vote for Democrats for the statewide posts, but the outcomes on Nov. 7 will clearly be decided by tie-breaking, and thus influential, swing voters. Swing voters will decide whether 2006 is a replay of 1994, when Democratic candidate for governor Kathleen Brown badly lost and dragged down her party in statewide races. McClintock is...

His priorities for the next term, Schwarzenegger says, include reforming the state's dysfunctional prisons and another try at fixing California's jury-rigged redistricting system. His previous attempts to address both problems failed miserably. Paradoxically, however, he may be in a better position to address these issues — and others, such as the state's structural budget deficit — because he is a Republican. A little partisanship can be healthy in Sacramento, if it serves as a check on the excesses of the legislative or executive branch. And Schwarzenegger and the Democrats in the Legislature now better understand how they give each other...

If Democrats take over the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi will not just be the first female Speaker of the House. She will be the richest. By far. The liberal Center for Responsive Politics pegs Pelosi's net worth as being somewhere between $14,746,108 and $55,085,000. Gee, remember how libs got all over Gingrich for his $2 million book advance? Of course, no one said squat when Hillary took an $8 million book advance. Pelosi and her husband have vast real estate holdings in San Francisco, where the liberals cry all the time for affordable housing for the working class. That...

Polls Show Democrats Not Connecting With Angelides. Former Assembly speaker and San Francisco mayor Willie Brown on Friday predicted that fellow Democrat Phil Angelides will lose his campaign for governor. Brown's forecast came during a fundraising breakfast for his public policy institute, which drew many of the state's top elected officials, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. With a nod to the Republican governor, who was seated in the audience, Brown told several hundred well-connected listeners that Schwarzenegger will win his bid for a full term next month. "No matter what, I think he'll be re-elected governor," Brown said. Angelides campaign spokesman...

BERKELEY — The congressional fundraiser was at a pub in the heart of this liberal political stronghold. A local band, The Flux, entertained with a tune titled "Impeach the President." The focus of attention: two candidates vying for seats in bedrock conservative districts to the east, currently occupied by Republicans John T. Doolittle of Granite Bay and Richard W. Pombo of Tracy. Although most experts still give them a narrow edge, Doolittle, 55, seeking his ninth term, and Pombo, 45, pursuing his eighth, are in the toughest fights of their political careers going into the Nov. 7 election. Their Northern...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promoted bipartisan dealmaking Friday at a breakfast hosted by Democratic political icon Willie Brown, who then gave his Republican guest a parting gift: a declaration that Schwarzenegger will win re-election "no matter what." Democratic gubernatorial challenger Phil Angelides was noticeably absent from the Moscone Center fundraiser for Brown's nonprofit public service institute, considering the audience of several hundred was heavily Democratic. Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, landed a prime speaking spot between two of the state's most powerful Democrats, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. Angelides trails Schwarzenegger by double-digit percentage points, according to...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chuckled at a comment from Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez last month in Sacramento as he signed Núñez's measure to create a discount prescription drug program. SACRAMENTO – Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez is a key figure in a major gubernatorial campaign. But it might be hard to tell which one. Núñez, co-chairman of Democrat Phil Angelides' struggling campaign, has been spending far more time at public events heaping praise on Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger than with the candidate he has endorsed. In a variety of joint appearances, Núñez has lauded Schwarzenegger's “courage” and “leadership” in signing bills to...