Free Republic

Revving up his campaign to reclaim the political initiative in California, Governor Schwarzenegger addressed a bipartisan crowd of 1,000 people at the Orange County Forum on September 26. In his prepared remarks, he urged the crowd to support his four reform measures on the November 8 special election, Propositions 74 through 77. He then detailed why Prop. 76, the Budget Reform initiative, was deserving of support, specifically countering the false claims made by the union-sponsored attack ads. He asserted that two-thirds of the governors in America have similar powers to reduce spending in line with revenue if the legislature refuses...

By the slimmest of margins in each house, 21-15 in the State Senate (21 votes needed for passage) and 41-35 in the State Assembly (41 votes needed for passage), the California legislature sent Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger the homosexual marriage bill, AB 849. When the governor vetoes this bill, it will cement his reelection and start his long march back to the top of the heap in California politics. Assemblyman Mark Leno’s (D-San Francisco) first attempt at passing a homosexual marriage bill, AB 19, failed twice on June 2, first on a 35 to 37 vote, then on a 37 to...

What do plots to blow up National Guard armories and synagogues, 9/11, well-intentioned liberals, the War on Terror, and residue from the Vietnam era have in common? They all are playing out in California in three seemingly unconnected stories. The first story is about three men arrested for plotting to attack California National Guard facilities, the Israeli Consulate and synagogues. The men, one a Pakistani national and the other two, American converts to Islam, were found with weapons and “jihadist” material. The second story involves a liberal Democratic California state senator who has been making headlines with his allegations that...

The California Legislature approved the budget for 2005-2006 last week, seven days into the fiscal year. I voted in favor of passing the budget. Interestingly, no one asked me for my vote or pressured me – perhaps since I’ve racked up the most “no” votes of any of the 80 members, leadership figured I was an automatic “no”. But, as with all of my votes, after analysis and reflection, I voted my conscience. In the Assembly, the vote was 63-13 for passage with 54 votes needed for the required two-thirds threshold. Of the 13 members who voted “no” all were...

These aren't your father's Republicans. Paul Makarechian, 31, showed up in jeans to host an event with Assembly GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield. That was at Fashion Island's trendy Ozumo Japanese restaurant. Another of the group's events, this one featuring a congressman, was held at Costa Mesa's hip Sutra Lounge. One of the group's board members, land broker Craig Atkins, is spending much of the year surfing the world's best waves. Makarechian, the chairman, gleefully lists the spiky hair of one favored candidate as an attribute. The group, less Atkins, flew to Vegas this month for its board retreat,...