Free Republic

The bipartisan glow that swathed the 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.Jim Brulte, a former Assembly Republican Leader and a key architect of the Poizner campaign, said Republican anger simply ignores the reality that California...