Free Republic

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration has quietly taken steps to reopen two privately run prisons in Kern County -- with no-bid contracts -- that were shut down as a cost-saving move barely a year ago. The Department of Corrections said they were needed because of an unexpected increase in inmates. But the move sparked angry outbursts from critics who questioned the prison population figures and said lobbying by former administration insiders persuaded the governor to reopen at least one of the facilities. A Bakersfield man who ran one of the closed prisons sharply criticized the department for taking the...

LOS ANGELES -- LATEST DEVELOPMENT: With more than 1,500 homes destroyed and damage estimated at nearly $2 billion, Gov. Gray Davis said the wildfires could be, "the worst disaster the state has ever faced." At least 17 deaths were blamed on the wildfires sweeping through the West, 15 in Southern California and two in Mexico, as separate blazes were scattered along an arc from the suburbs northwest of Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico, about 60 miles south of the border. At last count, 1,572 homes were destroyed in California. More than 522,000 acres of brush, forest and homes --...

<p>I was watching Fox News this morning and saw California Congressman Adam Schiff give the Democratic spin on the California recall election. He stated that the recall wasn't actually anti-Davis, but anti-incumbent.</p> <p>He then went on to extrapolate that this spells real trouble for George W. Bush's upcoming reelection campaign.</p>

Arnolds last words to former governor Grey Davis:

If you lived in California, who would you vote for to be governor?

How desperate are Democrats? VERY! Almost a year ago, it was just anger at the loss of yet more seats in the House, as well as the unimaginable and historic loss of seats in the Senate, giving all three houses of government back to Republicans. The absolute worst part about the loss being, of course, the fact that President Bush was the deciding factor in the 2002 mid-term election cycle. The President took a sizable risk, one that no other President had taken before, and went out to actively campaign in key races. His support, and the use of his...

<p>LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Presidential candidate Howard Dean Saturday urged Californians to vote against the effort to oust Gov. Gray Davis, calling it part of a plan by right-wing Republicans to subvert democracy.</p> <p>"I think this is the fourth attempt to undermine democracy in this country by the right wing of the Republican Party since the 2000 elections," said Dean.</p>

A San Jose federal judge late Friday threatened to halt California's first-ever gubernatorial recall vote unless the federal government can ensure that minority voters won't be left out of the political process.U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel issued a temporary restraining order preventing Monterey County from proceeding with its preparations because its election plan has not been reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice, a requirement for certain counties where the voting rights of minorities have been violated in the past. The statewide election could not proceed unless voters in all counties can participate. [snipped] Specifically, Fogel barred the county...

<p>A recall election for California's governor now seems a sure thing.</p> <p>Thursday, July 10, 2003 12:01 a.m.</p> <p>SACRAMENTO, Calif.--Both political parties dislike the recall of Gov. Gray Davis that is now heading for the California ballot; Democrats and Republicans alike prefer stability to uncertainty. The White House is cool to the idea because it would prefer a crippled Democrat in the governor's mansion as President Bush seeks to win the state in the 2004 election. The Business Roundtable and Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce favor the devil they know and oppose the recall. The only supporters appear to be the people: 51% of people surveyed in last week's Los Angeles Times poll backed a recall, including a majority of Hispanics and a third of Democrats.</p>

Why not win?Debra Saunders (archive) May 23, 2003 | Print | SendHere's my question for the political team at the White House: How many elections do California Republicans have to lose because the White House is afraid that certain candidates and issues will cost the GOP wins elsewhere in the country or in the future? As Chuck Todd reported in the National Journal, "Republicans this side of the White House lawn" are opposed to efforts by Californians to push former Gov. Pete Wilson to run against Sen. Barbara Boxer. It doesn't matter that Wilson has won four statewide runs for...

Budget Balanced on Faulty Figures As election neared, state leaders ignored warning signs of a faltering economy and made erroneous assumptions about future revenue. By Jeffrey L. Rabin Times Staff Writer February 23, 2003 Last August, Gov. Gray Davis and members of the Legislature were in a bind: The state budget was two months late, election day was fast approaching and they still had a gap of more than $10 billion to fill. Rather than confront the magnitude of that challenge, however, California's elected leaders resorted to budget tricks, ignored evidence that the economy was faltering and made false assumptions...

Ahhhhhhhhh………… It feels so good to say that I am finally leaving southern Kalifornaistan. Good-bye Gray Davis, Good-bye LA, Good-bye Highway 5 and 405 at 5 in the afternoon! Good-bye draconian gun control! I’m taking a job with a company that’s flight department is based out of Salt Lake City and the wife and I began looking for a place about a month ago, slowly working our way around the area. One weekend we just decided to drive up to Jackson Hole WY and instantly fell in love. The drive was wonderful up I-15 to Ogden and the total trip...

Simon Vows to Promote Statewide Gay Pride Day and Award Rights of Marriage to Gays and Other Cohabitants Sacramento - In a shocking announcement, gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon has committed to support several components of the homosexual agenda. As published today in the San Francisco Chronicle, Simon submitted answers to a questionnaire from the homosexual Log Cabin Republicans of California. In his answers, Simon said that if elected governor, he would proclaim a statewide Gay Pride Day, empower homosexuals in the Republican Party and award additional rights of marriage to "domestic partners" and other unmarried cohabitants. The Republican candidate also...

Today at 5 p.m. KMJ Radio (Chanell 580; Fresno, CA) will be interveiwing Governor Gray Davis regarding the Amber Warning System just recently instituted in California and which was helpful in resolving the dual kidnapping yesterday.KMJ has a huge audience in the central valley and along the central coast and will be an excellent campaign platform for Davis. Davis will certainly take credit for Amber Warning, developed in Texas, which is an effective tool to recover abducted children.The problem is that Amber Warning in California was the result of hard work by (R) Assemblyman George Runner of the 36th assembly...

Gray Davis In Newspaper Temper Tantrum It didn't get much press, but California Gov. Gray Davis had what sounded like an emotional meltdown the other day, during an interview with the San Diego Union Tribune. Sounding extraordinarily defensive about bungling the state's energy crisis, Davis barked at a Tribune reporter, "I saved this friggin' paper. I kept the lights on in this state. Do you understand that? I kept the lights on." When the scribe's gratitude for Davis' Herculean efforts wasn't immediately forthcoming, the California Democrat expanded on his rant, according to Fox News Channel's Brit Hume. "I should at...

<p>Sacramento -- A day after last week's primary election, Gov. Gray Davis' administration issued a reminder to state agencies that his image is supposed to appear on every state of California Web site.</p> <p>Under a policy implemented a year ago, the governor's face is used to link all state Web sites to the governor's page and e-mail address. While the governor's office says the move is one in a series of steps to make a more consumer-friendly Web site, critics say the governor is using the site for campaign purposes.</p>