Free Republic

The right to vote is among our most cherished liberties, but equally important is the public’s confidence that every lawful vote -- and only lawful votes -- determines the outcome. Election integrity is not simply about preventing fraud; it is about preserving trust. An election that half the country believes was unfairly manipulated is an election that erodes trust in the republic and confidence in the system, regardless of who wins. Such elections have become standard practice in California -- not by accident, but by intent. The state has embraced a philosophy that treats virtually every security measure as an...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the Department of Justice is investigating him, claiming that President Donald Trump is targeting a “political enemy” despite no evidence the Democratic potential 2028 presidential contender has committed a crime. Newsom said in a video posted to social media that Trump’s administration is also targeting his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Well done, California Democrats. We weren’t sure you could do it, but you came through. In just one primary election you managed to pull off a rare trifecta of political infamy for the Golden State: the embarrassment of a vote-counting system that takes so long it would have looked obsolete in colonial Virginia; the shame of an election process that invites deep suspicion about the integrity of the democratic order at a time of historically low public trust; and the misery of an outcome that just about guarantees the same misrule by the same people responsible for the dysfunction and...

Karen Bass will escape being asked under oath about her actions leading up to The Palisades Fire at the trial of the man accused of starting the blaze which destroyed the beachfront enclave and killed 12. The trial against Uber driver Jonathan Rinderknecht started Monday with jury deliberations, where Judge Anne Hwang read out the witness list including dozens of names. But the embattled Los Angeles mayor, who it currently in a tight reelection fight, was not mentioned. Prosecutors claim Rinderknecht ignited the most expensive wildfire in US history, killing 12 people, torching thousands of homes and causing $150 billion...

A Los Angeles mayoral debate has collapsed at the last minute after Nithya Raman joined Karen Bass and Spencer Pratt in pulling out. Raman revealed early Monday she was not going, following Bass pulling out last week and Pratt earlier saying he had a scheduling conflict. It left just businessman Adam Miller and activist Rae Huang. A spokesman for the Pat Brown Institute and the League of Women Voters said: “With only two candidates remaining, the event partners have agreed not to proceed.” Raman’s campaign told The Post: “We’re disappointed that Mayor Bass cancelled her participation in the debate. We...

Critics of California’s long-overdue high-speed rail project are aghast after statehouse Democrats pushed through legislation that would give the rail auditor the power to shield its reports from the public. The bill, which passed the California Assembly on Monday and sits at the state Senate, lets the Inspector General do so if publication “would pose a substantial and articulable risk to the project or to state operations if publicly disclosed.” The role of the Inspector General has gained even more prominence in light of new estimates that the total cost of the train has ballooned to $231 billion. The fantasy...

California’s High-Speed Rail boondoggle is now estimated to cost taxpayers $231 billion, up from its original $33.5 billion price tag in 2008 when voters passed Proposition 1A. “Our country has never seen a fiscal disaster of this magnitude,” California Rep. Kevin Kiley said on X Monday. Voters were deceived by the original ballot summary and language in Proposition 1A from 2008, but the state’s lawmakers seem to find that fact inconvenient. And, the entire project is lacking in private, public and debt funding to complete even the most minor operating segment – nearly 20 years later. “If it is built,...

Fifteen years ago, I helped make the case for what became California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission. It was a first-of-its-kind body of 14 ordinary Californians, neither politicians nor their appointees. It was balanced with equal Democratic and Republican representation, charged with drawing fair districts after the 2010 Census. The argument was simple, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put it: “Gerrymandering has created an absurd reality, where politicians now pick their voters instead of the voters picking their politicians.” In this effort I often partnered with a type of Democrat one rarely sees these days: the reform-minded Democrat.

<p>The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his probe into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.</p><p>The order came after California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, last month asked the court to step in. A voting rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure.</p>

A journal called Liberal Currents recently invited me to contribute to a scholarly symposium on what the editor, Adam Gurri, described as “how we can move to a new, stable democratic regime after Trump.” He was particularly interested in “what sort of accountability model should be pursued, especially if it has to be done on a partisan basis by a Democratic trifecta.” I disagreed with the premise of the symposium and declined. The idea of “restoring democracy” after Donald Trump is widespread on the left. When we realize what this means, it should prompt those loyal to our Constitution to...

The Virginia state Senate on Friday greenlit a constitutional amendment that would clear the way for the Democrat-controlled legislature to redraw the state's U.S. House maps ahead of this year's midterm elections. The move by state senators, following a similar vote on Wednesday in the state House, was the final step needed to send the amendment to Virginia voters. If the ballot measure is approved this spring, the legislature, rather than the current non-partisan commission, would redraw the state's congressional maps through 2030. Virginia is the latest battleground in the ongoing high-stakes battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus...

Embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband’s venture capital firm quietly scrubbed key officer details — including former Obama officials — as scrutiny grows over the family’s skyrocketing wealth, The Post has learned. Omar (D-MN) went from nearly broke to being worth up to $30 million in just a year — as a massive, up to $9 billion fraud scheme involving the Somali community in her district unfolded right under her nose in Minnesota. Close to 90 people have been charged so far, including at least three with direct ties to the lefty Squad member, though she has not been charged. It...

This is because California’s state and local politicians have completely broken LA and the state in general. It is increasingly untenable to do business: - Too many permits - Too many laws - Too much overreach - Too many delays - Too many taxes It’s killed Hollywood and it’s coming for Silicon Valley next. The difference is that Silicon Valley can move. Hollywood just sat by while the government and party they blindly supported gutted their industry. We won’t.

Valero's $1.1 billion Benicia refinery exit by April 2026, driven by Newsom's regulations, threatens 8.6% of California's gasoline supply, job losses, and $1.21-per-gallon hikes. Economists warn of shortages and $8 spikes amid Phillips 66's parallel closure. California’s energy sector is reeling from Valero Energy Corp.’s decision to shutter its Benicia refinery by April 2026, a move that underscores the mounting toll of stringent state regulations on the industry’s viability. The Texas-based refiner announced it would absorb a staggering $1.1 billion write-down rather than navigate Governor Gavin Newsom’s escalating mandates, citing prohibitive costs and regulatory pressures. This closure eliminates 8.6% of...

The recent federal indictment of Dana Williamson — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff — should come as no surprise: It’s the latest example of a thoroughly corrupt Sacramento political culture that afflicts both parties. But as bad as you may think the corruption is, I can tell you first-hand that it is much worse. For Democrats, supermajority status has resulted in a “might makes right” attitude of abusing their power to impose their will — and to help themselves. Worse, because Democrats control almost all the levers of state and local law enforcement (including the state attorney...

The numbers out of Minnesota are staggering: Three separate plots to bilk welfare programs. Fifty-nine federal convictions. More than $1 billion stolen from taxpayers. Of 86 people charged so far, all but eight are of Somali descent. The scandal has seized headlines and put Gov. Tim Walz, seeking a third term, on the defensive. It’s huge, brazen and entangled with the seamy politics of migration and assimilation. President Trump has weighed in with characteristic subtlety: “We don’t want them in our country,” he said of Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar and “her friends” during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. “Let them go back...

The Globe is willing to bet that the project will balloon to $4 to $5 billion… place your bets! By Katy Grimes, November 18, 2025 2:55 am In September 2020, while California was still suffering under Governor Gavin Newsom’s oppressive COVID restrictions, lockdowns of healthy Californians, and business and school closures, the Joint Legislative Committee on Rules held a hearing on the plans for the $543.2 million renovation of the State Capitol while ignoring actual state business urgencies. Notably, the project has ballooned to $1.5 billion – that we know of. The Globe is willing to bet that the project...

Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate activist and businessman who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, is the latest Democrat to jump into California’s crowded gubernatorial field. His two core promises — which could appear at odds — are to preserve the state’s status as a hub for business and innovation while also lowering California’s cost of living by making corporations pay “their fair share,” he said in a video message.

Kamala Harris’s memoir gives you little idea of what she believes. John Fetterman’s is better.Earlier this week everyone piled on congressional Democrats, or furiously defended them, over the government shutdown and its end. It was the longest in U.S. history, 43 days, and utterly pointless. When it was called I thought of Albert Brooks in “Broadcast News,” who asked, of a different predicament, “Does anybody ever win one of these things?” No, not the administration, not its opponents, not federal employees, not the country. Shutdowns are a trauma without meaning. All this had me thinking about an aspect of the...

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is reportedly considering a run for California governor — a possible foil to frontrunner Katie Porter. Two anonymous sources close to the congressman told MSNBC that he has been considering a play for the Golden State governor’s mansion with a possible announcement as early as next week. “Swalwell declined to comment when reached by MSNBC, but a source close to the congressman, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the private discussions, said Swalwell allies had asked him to run ‘to fill a “fighter/protector” role’ in the mold of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom,” reported MSNBC. Should...