Did you see what just happened in Oklahoma? Republican State Representative Todd Russ introduced a bill to get the Oklahoma State government out of the marriage licensing business and into the marriage recognition business. Readers here will recognize this as the “Michael Schwartz” plan: government should record marriage documents rather than issue them. From Reason.com: He (Russ), too, claims to …
Election Scuttlebutt: US Senate, AD 76, AD 78, CD52
California Assemblyman and retired Marine Colonel Rocky Chavez is running for the open California US Senate seat. Chavez is running against the “best looking attorney general in America,” Kamala Harris. Chavez offers a “pragmatic platform” of strong foreign policy experience, comprehensive immigration reform, leaving Obamacare in place, supporting same sex marriage, and opposing abortion. He faces a large registration disadvantage …
Attack Cory Briggs’ Ideas But Leave The Man Alone
I think Cory Briggs’ enviromental lawsuits are bat*** crazy but the KPBS/inewsource “expose” is a fishing expedition because he’s challenging the Tourism Marketing District (TMD) tax. The TMD is a crony capitalist weapon, aimed at stifling competition, in a market which sorely needs competition. Cory Briggs is not someone I revere but smearing the man’s name, for anything other than …
Republican Liberty Caucus of San Diego Endorses Joel Anderson for County Supervisor in District Two
The Republican Liberty Caucus of San Diego voted to endorse the candidacy of State Senator Joel Anderson (Alpine) for District Two on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in the 2016 election. The Second District covers most of East County. It extends to the Imperial County line in the east, encompassing the communities of Poway, Julian and Ramona to …
Incumbent Supervisors Cox, Dave Roberts, and Jacob Vote To Silence Political Opposition
The County Board of Supervisors ruled against free speech today. Let me amend that; every Supervisor, except Board Chairman Bill Horn, limited your right to support candidates through a political party. Horn registered his expected pro-freedom response. He started the conversation by saying that he opposes any limits to free speech. After public testimony (from five speakers and 16 non-speakers, …
Tom Shepard, Puppet Master. Which County Supervisors’ Strings Will He Pull Tomorrow?
Tom Shepard is up to his old shenanigans again. Shepard-backed Supervisor Ron Roberts is introducing a proposal to limit candidate donations from political parties in San Diego County. Guess why? To protect two of Shepard’s other clients, up for re-election in 2016: Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox. It also gives Shepard a chance to make MORE money by forming and/or consulting for “independent expenditure committees” …
The Schism Between Republican Voters and Republican Leaders
In my last two years as an Executive Board member of the Republican Party of San Diego County (a position from which I’ve resigned), I noticed a growing alienation between “rank-and-file” Republican volunteers and our County Central Committee (an elected position which I still hold). The most engaged Republican voters think we push candidates on them rather than listen to them. I …
A Case For Changing The Republican Party of San Diego County — Conclusion
In my last installment, I suggested that there was only one approach to grow our party for the 2016 election cycle — change the endorsement process. I said: “Our endorsement process is broken — it alienates a lot of people. After reading through this entire series, I’ve concluded that two things could change us for the better: getting people elected to the …
A Case For Changing The Republican Party of San Diego County — Part Six: Changing the Endorsement Process
We’ve had some great discussions in this series and I spent a lot of time discussing the Volunteer Neighborhood Precinct Captains. I’ve served on two other county committees (Camden County, NJ and Maricopa County, AZ) before serving on the San Diego Committee. In those committees, the Precinct Captain was elected and was the basic building block of party governance and operations. Take …
A Case For Changing The Republican Party Of San Diego County — Part Five: Reconciling Irreconcilable Differences
This is a long series so let me summarize it before we start to talk about how to reconcile irreconcilable differences. In the first installment, I posited that the Republican Party of San Diego County’s (RPSDC) celebrated “San Diego Model” was, in fact, not being followed. The comments that followed suggested early endorsements alienated people in the primaries, causing them …
Tragic Assassination of NYPD Cops Begs For Law Enforcement Reform
Like many libertarians, I am appalled at what’s happening to our police forces in this country. Like many conservatives, I am saddened that people have lost trust in law enforcement. I was furious that Kelly Thomas’ killers were set free. While I agree with the grand jury’s decision in the Michael Brown shooting, I wonder why that cop had to …
A Case For Changing The Republican Party of San Diego County – Part Four: Rebuilding the Coalition
There is an ongoing national struggle for leadership in the Republican Party: business establishment vs. populist conservatives. Populist conservatives led the Republican House victory in 2010, infighting between the two factions produced a national loss in 2012, and an aggressive establishment victory snared the Senate just last month. In California, that struggle was highlighted by the Tim Donnelly v. Neel …
A Case For Changing The Republican Party of San Diego County — Part Three: Where Did Our Voters Go?
What happened to the celebrated “San Diego Model”? The premise of the San Diego Model is that endorsed candidates focus on messaging and communicating with Democrats and Independents, while the Republican Party of San Diego County (RPSDC) focuses on turning out the vote for endorsed Republican candidates. One in three San Diego County voters is a registered Republican. Approximately 36 …
I wish you a somewhat mild and not overly stimulating period of time during the coldest of months in the northern hemisphere…
…so offered my friend Michael Schwartz, in a satirical comment to my Facebook post: Just got a greeting card in the mail offering me “Warmest Wishes for the Winter Holiday” from an escrow company in Northern California. Milquetoast. You gotta try harder than that. Let’s start with this: Offering me the white-washed “Warmest wishes for the Winter Holidays” doesn’t make you …
A Case For Changing the Republican Party of San Diego County — Part Two: The Neighborhood Volunteer Precinct Captain
Who is the most important person in the Republican Party of San Diego County? If you said “The Chairman,” you don’t understand grass roots politics. Our Chairman is a “super-volunteer” and he works his butt off, but a Committee Chairman isn’t the most important person in a Republican organization. The Chairman leads the Committee; the Committee governs the Party organization. …
A Case for Changing The Republican Party Of San Diego County — Part One
San Diego is a Center-Right County Consider this: Five of the seven Republican candidates for statewide offices earned a majority of the San Diego County vote in this past election. That’s good news for the Republican Party of San Diego County — it means that County voters are still of center-right ideology. But consider this comment, from Rostra awhile back: …
Republican Liberty Caucus of San Diego Scores Victory With Poway Mayor-Elect Steve Vaus
The Republican Liberty Caucus of San Diego (RLCSD) was founded in 2012 to advance individual rights, limited government and free enterprise within the San Diego area, the state of California and the Republican Party. It is an officially chartered chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus, founded in 1991 as a 527 political organization. This new organization grew in numbers during …
To Lorie Zapf: Individual Liberty Requires Cautious Government Oversight ?
A huge victory was won for liberty in the San Diego City Council Chamber two days ago — the rent seekers lost the battle to keep competition down. The San Diego City Council voted to lift the artificial “cap” on city licensing of taxicabs. You might ask, “Why the hell is the City licensing driving? Doesn’t the State do that?”– …
MaryAnne Pintar Needs to Be Challenged By Local Media
The Bob Filner fiasco certainly has local media scared. I noticed it in the special Mayoral election when they asked Faulconer and Alvarez the silliest of interview questions. The media are worried they might not properly vet candidates, so rumor, innuendo, and accusations get reported first and investigated later. Mike Slater thought differently when he refused to air an accusation …
Encinitas Early Voting Returns Look Good For Lerchbacker But…
A late decision and a large personal loan to his campaign made Encinitas Council candidate Alan “Lerch” Lerchbacker look like a long shot candidate But a divided electorate, support from the surging Mayoral favorite Kristin Gaspar, and a mid-campaign endorsement change from the Republican Party of San Diego County might propel “Lerch” to victory. Early voting, as of October 28, …
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