Free Republic

"In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards." In 1897 Mark Twain wrote that and it came to mind last week as I read former Cardiff School Board member, Francine Busby's editorial criticizing Rep. Brian Bilbray for supporting an effort to hold public schools in California accountable for the progress, or lack thereof, made by students with learning disabilities. She said, "One of the most-needed changes (is the need to) waive the requirement that test scores for students with learning disabilities … be included in determining the overall performance of a school."...

FORUM: Representatives need to support schools By: FRANCINE BUSBY In "Some schools excel, fail simultaneously" (Oct. 4), reporter Stacy Brandt exposed the no-win situation that our public schools have faced since the inception of "No Child Left Behind." ...thus allowing some schools to succeed under state standards, while they fail under the federal provisions of "No Child Left Behind." Every public school in the US is guaranteed to fail under "No Child Left Behind" because of the impossible goal of having every child performing at grade level by 2014. 20 high-performing schools in North County have already been classified as...

Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA), spoke of the importance of implementing 'E-Verify'. Delayed for yet another time, Rep. Bilbray is suspicious of the Obama Administration and the liberals in Congress. Please visit our website for the full video interivew. http://washingtonnewsobserver.com/?p=89

FEINSTEIN SEEKS TO BLOCK DESERT SOLAR FARM DUE TO SEVERE ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) has coauthored H.R. 964, a measure that would exempt any solar energy project on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands from Environmental Impact Report requirements. Sempra Energy, Bilbray’s third largest campaign contributor, seeks to import power from desert solar farms on BLM lands. On Friday, California’s Senator Diane Feinstein sent a blistering letter to the Secretary of the Interior opposing solar farms on BLM lands, citing massive environmental damage from scraping bare a half-million acres of desert lands proposed for solar mirrors. “It...

Just now listening to Roger Hedgecock's KOGO AM radio show. Hedgecock is interviewing Congressman Brian Bilbray and former Presidential hopeful and Congressman Duncan Hunter about the vote for drilling in Washington, D.C. and Pelosi shuting down the House.Hunter and Bilbray are reporting that regular citizens are now being invited to sit in the actual chairs of the no-show Democrats of the House--an action that may never have happened in American history. Congressman Hunter wants to get a number of our nation's Truckers to come to D.C. and have their voices heard, too! After all...he says, it's the people's House!!!

BOSTON, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, U.S. Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA) endorsed Governor Mitt Romney to be the next President of the United States. Congressman Bilbray is Chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus and a San Diego native. "It is an honor to have Congressman Bilbray as part of our campaign to build a stronger America. Throughout his years of public service, he has stood strong for our common conservative principles. His support will be critical in the upcoming California primary. I look forward to working with him in California ahead of the primary and in Washington as we reform...

Huntington Beach Rep. Dana Rohrabacher will stage a protest today in his hometown to show opposition to the immigration bill being debated by the Senate and the continued imprisonment of two U.S. border patrol agents. For months, Rohrabacher has urged President Bush to pardon the agents. Along with Rohrabacher, Carlsbad Rep. Brian Bilbray and members of the Minuteman Project will attend the rally from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street in Huntington Beach. — Alicia Robinson

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- On Thursday, senators announced a rather remarkable bipartisan compromise on immigration reform that combines border enforcement, a guest worker program, a path to legalization for illegal immigrants, tougher employer sanctions, and an education/skills-based point system for future immigrants. The same day, the Census Bureau reported what many Americans already know: The United States is becoming a Hispanic nation. Hispanics are the nation's largest minority with 44.3 million people and they account for almost half the growth in the U.S. population. Meanwhile, since 2000, the white school-age population dropped 4 percent, and the white population shrank...

ESCONDIDO -- U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, said Thursday that he would support a guest-worker program similar to the Bracero Program that brought thousands of low-skilled laborers from Mexico starting in the 1940s and ending in the 1960s. The Bracero Program was widely criticized by human rights groups for abuses, but Bilbray said it created economic opportunities for poor Mexicans. Bilbray said migrant workers should be allowed to come to work in the United States, but should not be able to become permanent residents, nor should their children born in the country be granted U.S. citizenship. "The old Bracero...

NORTH COUNTY ---- U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, co-sponsored a bill introduced Wednesday that would block an effort by some banks to issue credit cards and open accounts for people who don't have Social Security numbers ---- most of whom are thought to be illegal immigrants. The bill, which would be called the Photo Identification Security Act, would name specific forms of documentation needed to open a bank account or get a credit card. Those forms of documentation listed in the bill are a Social Security card with a government-issued form of identification such as a state driver's license,...

When it rains in this border town, toxic goo from Mexican slums and factories flows down the Tijuana River onto U.S. soil. It winds through tidal marshes and ends up in the Pacific Ocean, closing the beach to swimmers and diehard surfers 198 days last year. The U.S. government found a novel fix: pay a private developer an estimated $700 million to build and manage a treatment plant in Tijuana, Mexico. If the plant sells recycled water to thirsty Mexican factories, U.S. taxpayers will get some of their money back. Ground has not yet broken and the 7-year-old agreement between...

NORTH COUNTY -- U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray has been named chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, a group that is dominated by Republican members of Congress. The 91-member organization lobbies Congress for changes to the nation's immigration policies and was formed in 1999 by a conservative congressman and illegal immigration opponent, Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. Congressional caucuses are made up of members of Congress who share common legislative objectives. The rules of the U.S. House of Representatives govern their actions. Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, who is succeeding Tancredo as chairman, said in a Tuesday news release: "I hope to expand the Immigration...

Report: 40 percent of county's Medi-Cal births to illegal immigrants By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer NORTH COUNTY ---- A state report quietly released last spring shows illegal immigrants made up the largest single group of those giving birth at taxpayer expense in the state and in San Diego County in 2004. The May report, "Medi-Cal Funded Deliveries," states that of the 14,350 taxpayer-funded births in the county that year, 5,814, or 40.5 percent, were to illegal immigrants. That is an 18 percent increase over the 4,916 Medi-Cal-funded deliveries to illegal immigrants in San Diego County in 2001, as...

LOS ANGELES - GOP Rep. Richard Pombo, the powerful chairman of the House Resources Committee, plunged to stunning defeat at the hands of an almost unknown Democrat, Jerry McNerney, as Democrats wrested control of the House from the GOP. GOP Rep. John Doolittle beat down a strong challenge from Democrat Charlie Brown in Tuesday's midterm election, surviving a boisterous campaign that focused on the incumbent's ties to a congressional corruption investigation. San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi was in line to be the first female House speaker ever as Democrats captured more than two dozen GOP-controlled seats around the country. McNerney,...

Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #10639 Geography Surveyed: CA 50th CD Data Collected: 11/01/2006 - 11/03/2006 Release Date: 11/04/2006 11:25 AM ET Sponsor: KGTV-TV San Diego Never Mind; Busby Fades at the Finish & Bilbray Holds CA50 for Republicans: Polling exclusively for KGTV-TV San Diego, SurveyUSA wrote on 9/13/06 that CA50 was "safe" for the GOP. Republican Brian Bilbray at that time had a 14 point lead, and appeared to be out of reach. Then, on 10/16/06, in the middle of the media coverage of Mark Foley, Democrat Francine Busby closed to within 2 points in SurveyUSA...

Without offering evidence that could be independently verified, Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby and her top campaign aide alleged yesterday that Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray is the target of a criminal fraud investigation. Rumors of a county grand jury investigation of Bilbray's residency status have circulated in recent weeks, with Busby campaign operatives seeking to generate interest among several news outlets, none of which confirmed an investigation. At a news conference yesterday, with the Nov. 7 election less than four weeks away, Busby campaign manager Ray Drew said he had been contacted by several anonymous callers who said they are...

Just over three months ago, the special election to fill the vacancy left by congressman-turned-inmate Randy “Duke” Cunningham was a political rock concert. It was national news, big money poured in from both parties and Washington pundits touted it as a barometer of the national mood. That was then. 50TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BY THE NUMBERSVoter registration: 44 percent: Republican 30 percent: Democratic 22 percent: Decline to state Republican Brian Bilbray won that June contest, defeating Democrat Francine Busby by slightly more than 4.5 percentage points. A comfortable margin, but not commanding, considering the Republican Party spent $5 million on Bilbray's...

JOIN THE BILBRAY BRIGADE! Join one of the most high profile congressional races in the country today! U.S. Congressman Brian Bilbray’s Campaign is looking for individuals interested in working on one of the most talked about races in the nation. Full-time, part-time and internship positions available in all facets of a comprehensive grassroots campaign are currently available. • Unbelievable opportunity to break into politics. • Great way to develop vital job skills • Excellent opportunity to network • Ideal for individuals who are willing to work hard to start or advance their career in politics. Duties would include daily direct...

There is an old joke that goes something like this. Q. How do you know a politician is lying? A. His lips are moving. Obviously this catches the public's disgust with politicians that say one thing and do another. This is one of the reasons citizen's groups want things in writing. They send questionnaires out hoping to put these politicians in ink on various topics. They believe that at least having something writing will keep politicians honest. In March of this year former Congressman Brian Bilbray was running for the 50th Congressional Seat after Duke Cunningham resigned in disgrace. Bilbray...

Late Wednesday afternoon, a "Manual Hand Count Request under the Election Recount Provision" was filed at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office by CA-50 voter Barbara Gail Jacobson. The request is for a full manual hand count of all paper ballots and paper trails in the recent June 6th Busby/Bilbray special U.S. House election in which programmed, election-ready Diebold voting machines were sent home with poll workers for days prior to the election in apparent violation of new laws and provisions by both state and federal authorities. As California state election code requires that a candidate be named...

Illegal Aliens: A Few Myths to Keep in Mind . . . Mexico City. Last Tuesday the Pew Hispanic Center announced that 41 percent of Mexicans surveyed in February and 46 percent questioned in May stated they would live in the United States if given "the means and opportunity." Indeed, two out of 10 people interviewed said they were prepared to enter the U.S. illegally. These figures could have amazing consequences because our Spanish- speaking neighbor has a population of nearly 106 million inhabitants.

SAN DIEGO – Rep. Brian Bilbray called Wednesday for increased immigration enforcement well beyond the border, but local law enforcement leaders said they could not take on a federal mandate to arrest suspected illegal immigrants. Bilbray, R-Carlsbad, made his comments during a hearing held at the Border Patrol station here within site of the U.S.-Mexico border, one of several such sessions Republican leaders in the House of Representatives plan to hold around the country to focus more attention on the immigration issue. Bilbray said the recent debates on illegal immigration show that not enough has been done to find and...

Bringing San Diego to the forefront of the immigration debate, House Republicans will hold field hearings on the issue Wednesday at an Imperial Beach border patrol station. Two opposing immigration bills from the House and Senate will head for negotiations after the hearings senators and representatives are holding across the country this summer. San Diego area representatives have been heavily involved in the debate, some authoring sections of the House bill. Measures proposed in the House bill, H.R. 4437, include: making illegal presence in the country a felony, building 698 miles of fencing along the border, requiring employers to use...

SAN DIEGO -- Folks say this border city has been brazenly invaded by an unsavory and disruptive element that opportunistically puts its own interests before the greater good. I never believed it -- until lately. But what can I say now that America's Finest City is crawling with Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, who have come here to hold hearings on immigration reform? San Diego plays host this week to the first of a series of public hearings on this combustible issue. The first hearing -- "Border Vulnerabilities and International Terrorism'' -- will be led by Rep....

Imperial Beach will be at the center of the national immigration debate Wednesday when a congressional field hearing there promises to draw protesters from both sides of the issue. It's one of several nationwide hearings organized by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives who say they will hold them before negotiating a compromise with the Senate. The hearing, called Border Vulnerabilities and International Terrorism, Part I, will start at 9 a.m. at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station, 1802 Saturn Blvd., Imperial Beach. The second part will be Friday in Laredo, Texas. The hearing will be headed by U.S....

House election buoys hard-liners in their fight with moderates on the divisive issue. In political circles, it has become known as the "Bilbray factor": • Brian Bilbray, a former moderate Republican who lost his congressional seat in San Diego six years ago, rode anger about illegal immigration back to Washington with a victory in the June 6 special election. Republicans from Washington, D.C., to Sacramento took notice. • The GOP shut down debate on immigration reform legislation backed by President Bush, scheduling another round of hearings and putting passage in doubt. • In California, Republicans declared they are unwilling to vote for the...

WASHINGTON – Oh, for a honeymoon that had lasted two weeks. Brian Bilbray got no such break. Sworn in to Congress just seven days before, the newly elected lawmaker on Tuesday found himself going head to head with budget-cutting conservatives who questioned his support for congressional “earmarks” and his vote for a congressional pay raise. The conflict – played out for San Diegans last week on local radio – demonstrated that Bilbray may have to walk a political tightrope as he faces a November election for a full two-year seat. “I find it interesting that conservatives are already critiquing Bilbray...

Brad Friedman Added to homepage Sun 18th Jun 2006, 09:43 AM No Confidence in the Busby/Bilbray Election I don't know how else to put it, but every voting machine used in last week's special election run-off for the U.S. House seat vacated by the disgraced Randy "Duke" Cunningham in California's 50th congressional district was illegal. By federal standards, rules and provisions and by California state rules, laws and provisions. And now, by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters own admission. More Discuss this topic (22 comments) · Posted by Wilms

When is a loss really a win? It's a common practice, trying to spin a political defeat into a victory. But in the case of the race to fill Randy "Duke" Cunningham's seat in the House of Representatives, the silver lining might not be that hard to find. snip NOW PAC organizers worked on the Busby campaign, reaching out to voters across the county. The NOW PAC put Hays in San Diego prior to the April 11 Special Election, and sent her and another organizer Monely Soltani there again in late May to work on the run-off vote, held concurrently...

The newest member of the House of Representatives said today that illegal immigration was the sole issue that brought him victory in last week's special election in California. Republican Brian P. Bilbray took his oath of office for his seat in California's 50th District, one of the closest congressional districts to the border. He fills the seat left vacant by former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a felon serving jail time for accepting bribes on behalf of defense contractors. "We did not enjoy the situation or appreciate the problem that created the vacancy, but let me say quite clearly, what is...

WASHINGTON -- A week after his special-election victory — and six months after his predecessor pleaded guilty to bribery — San Diego Republican Brian Bilbray was sworn in to the House Tuesday to replace ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. After House Speaker Dennis Hastert administered the oath, Bilbray, 55, gave a floor speech sounding the theme he believes boosted him to victory — illegal immigration, not congressional corruption. "We did not enjoy the situation or appreciate the problem that created the vacancy," Bilbray said. "But let me say quite clearly — what is obvious in the last few months is the...

A week ago, against expectations, Republican Brian Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine Busby and will serve the remaining term of former Representative Randy Cunningham in California's 50th Congressional District. It was the most closely watched race in the election, very much at the top of the Democrats’ agenda. They immediately claimed that Bilbray won only by demagoguing he immigration issue. They were half right: immigration was the issue, but far from demagoguing it, Bilray merely fulfilled a long commitment. In fact, his victory shows not only where we are going on immigration but where we are coming from as well. Go...

If the slaying of Abu Musab Zarqawi can't cure George W. Bush of the Rodney Dangerfield disease, it's difficult to imagine what would. [SNIP].... ....and Brian Bilbray, the winner of the special election to replace Randy "Duke" Cunningham, mocked the president's amnesty (and all but mocked the president himself) in his victory statement. "To the Bush administration, to the Senate, flat out," he told a radio interviewer, "my opponent ran on your ticket of amnesty; I ran against it, on 'no amnesty.' The message ought to be that now, and here, is the time to take care of this problem.......

This was one of the more politically significant weeks in recent history. A recap of the winners and losers: Click here

After a Republican victory in the hotly contested House runoff election, political analysts are pointing to a single sentence in a campaign ad as a key factor in the final days of the race. Democrat Francine Busby, accused during the campaign of taking a soft line on illegal immigration, was told by a man at a largely Hispanic rally that he wanted to help her campaign but didn't have voting papers. The man spoke in Spanish through an interpreter. Busby responded in English: "Everybody can help. You can all help. You don't need papers for voting, you don't need to...

Republican Brian Bilbray believes he rode a wave of anti-illegal-immigration sentiment to defeat Democrat Francine Busby and replace imprisoned former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham in the 50th Congressional District. “The biggest scandal facing the U.S. isn't Cunningham,” Bilbray said yesterday, “but the 11 to 12 million illegal aliens in our country. That's what people feel impacts their lives.” Cunningham resigned in November after pleading guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy related to taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Bilbray's win Tuesday reverberated in Washington yesterday and spurred political analysts across the nation to consider its implications for November's...

Stop measuring for drapes, Nancy. If Democrats can’t win a special election for a seat left open by the guilty plea of a senior Republican congressman for bribery in a political environment that can politely be described as more sour than milk left on the counter for a week, how can they expect to win back control of the House of Representatives, handing the speakership to Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)? Democrats are claiming the fact that the Republican Party had to spend $5 million to assure victory for former Rep. Brian Bilbray in California’s GOP-friendly 50th congressional district is a sign...

California Republican Brian Bilbray, who on Tuesday defeated a Democrat whom he had trailed in polls for weeks to win an open House seat, credited his comeback to his tough stance on immigration, which mirrors the stern House bill that would reject any sort of amnesty for illegal aliens.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, welcomed Representative-Elect Brian Bilbray (R-CA) to the IRC as its 98th member. Bilbray won a special election yesterday in California’s 50th district, spanning San Diego’s northern suburbs. “Brian has long been a strong advocate of secure borders and tough enforcement of immigration laws. As a former Member and a spokesperson for a non-profit reform group, Brian has worked with me on immigration and I know he’ll be a tremendous asset to my party as we try to block the Senate’s amnesty pact,” said Tancredo. Bilbray ran...

From the very beginning, the special election in the 50th Congressional District was dogged by the question of illegal immigration. Republican Brian Bilbray reclaimed a seat in the House because he maintained a markedly tougher stance against undocumented migrants than did Democrat Francine Busby. All other claims about this high-profile contest, by both Democratic and Republican operatives in Washington, are pure spin. The voters' own strong stand against illegal immigration is the national message, if there is one, in the balloting to replace imprisoned former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham. The outcome of this knockdown bout, marred by millions of dollars...

The results from California's 50th district are now in - and Republican Brian Bilbray has defeated Democrat Francine Busby in the contest to complete the tenure of Duke Cunningham. This was Busby's third try at seizing the seat. She is now 0-for-3. The two will face off again in November, but it seems highly likely that the GOP will hold the seat.Pundits and partisans across the land have examined the returns to divine some kind of meaning from them. What did the voters tell us? Many answers have been offered - not all of them valid. Many people have seen...

In politics, it's easy to mistake a mere reprieve for something more substantive. So Tuesday's election results in California shouldn't give Republicans, or Golden State taxpayers, the idea that they're out of the woods this election year. The GOP won what it's hoping is a bellwether House race in San Diego County to fill a seat that opened when former Congressman Duke Cunningham was caught taking bribes. Republican Brian Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine Busby, 49% to 45%. But it's not a good GOP omen that the National Republican Congressional Committee had to spend $5 million on the contest and that...

A Republican won a special congressional election in Southern California yesterday – so why does the Times make it sound as if the Republicans got beat? Chief political reporter Adam Nagourney’s online filing Wednesday morning on last night's electoral victory by Republican Brian Bilbray begins: “A Republican former congressman slipped to victory in a special election here Tuesday, staving off what would have been a highly embarrassing Democratic victory in a solidly Republican district. National Republicans poured in nearly $5 million and dozens of campaign workers to help hold the seat for their party.”

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Rep.-elect Brian Bilbray's reward for a hard-fought victory is a House seat for seven months — and another campaign against the same Democrat he vanquished in a special election to fill the seat vacated by disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. While the candidates, and probably the issues, will be the same in November, there will be one major difference: Bilbray will be running as an incumbent. And that makes it even more of an uphill battle for school board member Francine Busby. Whether the race for a two-year term is as close as this week's...

If you ever had to wonder about why so many people think the Democratic Party has gone completely insane, look no further than the California spin machine insanity! After losing to Republican Brian Bilbray in California to replace the criminally convicted "Duke Cunningham," liberal Democrat Francine Busby said: "We've sent a message that there are no safe seats" ... Americans "really want change." In spite of the media talking heads trying to help spin this LOSS into a "win," let's take a good, close look at the psychotic Democratic Party. Somehow the Democratic Party has become so completely perverted,...

Any trends in these election results? A good day for scions -- Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey, George Wallace Jr. in Alabama, Chet Culver in Iowa... A mixed day for celebrity candidates -- Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore defeated for governor; Rob Reiner's pre-school initiative in California stomped like a narc at a biker rally....but Jerry Brown rises from the ashes of Oakland to win the Democratic party's nomination for California Attorney General. But what about the so-called bellwether??? No big great news for Democrats in California's special election to replace convicted criminal Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-CA....

The Democrats lost in San Diego last night in a special election many thought they would win. After all, the race was to fill a seat left vacant by a Republican congressman who had to resign when he pled guilty of corruption. President Bush’s approval rating in a California Field Poll this week is around 28% percent (the lowest in that poll’s history since just before President Nixon resigned in 1974). And in the first round of voting, the Democrat, Francine Busby got 44% of the vote and the Republican Brian Bilbray, a former congressman, led a big field of...

The Nation Magazine is trying to soft sell the election in California's 50th District of Republican Brian Bilbray who is now replacing disgraced Republican, Randy "Duke" Cunningham. And they aren’t the only one’s trying to blow off the importance to the Democratic Party’s immediate future at the polls that this election might portend. "Busby lost to Republican Brian Bilbray in a special election last night by 49 to 45 percent, in (a) heavily Republican district(s)." (For Nation Op EdClick here) But this claim of a "heavily Republican district" is not really the correct, up-to-date analysis of the district's voting trends....

'Culture of Corruption' Failed Democrats in House Race by Robert Novak Posted Jun 07, 2006 For all the hype and the money spent on the race between former Rep. Brian Bilbray (R) and Francine Busby (D), Busby, in her loss to Bilbray, failed to exceed significantly the percentage won here by John Kerry in 2004. This is significant, because although she will have another shot at Bilbray in November, the turnout should have favored her yesterday, since Republicans had no other races to drive their turnout and Democrats had a gubernatorial primary. The outcome proves that even with corrupt former...

Washington -- (06-07) 09:19 PDT The tsunami of disapproval toward President Bush and the Republican Party that Democrats hope will carry them to a House majority in November was not strong enough to ride a Democrat to victory Tuesday in a House election in San Diego. Republican Brian Bilbray received 49 percent of the vote, while Democrat Francine Busby received 45 percent in a special election to fill the seat of Randy "Duke'' Cunningham, who resigned and is now in prison after admitting he accepted millions of dollars in bribes. It was a strong showing by a Democrat in a...