Free Republic

Thousands of supporters turned out Thursday as Donald Trump brought his campaign to Southern California, predictably sparking shouting matches with counter-demonstrators. Heated words were exchanged after people wearing expletive-laden anti-Trump shirts began to taunt people waiting in line to attend Trump's evening speech in an amphitheater at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Trump supporters surrounded the demonstrators and shouted "Build that wall! Build that wall!" — a reference to Trump's call to create a barrier between the United States and Mexico to stop illegal border crossers. Later, county sheriff's deputies in riot gear and on horseback formed a barrier between a...

Last fall, we pointed out that the California Republican Party was running a bit late in not being able to field — with all due respect — a “name” candidate to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. And now, we see one of the effects of that. DiFi is lapping the GOP field in the latest fundraising disclosures. . . . DiFi is outraising the entire Republican field by about a gazillion to one in the latest fundraising totals. That includes includes her closest GOP rival — Danville autism activist Elizabeth Emken, who was endorsed by the CA GOP....

Republican legislators in Sacramento are crying foul over an eleventh-hour push to limit future initiatives to November general elections. But the idea behind the union-backed legislation doesn't seem so bad to a majority of GOP voters, according to a new Field Poll. Registered Republicans supported the proposed change by a 15-point margin, 52 percent to 37 percent. Overall, 56 percent of voters back the proposal, which was approved by the Legislature and is now awaiting action by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.

California has moved its presidential primary to June, consolidating trips to the poll to save money in an election that most voters in the Democratic leaning state see as a foregone conclusion. Governor Jerry Brown signed the move into law on Friday. The state for years tried to raise its profile in the national presidential race, but its efforts have been diluted as other states have made similar moves. California spent nearly $100 million for its presidential primary on February 5, 2008, when 24 states, nearly half the nation, held nominating contests in a battle known as "Super Tuesday". The...

California’s next presidential primary will be one of the last in the nation thanks to a measure signed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown ...

In case anyone missed the tea leaves scattered around the country, California’s primary results offer more evidence of voters’ dislike for political parties. The Golden State on Tuesday passed Proposition 14, creating a so-called open primary in which any voter is allowed to cast their vote for any candidate in the primary, regardless of party affiliation. The top two vote-getters would face each other in the general election, even if they were from the same party. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was a big backer of the change, arguing that it would push politics away from the polarized extremes and toward a...

List of Candidates for Statewide Elective Office Proposition 34, approved by voters in November 2000, established voluntary spending limits for candidates running for statewide office. Candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Board of Equalization who choose to keep their campaign expenses under specified dollar amounts may purchase space in this guide for a 250-word candidate statement. The expenditure limit for candidates running for Governor in the June 8, 2010, Statewide Direct Primary Election is $7,768,000. The expenditure limit for candidates running for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State,...

Sleight-of-hand relies heavily on misdirection and distraction. The Proposition 99 campaign tries the same trick on voters, attempting to get Californians to look only where it wants, while ignoring the most important issues in eminent domain reform. Proposition 99 was crafted because Proposition 98 had qualified for the ballot with a good chance of winning, backed by many documented abuses of emotionally appealing “little guys” steamrollered by the politically powerful—i.e., to defend the beneficiaries of eminent domain abuse against real reform. 99 does nothing to restrict eminent domain to justifiable public uses. It “protects” only owner-occupied primary residences, while undermining...

California voters will be asked to decide on potential record increases in state spending, including major public works programs and new taxes, under initiatives approved for the November ballot. Mark DiCamillo, director of the California Poll, said the five bonds simultaneously on the ballot will make it difficult for voters to decide what public works programs the state should undertake and how much debt it should incur. Another measure, Proposition 87, would spend $4 billion on a program to reduce oil and gas consumption by 25 percent by promoting energy efficient technologies and research and production incentives for alternative fuel...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides likened Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to President Bush in an attack ad released Wednesday that says, "Just like George Bush, Schwarzenegger's saddled us with billions in debt." The commercial, which features a Terminator look-alike in a black leather jacket riding his motorcycle backward, is a response to a Schwarzenegger ad that said Angelides would take the state backward with tax increases if he is elected governor in November. While it is true that Schwarzenegger has borrowed to cover operating deficits, much of that was done to cover the debt he inherited from his Democratic predecessor, Gov....

While state Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly have raised millions for their Democratic primary for governor, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign is more than $400,000 in debt. While Democrats and other Schwarzenegger opponents continue to complain about the millions of dollars last November's special election cost California, the governor may have paid the biggest price. While Schwarzenegger's California Recovery Team was raising and spending more than $45 million in the markedly unsuccessful effort to pass his package of initiatives, the governor's re-election campaign was put on hold. "Except for one dinner in Los Angeles, everything we...

<p>Talk about your incumbent advantage.</p> <p>The Davis administration has mandated that every state department, agency and commission Web page include a link to Gov. Gray Davis' official online site.</p> <p>The link itself -- a 1-inch-by-2-inch box -- has a mug shot of a smiling Davis, as well as an invitation to "Visit the Governor's New Homepage." It will appear in the upper right corner of most state Web sites, according to Arun Baheti, state director of eGovernment.</p>