Free Republic

Five-term Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of his term, citing a desire to start a new chapter in his life after 14 years in elected office. “At the end of this term, I will have spent 14 years serving in full-time, elected politics. I am not nor did I ever intend to be a career politician,” Campbell said in a statement. “I am ready to begin a new chapter in my life.” Campbell was first elected to Congress in a 2005 special election to replace former Rep. Christopher Cox, a Republican,...

Accusations of a Sopranos-style shakedown. Two men exchanging words, chest to chest, as others work to pull them apart. It sounds like a movie, but it was actually the action on the state Assembly floor this afternoon, after Assemblyman Don Wagner, R-Irvine angered his colleagues with comments about Italians. Here's what happened: Wagner was talking about a bill that would eliminate redevelopment agencies and replace them with an alternative program (the alternative would allow cities to retain the economic development program but only if they agreed to give a portion of their money to schools and other programs). After he...