• Audra Strickland,  Tony Strickland

    California State Senator Tony Strickland Volunteer Victory Party

    Tony Audra and Children

    California GOP Assemblywoman Audra Strickland and California GOP State Senator Tony Strickland with children Ruby Ruth and Anthony Paul

    As you recall Tony Strickland won a tight race for California State Senate in November. Strickland was sworn into office in December.

    Today, Flap was invited to Strickland’s Volunteer Victory Party and the following photos were taken by me (Please see my Creative Commons License for use).

    Tony Strickland 4

    Ventura County Republican Party Chairman Mike Osborn
    , Assemblywoman Audra Strickland and Chris Wangsaporn, Chief of Staff, Senator Tony Strickland

    Flap-and-Tony-Strickland

    Flap and Senator Tony Strickland

    Tony Strickland 1

    Sentor Tony Strickland and Thousand Oaks Planning Commissioner and Chairwoman of the Conejo Valley Republican Women Federated

    Tony Strickland 7

    Ventura County Republican Party Chairman Mike Osborn, Chris Collier, newly selected Executive Director of the Ventura County Republican Party and volunteer Harry Cofel.

    Rondi and Matt Guthrie

    Rondi Guthrie, District Director for Assemblywoman Audra Strickland and her husband, Matt Guthrie, Press Secretary for the Strickland Campaign and District Communications Director for Senator Strickland

    Tony Strckland  speaks

    Senator Strickland speaks to the volunteers

    Audra and Daughter

    Assemblywoman Audra Strickland and daughter Ruby Ruth

    The event was small and private on a picture perfect day at a private home in Simi Valley. There was much discussion about the direction of the Ventura County Republican Party and especially online efforts.

    Stay tuned for Flap’s interviews with this husband-wife team of California Republican Legislators.


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day

    Day By Day by Chris Muir January 31, 2009 – Credit Where Credit’s Due

    Day By Day 013109

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    The U.S. Senate takes up HR 1 on Monday, Barack Obama and Democrat Congressional Leader’s pork laden stimulus bill. House GOP leaders marshalled their forces to unanimously oppose the bill.

    Undoubtedly, the Senate version of the bill will be reworked this weekend to attempt to pick off GOP Senators. Complicating this matter is New Hampshire GOP Senator Judd Gregg (up for re-election in a blue leaning state) who is a top contender for an Obama Administration post, Secretary of Commerce.

    In order to avoid a Senate Republican filibuster Demcorat Majority leader Harry Reid must have 60 votes for the bill.

    Stay tuned for the countdown as to whether the Senate GOP will be able to exert party discipline for unanimous opposition or whether President Obama will capitulate and change the bill sufficiently to reach a bipartisan concensus (or at least a 60 vote majority).



    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2009-01-31

    • The Fix is spending his Friday ensconced in the Capital Hilton as the Republican National Committee chooses its new leader.
      We took a first crack at this Line right after the 2008 election ended but the picture is significantly clearer today with some stars ascending (former Ohio Rep. Rob Portman) and others waning (California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner).

      To be clear: this Line should not be taken as a proxy for the 2012 Republican presidential race. The goal is rather to highlight ten folks who will play a major role in leading Republicans out of the electoral wilderness in which they currently find themselves.
      ++++++
      Flap would add Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman.

      (tags: GOP)
    • "Whether it is the National Endowment of the Arts or some of the STD funding or contraceptive funding, all we did was just tee up ammunition for the other side to tear this thing down," McCaskill said. "And I would like to think we are smarter than that. I'm hopeful on the Senate side we will be smarter than that."

      McCaskill chalked up the mistakes to Democrats getting comfortable to life without a Republican president. "There has been such a starvation diet for some of these programs that the appropriators got a little over-anxious in the House. They probably did some things they shouldn't have."

    • ABC News has learned that the nomination of former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to be President Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services has hit a traffic snarl on its way through the Senate Finance Committee.

      The controversy deals with a car and driver lent to Daschle by a wealthy Democratic friend, a chauffeur service the former senator used for years without declaring it on his taxes.

      It remains an open question as to whether this is a "speed bump," as a Democratic Senate ally of Daschle put it, or something more damaging.
      ++++++++
      Another Obama nominee with tax problems.

      Good grief…..

      (tags: tom_daschle)
    • Thousands of state workers who until now have been considered outside Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's furlough order are finding out that he wants to pull them in.

      A Schwarzenegger spokesman told The Bee this afternoon that the governor has sent the necessary documents to the State Controller's Office to furlough employees of state constitutional officers beginning Feb. 6.

      "Upon review of the court rulings, it's clear that the governor has the authority," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "We have called the constitutional officers to inform them."

      The governor also sent "pay letters" to Controller John Chiang, one of the state's eight constitutional officers, authorizing furloughs and the attendant roughly 10 percent reduction in pay.

      The affected offices are: attorney general/department of justice, superintendent of public instruction/department of education, state controller, state treasurer, secretary of state, lieutenant governor, and board of equalization.

    • Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina is making some moves that strongly suggest she's got her eye on a political future in California — and the buzz is that it may even have something to do with that 2010 race against Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.

      Last week, Fiorina — the former leader of the Republican National Committee's 2008 Victory drive and chief adviser to presidential candidate John McCain — emerged, after months out of the presidential 2008 campaign spotlight. This time, she was the new political analyst — and a good one, we may add — on George Stephanopolous' ''This Week'' show, talking up the economy and the Obama stiumulus package.

    • Senator Judd Gregg, the New Hampshire Republican, confirmed this morning that he is being considered by President Obama for the post of Secretary of Commerce. The White House said no decision has been made.

      "I am aware that my name is one of those being considered by the White House for Secretary of Commerce, and am honored to be considered, along with others, for the position," Gregg said in a statement. "Beyond that there is nothing more I can say at this time.”

      Democratic sources separately also confirmed that Gregg is being considered.

    • The Justice Department says it foiled a plot by a fired Fannie Mae contract worker in Maryland to destroy all the data on the mortgage giant's 4,000 computer servers nationwide.

      The U.S. Attorney's Office says 35-year-old Rajendrasinh Makwana, of Glen Allen, Va., is scheduled for arraignment Friday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on one count of computer intrusion.

      U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein says Makwana was fired Oct. 24.

      Rosenstein says that on that day, Makwana programmed a computer with a malicious code that was set to spread throughout the Fannie Mae network and destroy all data this Saturday.

      (tags: fannie_mae)
    • Former rival tells “Fox and Friends” Friday he can't understand why the president would go after the conservative radio king.

      “He has a very wide viewing audience. He is entitled to his views. People listen very carefully to him… I don't know why the president would take him on.”

  • Sarah Palin

    Sara Palin Travels to Washington – A Low Profile Visit

    Sarah Palin state of state

    Alaska Governor Sarah Palin delivers her 2009 State of the State speech to a packed joint legislative floor in the Capitol Building on January 22, 2009

    Sarah Palin is in D.C. as Flap is writing this piece meeting with Congressional Leaders and maintaining a low profile – at least until tomorrow night’s Alfalfa Club dinner.

    Sarah Palin has firmly remained in the media spotlight since her bid for the vice presidency ended four months ago, but the Alaska governor is set to embrace a decidedly lower profile when she travels to the nation’s capital this weekend.

    The former Republican vice presidential candidate has scheduled a busy itinerary of closed-door events and face time with congressional Democrats and Republicans.

    She also announced earlier this week she’s making the 4,500-mile trek from Alaska to Washington primarily to attend the Alfalfa Club Dinner — an annual closed-door roast of the nation’s political elite.

    But it’s what’s missing from Palin’s schedule that is causing more than a few heads to turn. In a city that is ground-zero for national political journalists, Palin has not scheduled a single media interview or indicated she will hold a press conference.

    “She has requested we do not schedule any interviews for her,” said Bill McAllister, Palin’s communications director. Instead, McAllister said, Palin is traveling to Washington to lobby senators to approve certain infrastructure projects for Alaska in the economic stimulus package.

    On the Palin schedule for Friday night is a private dinner at the home of prominent businessman and former GOP operative Fred Malek. Guests will include Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Senate GOP Minority leader Mitch McConnell.

    The Governor will attend a Saturday luncheon at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a foreign policy think tank.

    Sarah Palin needs to be “SCHOOLED” and she knows that you cannot improve yourself if you are always in the media spotlight.  She set up her PAC, SarahPac.Com this week and now is the time for slow, but steady progress back toward the national political arena.

    Flap knows the cameras will be watching though on Saturday night as she shares the stage with President Obama.

    Stay tuned……


    Technorati Tags:

  • Michael Steele,  Republican National Committee

    Video: RNC Chair Watch – It’s Michael Steele

    Michael-Steele-RNC-Chairman

    Michael Steele, the former Lt. Governor of Maryland was elected this afternoon as Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

    The Republican Party chose the first black national chairman in its history Friday, just shy of three months after the nation elected a Democrat as the first African-American president. The choice marked no less than “the dawn of a new party,” declared the new GOP chairman, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. Republicans chose Steele over four other candidates, including former President George W. Bush’s hand-picked GOP chief, who bowed out declaring, “Obviously the winds of change are blowing.”

    Steele takes the helm of a beleaguered Republican Party that is trying to recover after crushing defeats in November’s national elections that gave Democrats control of Congress put Barack Obama in the White House.

    GOP delegates erupted in cheers and applause when his victory was announced, but it took six ballots to get there. He’ll serve a two-year term.

    Here is Michael Steele’s acceptance speech:

    Congrats to Chairman Steele.

    Exit Question: When do we get to work, rebuilding the Republican Party?


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Republican National Committee

    RNC Chair Watch: After 3 Ballots Steele Leads With Duncan Second; Update: Mike Duncan Withdraws But Endorses No One

    RNC-Chairman-jan-29

    In the RNC Chairman race after three ballots Michael Steele leads:

    Here is the vote:

    • Michael Steele – 51
    • Mike Duncan – 44
    • Katon Dawson – 34
    • Saul Anuzis – 24
    • Ken Blackwell – 15

    Televison coverage is on C-Span, and live coverage from the RNC Winter Meeting Floor on Twitter. Follow Flap here on Twitter and Follow the hashtag #RNCCHAIR here for up to the minute commentary.


    Technorati Tags:

  • GOP,  Sarah Palin

    Poll Watch: Future of the GOP – Follow Sarah Palin

    McCain and Palin

    The latest Rasmussen Poll has some good news and bad news for Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

    GOP Voters – GOP should be more like:

    • Sarah Palin – 55%
    • John McCain – 24%
    • George W. Bush – 11%
    • Undecided 10%

    Democrat Voters – GOP should be more like:

    • Sarah Palin – 12%
    • John McCain – 42%
    • George W. Bush – 6%
    • Undecided – 40%

    Unaffiliated Voters – GOP should be more like:

    • Sarah Palin – 46%
    • John McCain – 26%
    • Undecided – 22%
    • George W. Bush – 5%

    But, the bad news follows:

    Palin favorable rating vs. unfavorable rating (all voters polled):

    • Favorable – 52% (28% very favorable)
    • Unfavorable – 46% (26% very unfavorable)

    Sarah Palin is the “HEAD” of the Republican Party but she has some work to do to reudce her overall unfavorable ratings particulary with Democrats. However, on the other hand: 35% of unaffiliated voters have a Very Favorable opinion of Palin, compared to 15% who have a Very Unfavorable view.

    Stay tuned…..


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Michael Steele,  Republican National Committee

    RNC Chair Watch: Who Will Win?

    RNC-Chairman-jan-29

    The Republican National Chairmanship race culminates today with an election. C-Span will begin live television coverage at 10:30 AM EST.

    Republicans are looking for a national party chairman to lead a GOP rebirth after losing control of Congress and the White House in back-to-back elections.

    Their choice when they vote Friday was to give former President George W. Bush’s hand-picked party chief, Mike Duncan, a shot at turning around the Republican Party by re-electing him to a second-two year term or choosing a fresh face from one of his four challengers.

    No one was expected to get the required majority of the votes on the first balloting by the 168-member Republican National Committee.

    Those challenging Duncan are former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson and Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis.

    A fifth — former Tennessee GOP Chairman Chip Saltsman — dropped out of the race on Thursday with little explanation, saying only in a letter to RNC members: “I have decided to withdraw my candidacy.

    So, who will win?

    It’s anybody’s guess.

    GOP insiders say Friday’s contest to elect the next chairman of the Republican National Committee will be a long and drawn-out affair, with multiple ballots necessary to determine the winner.

    The RNC’s voting rules require a candidate to collect a simple majority of 85 votes in order to claim victory. In the absence of a consensus choice among the field of five candidates, though, the election appears destined for numerous ballots, involving many hours of deliberations punctuated by intense lobbying and political horse-trading between votes.

    Public estimates of the five candidates’ support have tended to place incumbent RNC Chairman Mike Duncan at the head of the pack, followed by former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson, with Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell behind them.

    Televison coverage begins on C-Span in little less than an hour and there will be extensive coverage from the RNC Winter Meeting Floor on Twitter. Follow Flap here and Follow the hashtag #RNCCHAIR here for up to the minute commentary.

    Flap has endorsed Michael Steele for the Chairmanship.

    Stay tuned…..


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Barack Obama,  economics,  GOP

    Day By Day by Chris Muir January 30, 2009 – Percentage

    Day By Day 013009

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    The House passed HR 1 Barack Obama’s Economic Stimulus bill the other day with NO GOP votes and 11 defections from his own party. The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate where debate begins on Monday.

    In the meantime, Obama has schmoozed Congressional leaders with “WAGYU STEAK” in order to gain passage.

    Exit question: Will GOP Senators roll over on the bill, unlike their House counterparts?

    History has not been favorable for the GOP Senate Caucus to exert party discipline.

    Previous:

    The Day By Day Archive


    Technorati Tags: , , ,

  • Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2009-01-30

    • At a recent debate, the candidates to become chairman of the Republican National Committee were asked — after rattling off how many guns they own — whether they have any "followers" on Twitter, the popular online social network for short messages.

      They didn't miss a beat.

      "Yes, the number is growing last time I checked — 300 to 400," replied candidate Michael Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland. Users of the site keep track of posts, or "tweets," from other users by becoming their followers.

    • The 168-member Republican National Committee will gather tomorrow morning to choose its next chairman and yet even those closest to this most insider of votes acknowledge they have little idea who will emerge victorious.
      (tags: GOP rnc)
    • The deal here is that none of this language is new. Republicans have been saying these things for years. Back to the Gallup data: voters identify with the Democrats precisely because of what Republicans stood for; because of the choices their party made in the early part of this decade. Who in the party will make the modest suggestion that maybe it's time the party stood for something different?
      +++++++
      Answer – BOTH
    • A military judge in Guantanamo Bay today denied the Obama administration's request to delay proceedings for 120 days in the case of a detainee accused of planning the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship, an al-Qaeda strike that killed 17 service members and injured 50 others.

      The decision throws into some disarray the administration's efforts to buy time to review individual detainee cases as part of its plan to close the U.S. military prison at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. The Pentagon may now be forced to temporarily withdraw the charges against Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen of Yemeni descent.

      Nashiri is facing arraignment on capital charges on Feb. 9, and Judge James Pohl, an Army colonel, said the case would go ahead.

    • During his first week as commander in chief, President Barack Obama ordered the closure of Guantanamo Bay and terminated the CIA's special authority to interrogate terrorists.
      While these actions will certainly please his base — gone are the cries of an "imperial presidency" — they will also seriously handicap our intelligence agencies from preventing future terrorist attacks. In issuing these executive orders, Mr. Obama is returning America to the failed law enforcement approach to fighting terrorism that prevailed before Sept. 11, 2001. He's also drying up the most valuable sources of intelligence on al Qaeda, which, according to CIA Director Michael Hayden, has come largely out of the tough interrogation of high-level operatives during the early years of the war.
    • When you run for president as a community organizer, and a writer, or even a professor of constitutional law, perhaps it's politic to hide a few salient details about your actual lifestyle that might mess up the "savior of the downtrodden" narrative. It's important to keep up the fiction that only spoiled, indifferent, wealthy Republicans have personal servants.
      (tags: barack_obama)
    • The DontGo Movement is teaming up with RedState to launch the new “Send a Pair” campaign. The campaign is in place to help Mitch McConnell obtain some much needed “boldness”. Apparently, Mitch McConnell isn’t able to locate a pair of his own, so we’re going to give him some assistance.

      Mission: Locate any items that could resemble a “pair” if you catch the drift, and ship them to Mitch McConnell with a your opinion about the apparent lack of will to take a serious stand on issues important to the movement.

    • A top Republican congressional aide says the $800 billion-plus economic stimulus measure could steer government checks to illegal immigrants.

      Republican officials are concerned that the Democratic-written legislation makes people who came to the United States illegally eligible for tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple.

      A House-passed version of the bill and one making its way through the Senate both disqualify nonresident aliens from receiving the credits. But neither requires a worker to have a Social Security number to get the credits.

      An economic aid measure enacted in February 2008 that sent rebates to most wage earners required that people have valid Social Security numbers in order to get checks.

    • Americans may be able to rest a little easier this April if Congressman John Carter, R-Texas gets his way.

      Rep. Carter introduced a bill Wednesday to eliminate all IRS penalties and interest for paying taxes past due.

      The legislation calls for the creation of what he calls the, "Rangel Rule," — drawing attention to the recent legal issues of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., enabling citizens who fail to pay taxes on time to do so later with no additional fees.

      Rangel, who writes the country's tax policies, acknowledged last fall that he failed to pay thousands in real estate taxes for rental income he earned from..

      As of September 2008 the Harlem Democrat reportedly paid back more than $10,000 in taxes but that did not include any IRS penalties.

      "Your citizens back home should have the same rights and benefits that come to you as a member of congress. You shouldn't be treated any differently under the law than your citizens back home," Carter said.

    • By contrast, the stimulus now under consideration would suffer from the usual problems of government spending. The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation have calculated that only $170 billion, or about one-fifth of the $816 billion package will be spent in fiscal 2009. An additional $356 billion will be spent in 2010. That leaves $290 billion to be spent when even the most pessimistic forecasters think the economy will be in recovery mode.
    • Obama engaged in an all-out lobbying push for the bill, which is among the most expensive pieces of legislation ever to move through Congress, and marked a big victory for his presidency a little more than a week into his term. He will now turn his attention to the Senate, where Democrats are scheduled to begin debate on the measure on Monday and the price tag is likely to reach $900 billion.

      Larger than the combined total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan so far, the two-year stimulus plan would provide up to $1,000 per year in tax relief for most families, dramatically increase funding for alternative energy production, and direct more than $300 billion in aid to states to help rebuild schools, provide health care to the poor and reconstruct highways and bridges.

      The argument is, "Your priorities are expensive and increase the deficit; my priorities are reasonable investments."

    • Can the Obama administration be anymore tone deaf? After pushing his $1.1 trillion Generational Theft Act of 2009 through the House last night, the White House apparently decided to throw itself a swank cocktail party. According to ABC’s Jake Tapper, the menu included alcoholic beverages (vodka martinis are an Obama favorite, reportedly) and wagyu steak.

      Yeah, “wagyu steak.” $100 per serving delicacy. I had to look it up, too.

      On the heels of the most expensive inaugural celebration in American history and passage of a trillion-dollar spending binge that will saddle future generations with unprecedented debt, perhaps President Obama might consider cutting back on such indulgences.

      Or is the White House exempt from “shared sacrifice,” Mr. President?

      (tags: barack_obama)
    • There's a serious debate in this country as to how best to end the recession. The average recession will last five to 11 months; the average recovery will last six years. Recessions will end on their own if they're left alone. What can make the recession worse is the wrong kind of government intervention.

      I believe the wrong kind is precisely what President Barack Obama has proposed. I don't believe his is a "stimulus plan" at all — I don't think it stimulates anything but the Democratic Party. This "porkulus" bill is designed to repair the Democratic Party's power losses from the 1990s forward, and to cement the party's majority power for decades.

    • Federal authorities are investigating the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to see whether top church officials tried to cover up the sexual abuse of minors by priests, said a person familiar with the matter.

      A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas and begun calling witnesses in the probe, which began late last year, said this person. The investigation is still in its early, fact-gathering stage, and it isn't known whether any criminal charges will result.