• Animals,  California,  California Election 2012

    New Finance Web Site Highlights California Political Campaigns

    Dollar Dollar Bill website

    Dollar, Dollar, Bill

    This is a fun website which is the brainchild of Democrat Speaker Perez’s staffer Ryan Hughes.

    A new campaign finance web site is circulating the Capitol Twitterverse. Dollar, Dollar, Bill allows users to see in graphic format how contributions are stacking up in California political races. The site scans the Secretary of State’s database every 20 minutes and displays contributions to campaigns and IEs associated with legislative races and ballot measures.

    The tool is the brainchild of Ryan Hughes, a staffer in the office of Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. Hughes says Dollar, Dollar, Bill is nonpartisan. “This project is completely objective and without commentary,” he said in a statement announcing the site. “It’s designed to give everyone an intuitive look at how much money is being raised and spent in our elections.”

    Go ahead and play with it.

    There sure is a good deal of campaign cash being sloshed around California’s elections, no?

    The Twitter feed is even more revealing – give it a try, too.

    If that is not enough for the California political junkie, I have also been using Election Track which also has a Twitter feed @electiontrack for large, and last minute contributions.

    Enjoy!

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 29th on 00:31

    These are my links for April 29th from 00:31 to 07:59:

    • Former Obama aides launch independent fundraising groups with unlimited and undisclosed donors – Two former White House aides launched a pair of independent groups Friday to defend President Obama and fight the array of conservative efforts that poured money into the last elections, adopting the same tactics that have been condemned by the White House.

      Former White House Press Secretary Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, who served as a top aide to former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, said they were moved to create their own outside groups to fend off efforts by conservatives such as the Koch brothers and the groups American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, co-founded by Karl Rove. Veteran Democratic strategist Paul Begala will serve as a senior advisor to the Democratic efforts.

      Priorities USA has been formed as a 501(c)(4) organization – a nonprofit social welfare group that can raise unlimited amounts of money without disclosing the identity of its donors. It putatively is designed to focus on issues – in this case, “to preserve, protect and promote the middle class” – but can spend up to half its money on political activities. The use of such undisclosed money in elections was vehemently criticized by Obama last year, as well as by Burton, then his spokesman.

      But in a statement Friday, Burton said the decision by the Supreme Court in Citizens United that opened the door to unlimited corporate and union spending on elections created a new playing field on which Democrats have to engage.

      “While we agree that fundamental campaign finance reforms are needed, Karl Rove and the Koch brothers cannot live by one set of rules as our values and our candidates are overrun with their hundreds of millions of dollars,” Burton said. “We will follow the rules as the Supreme Court has laid them out, but the days of the double standard are over.”

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      Read it all.

      Love the LEFT's Hypocrisy

    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-04-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-04-29 #tcot #catcot
    • Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown pulls plug on building San Quentin’s new death row – Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown pulls plug on building San Quentin's new death row
    • Flap’s Links and Comments for April 28th on 18:27 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for April 28th on 18:27 | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 27th on 08:01

    These are my links for April 27th from 08:01 to 15:52:

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 19th on 18:24

    These are my links for April 19th from 18:24 to 18:34:

    • Global warming lawsuit: Supreme Court signals it will throw out lawsuit By California and other states – The Supreme Court justices indicated Tuesday they would throw out a huge global-warming lawsuit brought by six states against coal-fired power plants in the South and Midwest. And they will do so with the support of the Obama administration.

      Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal urged the justices to end the lawsuit, insisting the problem of global warming and greenhouse gases is too big and unwieldy for a single judge to handle. It is a regulatory problem for the Environmental Protection Agency, he said.

      Four years ago, the justices cleared the way for the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases under the Clean Air Act. Since then, the government has adopted stricter standards for motor vehicles. The agency is debating regulations for power plants, but has taken no firm action.

      But all the while, several states, led by Connecticut, New York and California, have pressed ahead with a lawsuit that calls carbon pollution a "public nuisance" and asks a federal judge to restrict emissions from power plants.
      During Tuesday's argument, most of the justices — liberal and conservative — said they were skeptical about turning over such a complicated and politically charged issue to a single federal judge.

    • Jon Huntsman’s ‘remarkable’ letters to Obama, Clinton reveal adulation for chief executives – Jon Huntsman, President Obama’s outgoing ambassador to China, is considering running against his boss in 2012 as a Republican.

      But two handwritten letters from Huntsman obtained by The Daily Caller raise the question of why he’s not campaigning for Obama instead.

      “You are a remarkable leader,” Huntsman wrote to Obama in an Aug. 16, 2009 note, underlining the word “remarkable,” “and it has been a great honor getting to know you.”

      The letter thanks Obama for “the graciousness and kindness you have shown me and my family – particularly your confidence in my ability to represent you in China.” Huntsman said he was “leaving behind a state we love – but anticipating an extraordinary experience in Beijing.”

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      Read it all

      But, is Huntsman planning for 2012 or really 2016?

      My bet is the latter.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 29th on 18:25

    These are my links for March 29th from 18:25 to 18:34:

    • California’s Red Lining – The San Diego GOP – The Sacramento Bee reports that only 31 percent of residents are registered Republicans and 44 percent Democrats.  
      No Republican holds a statewide office.
      In 2010, Gov. Jerry Brown won 53.1 percent of the vote, while Sen. Barbara Boxer was reelected with 52.1 percent.
      California has 34 Democrats in the House, compared with only 19 Republicans. Both of its senators are Democrats.
      The California State Assembly roster has 52 Democrats out of 80 representatives, and the Senate roster lists 25 Democrats out of 40 State senators. 
      Conservative victories in San Diego also include passing, by nearly 75 percent, Proposition A, which is a countywide ban of project labor agreements. Nearby Oceanside and Chula Vista passed similar bans. The old rules allowed unions were to control municipal construction projects and avoid competition.

      Republicans lead in voter registration, too. According to a February 10 report, Republicans have 3,053 more registered voters in San Diego.

      So what can the California Republican party learn from these victories?

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      Read it all

    • Shocker: Organized labor mulling its own California ballot measure on taxes – The California Labor Federation is considering a ballot initiative on taxes after budget talks between Gov. Jerry Brown and Republican lawmakers broke down this afternoon.

      Art Pulaski, the federation's executive secretary-treasurer, said his organization has made no decision on an initiative but that, "We're certainly not going to sit back and watch the state fall apart."

      He said, "We are going to move forward."

      A voter initiative is one alternative Brown is considering to put tax extensions on a ballot without Republican support in the Legislature. The Democratic governor has not said how he might proceed.

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      But, the unions and Democrats, particularly Jerry Brown wanted political cover from the GOP.

      They could have done this from the beginning.

    • Maher, Palin and Arianna – Hey, Arianna! Andrew Breitbart called Van Jones a “punk.” Bill Maher called Sarah Palin a “cunt.” Which one did you ban again?

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      Yeah Arianna….is Maher off the front page?