Earlier this year, columns promoting the proposal to split California’s presidential delegates in a bid to give the GOP 20-25 delegates in the 2008 presidential election was being touted on the Flash Report as “the Democrats worst nightmare.”

Ah, no.  Not really.

According to a new poll, Californians overwhelming reject this blatant Republican power grab.  This story from the California Progress Report reported these statistics:

Here is how bad the Republican electoral power grab initiative is doing - it has managed to unite Californians throughout the state against the measure. In fact, every demographic group and region of the state rejects this measure.Opposition is quite even throughout the state as majorities of every region of California are voting no on the electoral power grab initiative:Los Angeles County - 24% yes to 52% no
Suburban Los Angeles - 21% yes to 57% no
San Francisco Bay Area - 20% yes to 51% no
San Diego - 18% yes to 52% no
Sacramento and North - 23% yes to 56% no
Central Valley - 24% yes to 52% no

With every story like “this is the Dems worst nightmare” to a decided lack of coverage of the Carona indictment, the Flash Report loses more credibility as a reliable source of political reality.

Filed under: California | 9 Comments »

HT to the Huffington Post for this story on Politico:

One year before voters go to the polls to select the next president, the Republican Party is as weak as it has been in a generation, a detailed new poll suggests. 

In a hypothetical match-up between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, bloc after bloc of traditionally Republican voters break for Clinton:

She wins the South.

She polls evenly with voters who attend church at least once a week.

She splits families with a household income above $100,000.

She loses rural voters and men — but only by a narrow margin.

All are constituencies Republicans have dominated for decades; George W. Bush won each by double-digit margins.

The findings from The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press remain preliminary, considering even the primaries are still two months off.

(more…)

Filed under: National-US | No Comments »

SANTA ANA - Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona and his wife Debbie Carona were arraigned today at the Ronald Reagan Federal Court House on multiple felony counts issued by a federal grand jury last week.

The prosecution attorneys Brett Sagel and Ken Julian appeared briefly before reporters after the arraignment. Sagel stated that the Carona’s had been arraigned on the Grand Jury indictment. “The U.S. Attorney’s office is looking forward to litigating this matter,” said Brett Sagel. He then directed all further questions to the spokesman for the U. S. Attorney of the Central District of California, in Los Angeles.

Later Sheriff Mike Carona and Debbie Carona were escorted to a waiting SUV by Federal Marshals. Carona refused to answer any questions other than to tell reporters that their attorneys would be answering questions shortly. Moments later Sheriff Carona’s criminal attorney Dean Steward and his wife’s attorney Dave Wiechert spoke with reporters.

Dean Steward explained the the Carona’s surrendered to the federal arrest warrant this morning and that they were then placed in a holding cell until their arraignment. Both Sheriff Carona and his wife were handcuffed while in custody which is standard procedure for cases where an arrest warrant is issued. Steward stated that the arrest warrant was highly unusual and unwarranted due to the fact that neither Sheriff Carona or his wife are flight risks. “A summons could have been issued and the the Sheriff and his wife would have surrendered,” Steward said. “an arrest warrant was not needed.” (more…)

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Tis the Season…

It is not time to be jolly - many of us in the political arena find ourselves at assorted tributes, fundraisers, love fests and all of the above. They are encapsulated in what I have dubbed “Rubber Chicken” Season. From the “Rubber Chicken” Dinners that are/were less than satisfactory from a gastronomic standpoint. This is one of the reasons I don’t like chicken. Fortunately, this is not a culinary review; however, I believe I can determine which of my three evenings had the superior chicken. (Maybe not, doesn’t chicken always taste the same?)

I thought I would offer up a few insights and summaries of what occurred at these annual love fests. In order: ECCO, Truman and Solidarity, all were held at the Disneyland Hotel. Of note, I have it on good authority that the Rancho Santiago Community College District Chancellor’s Ball was also held at the Disneyland Hotel. Trustee, Larry Labrado and I may be ready to go Vegetarian.

10/13/2007: Beginning with the ECCO Dinner at what is now called the Magic Kingdom Ballroom (formerly, Marina Ballroom), Honorees included Assemblyman John Laird and the Legislative GLBT Caucus, Stockton Councilmember, Susan Eggman, Alicia Berhow, Peg Corley and Ivy Bottini. CTA and Southern California Edison - Lighthouse were also honored. (more…)

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Hey, everyone! What are you doing tomorrow? Would you like to join your friendly progressive neighbors to talk about what’s happening in our county, our state, and our nation? Would you like to talk politics without all the pomp and formality that goes with politicians? And are you just looking to have a good time without having to drive a great distance?

If you answered “YES!” to these questions, then why not come to Drinking Liberally tomorrow night in Huntington Beach! We’ll have plenty to talk about, whether it’s the whole Sheriff Carona scandal, the Democratic Presidential Candidates’ debate, or what the heck is happening in Sacramento. We’ll be starting at 7:00 PM at Oggi’s…

19461 Main St

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

(At Yorktown, in Seacliff Village)

So why not drop by and join us tomorrow? We’ll have good food, good drink, and plenty of good talk. OK, so you’re nowhere near Huntington? That’s fine, because we have two other Drinking Liberallys serving you in Santa Ana and Rancho Santa Margarita.

So why not join us tomorrow at any of the three locations? Get out and meet your progressive neighbors in OC! You won’t regret it.

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Chris Prevatt is on site at the federal courthouse; he reports Carona’s bail has been set at $20,000.  His wife Debbie’s bail is also $20,000.  And his alleged mistress had her bail set at $10,000.  There are reports that the trio was in handcuffs for the arraigement.

Filed under: Orange County - Local | 6 Comments »

With the LA Times quoting Jon Fleischman as Mike Carona’s publicist through this indictment crisis, its clear that the Flash Report’s tagline of “On California’s Most Significant Political News” is no longer accurate.  Today, there is barely a mention of Carona’s indictment and no commentary from Jon whatsoever.

Isn’t the indictment of a prominent elected official “significant” California news?

The only time I have been in the same room with Jon Fleischman was a Spring 2006 PRSA meeting that dealt with Crisis Communication.  It was a highly partisan panel that featured Matt Cunningham and was hosted by Lisa Brug Kline, Chuck DeVore’s chief of staff.  The panel’s big mistake was believing everyone in the room was partisan Republican.  Jon, in particular, was belittling the “lazy press corps” and provided examples of biased reporting (translation: stories that didn’t show Republican leaders in a positive light). 

I’m sure that Jon is about to find out just how lazy these reporters truly are ;).

Given Flieschman’s long term relationship with Carona as a sheriff’s department spokesman, his new role as the Sheriff’s crisis counselor, and the lack of Carona news on his site, Jon has surrendered the “influential” label associated with his blog. Readers looking for facts on the Carona indictment need to look beyond the Flash Report for an unvarnished view.

We are not celebrating this indictment at the LiberalOC; but we do want facts to come to light.  This is case where everyone wants justice to prevail.  And the truth to come out.

I’s also like to know, when it comes to knowledge of Carona’s operations, “what did Jon know and when did he know it?”   

Filed under: Uncategorized | 8 Comments »

In recognition of Haloween We have compiled our first annual listing of Orange County’s Scariest Political Bloggers. The ranking is in no particular order because we want to leave the ranking to our readers. So let us know who you think the Scariest OC Political Bloggers of 2007 are.

1. Jonathan Constantine - OCBlog
2. Larry Gilbert - Orange Juice
3. Chuck DeVore - OCBlog
4. Art Pedroza - Orange Juice
5. Steven Greenhut - Orange Punch
6. Adam D. Probolsky - OCBlog
7. Mark Landsbaum - Orange Punch
8. Matt Cunningham - OCBlog
9. Jon Fleischman - FLASHREPORT
10. Ron and Anna Winship - Orange Juice

UPDATE: For the record, this listing was indeed inspired by the creative talents over at OC Weekly. Sorry Gustavo for not giving a shout out. I was rushing to get to the Carona arraignment and forgot to add that in the post. - Chris

Filed under: Uncategorized | 37 Comments »

Since the story of OC Sheriff Mike Carona’s federal indictment broke Monday night we have not had the opportunity to post a lot about Sheriff Carona’s response to the allegations against him.  Today, Peggy Lowe and Larry Welborn of the Orange County Register have a good story covering his response and that of his wife Debbie.

Sheriff Carona: ‘I will be completely vindicated’
Orange County sheriff refuses to resign and denies using his office for financial gain.
By PEGGY LOWE and LARRY WELBORN
The Orange County Register

A resolute Sheriff Mike Carona refused Tuesday to step down or reorganize his department despite facing federal charges that he took bribes in exchange for favors that could be done with the power of his office.

In a move that stunned Southern California political observers and opened the door on Carona’s private life, federal investigators Tuesday charged the county’s top lawman with seven felony counts accusing him of accepting money, high-priced gifts, tickets to exclusive sporting events, a $15,000 Cartier watch for his wife and loans for his “longtime mistress,” the indictment said.

Even as politicians called for Carona’s resignation, the sheriff refused to step aside. He denied using his office for financial gain. He said he was offended that accusations were made about his wife of 27 years and predicted he will be “completely vindicated.” His command staff was briefed about the indictment, he said, and he expressed confidence that his deputies – “battle-hardened” by past controversies – will continue to do their jobs.

“I wish my family didn’t have to go through it. I wish I didn’t have to go through it,” Carona said. “But in terms of their preparation, they are good to go. … I am definitely good to go.” READ MORE 

The LATimes, which initially broke the story continues, their coverage of the Carona indictments and offers an unflattering portrait of ‘America’s Sheriff.’

The indictment alleges years of corruption, which Carona denies. (more…)

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

HT to OCBlog with a photo from Jim Bieber’s Halloween Party.  That’s State Rep. Chuck DeVore on the left and Supervisor John Moorlach on the right (sorry, I don’t know the guy in the middle or the lady in the pic).

“That’s right.  Republican starts with an AAARRRRRRGGGHHHH.”

 

Filed under: Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

I figured since today is Halloween, you’d be in for a scary story. Last week, a couple unsuspecting concerned citizens discovered this person removing Recall Diane Harkey signs off someone’s private yard. And when the concerned citizens confronted this person about removing the signs, he said he was just doing his part to “clean up the city”. Oh, so that includes removing political signs off private property?

All I know is that this person owns a foreign auto repair shop in Dana Point. I’ve also been told that this person is a big fan of Diane Harkey, and that he’s spoken in defense of her at past city council meetings. Now, I want to see if this is true. Can you help me identify the mysterious Dana Point Sign Snatcher?

Who is this guy? What was he doing removing these signs? And was he officially acting on behalf of Diane Harkey? As someone who’s supposed to set a good example as Mayor, I’d think Diane Harkey wouldn’t condone such naughty deeds. So did she know anything about this, or was this person acting on his own?

So if any of you has more information on the mysterious sign snatcher, his auto repair shop, and just how close he may actually be to Diane Harkey, please leave your tips here.

Filed under: Orange County - Local | 34 Comments »

 

Please forgive me. This post is not about the wildfires or about the corrupt OC Sheriff. Both of those stories are important and worth talking about, but I wanted to escape for a second and talk about the 1st District Supervisorial seat. 

As you know, Janet Nguyen’s seat is opening up soon—the primary race is in June. So far we have two Republican candidates; Janet Nguyen will run for reelection and Trung Nguyen who came in a really close 2nd back in February has vowed vengeance.

With the 2 Republican Nguyens eating each other alive to win (or keep) this seat, it is a great opportunity for a strong democratic candidate to come and take back the 1st. There’s only one problem: we don’t have a serious democratic candidate.

Some might argue that it’s still early in the game—“we have 8 months,” you might say in a nasally/whiny way that is reminiscent of the totally annoying and lazy woman that works in my office. But the Nguyens are already hitting the pavement and they’ve already collecting cash.

Our democratic man or woman should be stepping up. It’s time to start talking about and raising money for a race where the opponents of this unnamed candidate are already doing so.

The biggest names that I’ve seen getting floated around are Joe Dunn, and Claudia Alvarez.

Dunn has announced that he will not be running for this seat, and he seems to be content with his gig at the CMA.

And if Claudia Alvarez plans on running she will have to do some major image tweaking. While her Latino surname is recognizable in the 1st, she’s not incredibly popular amongst democrats. Alvarez has been known to rub people the wrong way.

I’ve seen what happens when the totally annoying and lazy person who works in my office procrastinates for too long: she ends up doing a mediocre job and then complaining about not having enough time. Don’t let that be us.

Filed under: Orange County - Local | 11 Comments »