Imagine how crazy it would be if Michele Bachmann lost her House seat to a Tea Partyer even more conservative than she was—that’s the equivalent of what happened on Tuesday when three-term Rep. Jean Schmidt lost the Republican primary in Ohio’s 2nd District to political rookie Brad Wenstrup. The upset was big—just last cycle, Schmitt won her primary by a whopping 40%. She lost this time by 6%.
On a sunny February morning at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, Jerry Brown’s cup of black coffee was getting cold. When a concerned waitress in the club restaurant poured him a fresh cup and offered to clear the original one, the governor of California declined. “That’s alright. I’ll drink both of them,” he said in [...]
The never-ending negotiations between the 50 state attorneys general (minus a few big ones) and five major banks over penalties and standards for past, present and future mortgage servicing are finally ending, and some details are beginning to emerge from sources familiar with the deal.
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO— As corn ethanol’s Public Enemy Number One – did my plaque get lost in the mail? — I’m thrilled the Senate voted to kill the industry’s fiscally and ecologically ludicrous tax credit. But it was galling — if not too surprising – to hear Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, complain that the “ill-advised” vote would [...]
SACRAMENTO—Forget the former California governor who’s once again a tabloid sensation. Let’s talk about the former California governor who’s once again a California governor. Jerry Brown, the Golden State’s 34th and 39th chief executive, is now trying to clean up Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mess–not the love-child mess, but the budget-deficit mess. The quirky Governor Moonbeam who [...]
President Obama’s high-speed rail program has taken a lot of abuse because it isn’t just funding true high-speed rail; it’s also accelerating and improving service on moderate-speed trains. OK, guilty as charged. The program’s actual name is “High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail.” And now that Obama has redistributed the cash that Florida didn’t want — [...]
CNN/TIME/ORC has a new poll of four states out today. Here’s a link to my story. Short version: Alaska: Senate: Lisa Murkowski’s becoming a real threat to Joe Miller in polls — but that doesn’t mean these people know how to spell M-U-R-K-O-W-S-K-I come Nov. 2. Governor: GOP incumbent Sean Parnell is winning. California: Senate [...]
The rap on the California Democrats’ great gubernatorial hope, Jerry Brown, is that he is refreshingly his own guy. He says what he thinks, when he thinks it. And this may be one of his top selling points against his Republican rival, Meg Whitman, who campaigns like a corporate robot, always on message, always bland, [...]
Former Solicitor General Ted Olson and David Boies may be headed to the Supreme Court again. A federal judge has stuck down Proposition 8 in California, which banned gay marriage, effectively agreeing with the arguments brought by Olson and Boies who sued to overturn the law on constitutional grounds. The LA Times has excerpts from [...]
