Blogger’s Note - this is not a prop 14 election. There is a Primary and 7 weeks later, there will be a general.

This blogger has been at ground zero of the unfolding race coming to replace the late Dave Cox (R- Fair Oaks).

Assemblyman Roger Niello – endorsed by Dave Cox on his deathbed (literally). One of the last actions of Senator Cox was to write Niello $7,800 in checks for his campaign.

Roger Niello is a “Nice Guy” – to his credit, he stood up and appeared in public to take the heat even coming to CRA meetings after his vote for the largest tax increase in state history.

Niello will be vulnerable to two attacks – He endorses liberals and that vote for the Feb, 2009 budget – made worse by the fact that the State Budget continues to be a disaster.

Niello goes in to battle with the Dave Cox and Doug Ose endorsements. One could assume that Moderate Republican Congressman Dan Lungren will follow.

Assemblyman Ted Gaines – most likely will be endorsed by Tom McClintock.

Unlike Roger Niello – Ted Gaines has made very few phone calls. Gaines position is to wait until Arnold calls the special election. It is the opinion of this blogger and many other Conservatives that Arnold has waited until the end of the constitutional timeline on purpose and will call the special election at a time that most benefits Niello.

Too bad for them – Ted Gaines is sitting on $500,000.

Ted Gaines’ major achilles heel is he appears to be distant. For a varitey of reasons, this is a theme that has been repeated to this blogger – Niello’s habit of getting out in public is a distinct advantage for Niello. (a major reason Doug LaMalfa trounced Rick Keene was this exact perception)

Gaines will also have fence mending to do with local electeds from the John Doolittle debaucle in late 2007 – even more pointedly so with Doolittle’s long awaited exhoneration finally occurring.

Ted Gaines’ problems don’t stop there…

Enter Former Assemblywoman Barbara Alby. The source that told me Alby is running is as impeccable.

Barbara Alby is apparently convinced that her third place finish behind George Runner and Alan Nakanishi for Board of Equalization is behind her and that she will be able to get even with the resources of both Gaines and Niello.

One thing is clear – both Alby and Gaines in the race will give Niello a distinct advantage.

Other contestants – Rico Oller (endorsed Gaines), Dan Logue (decided against moving) have removed themselves from the picture.

So the question is: Will Niello get treated like Mike Villines who beat a nothing opponent by only 8,000 votes or will it resemble Abel Maldonado who trounced Sam Aanestad in the primary?

That is up to Ted Gaines.

Ted Gaines? He has never run a competitive race.

Neither had Doug LaMalfa. (LaMalfa won by 16 despite being outspent 2-1)

Gaines and LaMalfa have Dave Gilliard running their show – and Gillard made a believer out of this blogger in the June 2010 primary.

More to follow for sure…

Remember how the FPPC exhonerated the Placer County Republican Central Committee? Didn’t it seem odd that the Fresno and Stanislaus committee were not mentioned that much in any stories that ran all over the state until the FPPC finished their investigation?

The statewide media had help. The same person who shopped the stories about the Placer County Republican Central Committee’s non-scandal has turned his sights on Tom Hudson.

The agenda of Doug Elmets and the Sacramento Bee meet again – the template of the National Media is to Show a Divisive, mean Republican Party that clings to its’ Guns and Bibles. Elmets, because he has an axe to grind is a willing co-conspirator.

Enter Doug Elmets as Quoted by the Bee:

“I would not want to be in a position of debating him on any issue,” said Doug Elmets, a local political consultant who is not on the committee. “It would be exhausting. And no matter how right you think you are, he would declare victory.”

Elmets said Hudson should be careful not to let his passion get in the way.

“Sometimes those who are the most passionate lose their objectivity and ultimately become more controversial than constructive,” he said.

It is refreshing to see Doug Elmets come out of the shadows – It was Principle that carried the day for Tom McClintock in 2008 and it will be principle that will carry the day for Rick Keene in 2010. The significance of seeing Doug Elmets quoted in these articles is borne by what the reporter omitted:

Elmets’ main client is the United Auburn Indian Tribe. (The Auburn Tribe is viewed as amongst the most anti-Republican in the state) Doug Elmets is also active in re-assembling the same endorsement list for Doug LaMalfa that Liberal Millionaire Former Congressman Doug Ose had in 2008.

Now that Elmets is out in the open – let’s point out the absurdities of his friends in the Bee:

Hudson is not the only one that thinks Meg Whitman is a Democrat. (She campaigned for Boxer in 2004, gave wads to Enviro Groups, Supports Benefits for Non-Citizens, Supports Taxpayer Funded Abortion, etc…)

Peter Hill and Jim Holmes both have a history of supporting tax and fee increases which they were rightly criticized for. This fact is deliberately omitted by the Bee in their numerous stories attempting to portray Peter Hill and would-be Congressman Jim Holmes as victims.

The Placer Cent Com was a top performer in the dismal 2008 election cycle for registrations and because of technicalities had to wait until after the election was over to receive the bounty check from the California GOP.

There will be no attempt as the Bee alleges to unseat Tom Hudson – in fact, the criticism has only served to validate his leadership.

The Central Committee’s endorsement of Tom McClintock was a stunning counter-weight to the local electeds who rallied behind Liberal Millionaire Former Congressman Doug Ose in 2008.

And therein lies the rub.

Here we go again, this time like an unwelcome Christmas gift Team Ose has come back to take another swipe and Congressman McClintock and those that helped him win election. Every political observer in the country knows that the Ose vs McClintock battle was the archetype for the decades long struggle between those in the Republican Party who want us to be more liberal in our philosophy and those who want to hold firm to a core set of conservative principals.  

One year has past since Congressman McClintock was declared the winner over Charlie Brown, and the Ose team has come back together for a reunion of sorts. Who is team Ose? Well they should really be called team LaMalfa instead. The team is made up of 4^th Senate District Candidate Doug LaMalfa, David Reade, former PCRP Chairman Ken Campbell, Supervisor Jim Holmes, United Auburn Area Spokesman Doug Elmets, Lincoln Councilmen Spencer Short and Tom Cosgrove,  Loomis City Councilman Miguel Ucovich, Rocklin City Councilman Brett Storey, and Rocklin Mayor Scott Yuill. This is the same group of folks who worked overtime to keep Congressman McClintock from winning election in 2008. Even after McClintock defeated Ose in the primary most of Team Ose did almost nothing to actually aid his campaign against Charlie Brown. Team Ose headed by Doug LaMalfa is now in full swing working hard to try to defeat former Assemblyman Rick Keene in the 4^th Senate District primary in June.  

Rick Keene was one of a small handful of elected officials that stood by Congressman McClintock from the beginning of his campaign for congress to the end. Rick Keene was true to his conservative roots by never wavering in his support of Tom McClintock. Doug LaMalfa and team Ose were on the wrong side of history in 2008 and they are on the wrong side of history in 2010. 

Just as in 2008, team Ose and their new standard bearer Doug LaMalfa must be stopped. Placer County and the Republican Party need true leaders that understand the value of principal as opposed to the convenience of personal expediency.

Once Upon a Time there were three little Dougs in northern California and they all became involved in Placer County politics.                   

The first little Doug wanted to be a congressman and moved into a small cabana in Granite Bay. You could say that his house was built of straw. No matter how much money he spent or how many elected officials he got to endorse him so that he could improve the straw house (which was the foundation of his run for congress), it did him no good at all. 

The second little Doug worked for the first little Doug and he also has a contract with a local Indian Tribe. You could say that his house is made of oak. No matter what the second little Doug did he could not help the first little Doug get elected to congress. The second little Doug worked day and night with all the advantages that anyone could have but it did him no good at all. 

The third little Doug endorsed the first little Doug in his run for congress. The third little Doug was in television ads for the first Doug extolling the virtues of his campaign. The third little Doug betrayed his friend, who was also running for congress, in order to help get the first little Doug elected. You could say the third little Doug’s house was made of rice. No matter how hard the third little Doug tired to help the first little Doug get elected to congress, it did him no good at all. 

Despite their efforts, nothing the three little Dougs could do would work because of the Big Bad Blogger. The Big Bad Blogger wrote and he wrote and set fire to the first little Doug’s straw campaign. The first little Doug lost to Tom. The Big Bad Blogger wrote and he wrote and he bombed the second little Doug’s house of oak into oblivion. No matter how many newspapers and reporters the second little Doug went to, he could not stop the Big Bad Blogger! The third little Doug was the saddest one of all the little Doug’s. He betrayed his friend Tom, yet Tom became congressman anyway. The third little Doug tried as he might to seek Tom’s endorsement but alas it was not to be, as little Doug blew it big time you see! 

Just a few days ago the three little Doug’s joined together again to oppose Tom. This time it is to get the third little Doug elected to the state senate next year. I will make a prediction and wager a bet that the Big Bad Blogger will have a lot to say about that. The three little Doug’s are about to have their political houses demolished all over again!