Inside of the Union's Capitol Buzz (I read the Union, you should too)...

It’s not all smiles within the Republican Party, either. Although President Bush’s win made the GOP happy at the national level, the failure of Republicans to gain seats in the California Legislature has re-opened many old wounds.

Political newsletters that circulate under the Capitol dome are full of Republicans pointing fingers and engaging in Monday-morning quarterbacking. Did business groups focus too much on moderate Republicans instead of helping conservatives? Did the legislative leaders do just the opposite? How did the party end up giving so much financial support to candidates with flaws that were easy to exploit? Why didn’t the party find a way to help Bill Jones run a real campaign for U.S. Senate?

The answers, of course, depend on who is asked. One explanation: The redistricting that took place in 2001 gave the Democrats a huge edge, and therefore the Republicans should be happy to have simply held onto the three Democrat-leaning districts they won two years ago.

This is ALL a result of "gerrymandered" districts in California election process.

On 1380 KTKZ, we are organizing our efforts for the initiative drive for Fair Districts Now. Ted Costa and George Keiffer (LA Chair of the Chamber of Commerce) are hammering out differences and establishing coordination for the signature drive that will begin at the turn of the year.

During the month of January, get ready for another "Drive-by Signing" event - this time to finish the Recall that started on 1380 KTKZ in February of 2003.

To the Republican Party; stop the 'moderate versus conservative' family fighting. It is time for the GOP to grow up and legislate from a position of 'pragmatic power', especially here in California.

The reason the GOP maintained the numbers is due to the maturity and strength of the party - not because of tossed dollars on bad candidates. (Bill Jones campaign excluded from this comment.)

Some have also complained about the location of the campaign money, that too much money was used to close to the coastline (Blue Counties). Ok, I can engage in this debate, but remember - the reasons there were races near the coast was due to the gerrymandering by the state legislature after the last census.

Let's fix the gerrymandering and push State Senator John Campbell's part time legislature and continue the debate on term limits. Stay the course Republicans, there is a day coming...

Hogue Show on 1380 KTKZ