California

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ended months of speculation by announcing Tuesday that he has formed an exploratory committee to consider running for governor of the Golden State in 2010. In an exclusive story broken by the broken by the Los Angeles Times, Newsom confirmed officially that he has filed papers to pursue being California's next governor, replacing the termed-out Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The reality of gay marriages may compel California voters to vote against them in November, said the election lawyer for a group supporting a ballot measure on the topic.

Andrew Pugno, with Protect Marriage, said every gay marriage now taking place reminds voters that judges have usurped the will of the electorate.

“It’s forced social change without the opportunity to settle the issue first,” said Pugno, referring to the California Supreme Court ruling last month that found state laws barring gay marriage were unconstitutional.

U.S Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-California) couldn't get panties off his mind during hearings Wednesday with DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine on the Justice Department's role in torture.

Should they decide to enter the 2010 race for governor, former EBay CEO Meg Whitman and State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner will likely have to explain to Republican voters why in recent years they have donated thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates.

Contribution reports show that Whitman gave former State Controller Steve Westly, with whom she worked at EBay, $20,000 in combined donations for his 2002 run for controller and 2006 campaign for governor. In 2005 she contributed $1,000 to state Sen. Joe Simitian’s 2008 reelection campaign.  She made contributions to candidates for national offices as well: $1,000 to U.S. Rep. Mike Honda in 2002, $1,000 to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell in 2002, $1,000 to U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson in 2006, $2,000 to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2003, and $1,000 to U.S. Sen. John Kerry in 1999.

Unlike Whitman, a political newcomer, Poizner’s record has been vetted in the course of a previous campaign. In his 2006 run for his current seat, Republicans became acquainted with Poizner’s contributions to Democrats, which included $10,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 2000, $1,000 to Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000 and $2,000 to Kerry in 2001.

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Political courage, once again, was in short supply last week, what with two-thirds of the viable candidates for president reaching new lows in pandering. In California, we know all too well how gas taxes get used for funding all sorts of projects having nothing to do with their intended purpose. As a state, we have more interest than most in transportation matters that involve driving our own vehicles. Ample and/or efficient mass transit is but a pipe-dream outside of the Bay area.