If we're ever going to have a state budget, it's time to get serious about it — by getting rid of the people who are standing in the way. Jeff Denham, this means you. You ran for office promising to protect school funding. We'll, you had a chance to live up to that promise by voting for the state budget — and you blew it. If you won't do your job, we'll find someone who will. This is for real. WWW.DUMPDENHAM.COM
Daily Archives: July 27, 2007
Republican Obstructionism and Arnold: Should Have Been Prepared
Here is a question. Why did Arnold think that the Republicans were bluffing about taking a much stronger stand on the budget? They promised as much last year during their bloody leadership battles. I have seen newspapers refer to that as posturing, indicating that they never believed the Republicans would actually follow through. Did Arnold really thing they would roll over, when history is littered with examples of their obstructionist tactics during previous budget negotiations?
I absolutely love this Economist article on the budget. The magazine has a well deserved reputation for presenting the news in a straightforward manner. They hold no punches on this one and go right after the Republicans.
Republicans are causing the delay, as in the past. Ignoring pleas from Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor, Assembly members won some spending cuts and tax breaks. Then, while they hit the beaches, state senators demanded further cuts. Last week, in order to try to end the debate, the Democratic Senate president locked them in. Senators lounged around like teenagers at an all-night party, amusing themselves by sending messages to conservative blogs. “To update you—we’ve done nothing,” wrote one. They want a mixture of real and symbolic sacrifices—less money for environmental litigation and trade-union studies, for example.
The Economist points out that the Republicans are digging their heels in because they can under the 2/3rds majority rule and then blames gerrymandering.
The second reason is ideological. California’s districts are so shamelessly gerrymandered that hardly any races are competitive. The elections that matter are the primaries, which are dominated by zealots. The result is a political system in which moderation is punished, both by voters and by other politicians. Dick Ackerman, head of the Senate Republican caucus, adopted a co-operative, pragmatic approach to last year’s budget negotiations. The result was a putsch that nearly dislodged him. Chastened, he promised to take a tougher line on this year’s budget.
The man was fighting for his political life, just a year ago. His promises were what saw him through. Did they really think he wasn’t going to follow through? The Republicans put up and shut up last year, listening to Arnold’s campaign leadership, which exhorted them to behave so he could be re-elected. They chaffed, but played along. That wasn’t going to happen this year. As the Economist notes, they have been cheered on by the ideologues on the blogs. They took a bold stand and said no to the majority. Frankly, that is the stuff we advocated on a national scale when the Democrats were in the minority. It is one of the most effective roles that partisan blogs can play. While I don’t agree in the least with what they are doing, I understand it.
It would be nice to report that a small band of hard-nosed Republicans was bringing fiscal restraint to California. Unfortunately, it isn’t true. Republicans have been better at pushing for tax cuts than at balancing the budget. This year the state spent a higher proportion of Californians’ incomes than it has for more than a decade. And, having approved tens of billions of dollars-worth of bonds to pay for everything from stem-cell research to road mending, it is racking up ever more debt.
The Republicans are right about one thing: California’s finances are a mess. Thanks to cuts in property rates, the state depends on personal income taxes for 46% of its revenues, more than in all but seven states. And because its taxes are so progressive, it relies especially heavily on the fortunes of the rich. “If the bottom drops out of the stockmarket, the bottom drops out of the budget,” says Jean Ross of the California Budget Project. Partisan posturing, debt and financial gambling: no way to run the world’s eighth-largest economy.
The long term solutions are well known here. Eliminate the 2/3rds majority and fix Prop. 13. In the short term, Arnold needs to figure out a way to communicate effectively with the Republicans. They are not bluffing about being willing to stretch this out until December. At this rate, the Assembly may be back in session by the time the Senate passes the budget.
Muchos inmigrantes recibir el certificado de naturalización de Estados Unidos
Antes que augmenten las tarifas la semana que entra, muchos inmigrantes han solicitado para naturalizacion
Desde el próximo lunes, el formulario para la ciudadanía costará 675 dólares, 275 dólares más.
“Los candidatos tienen hasta el sábado para llenar las solicitudes, después tendrán que pagar las nuevas tarifas. No creemos que esto desanime a las personas, la gente está motivada y seguirá abarrotando los centros de naturalización”, comentó Sharon Rummery, portavoz de la Oficina de Inmigración y Ciudadanía ( USCIS).
Según reportes de USCIS, en los últimos cien años más de 18 millones de personas han juramentado. Tan sólo en lo que va del año, 124,903 personas han recibido la ciudadanía, 22,753 personas más que el año anterior.(La Opinion 7/26/07)
¿Porqué es la ciudadanía importante?
“Hay que ser parte del proceso, hay que votar y para eso hay que ser ciudadano. Tenemos que modificar el sistema para que los inmigrantes podamos recibir el respeto que nos merecemos. Ya basta de excusas, no hay pero que valga, si yo pude cualquiera puede lograrlo”, concluyó Medrano.
Si, debemos de votar para existir ante los politicos.
Extortion by another name: GOP Leveraging the 2/3 Supermajority Requirement
I really, really don’t like to agree with Dan Walters. He’s quite obtuse, but I suppose that’s neither here nor there for the purpose of this particular insight: the GOP has managed to leverage the 2/3 supermajority for the budget requirement to extort other compromises. Compromises for which they don’t otherwise have the vote. We talked about this briefly on the Calitics Show with Mark Leno on Wednesday, so maybe Dan was listening to me when he wrote this in today’s SacBee:
Initially, trailer bills were just boring bits of legislative ephemera. But politics being what they are, someone eventually noticed that the trailers, drafted and enacted quickly and secretly, made them perfect vehicles for “lowballing” other stuff.
Trailer bills have proliferated, filled with provisions that either have nothing to do with the budget or change it in mysterious ways, and are routinely enacted without any analysis of their effects, much less any opportunity for outside input. They are, moreover, “urgency” bills that take effect immediately upon being signed by the governor.
This year, the Senate Republican caucus is trying to get bills limiting Atty General Jerry Brown’s power and to drastically cut back on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). They would have no leverage outside of the budget process to demand these changes, so they use the only process where they have some sort of governable size: the budget.
It is unacceptable that a minority should be attempting to kick and scream their way to overrule the majority’s decisions. It’s just one more reason to get rid of the 2/3 requirement.
Breaking The Media Filter On The Governor
Many have remarked upon the new PPIC poll, which shows a trend downward for the Governor’s job approval. Brian claimed that the budget impasse is to blame, and the fact that in the last couple days Schwarzenegger has urged in the media for Republicans to pass the plan suggests that’s his calculus as well. But I’m not so sure. Considering that the Governor’s environmental approval ratings are tracking his overall approval, I think it was the dustup over the California Air Resources Board that dragged him down in recent months. Of the two stories, only the resignations of Robert Sawyer and Catherine Witherspoon got national attention, and it was a direct hit to the issue which Schwarzenegger is trying to use to define himself.
So let’s ask ourselves, a propos of Julia’s question about blogs and influence, how this seeped into the consciousness of the public, and what role we could play in continuing such, er, seepage.
The Air Resources Board is important and influential, but not exactly a household name. I believe that it was Democratic lawmakers’ extreme focus on the situation, to the extent of holding hearings and threatening subpoenas, that got the press’ attention, or at least what little of it is left. Schwarzenegger sought to quickly defuse the issue by hiring an environmental stalwart, Mary Nichols, to take over, and indeed her first major act, cracking down on diesel pollution, is a good sign. However, that ruling does not address the implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act, which of course is the major issue that Democrats in the Legislature were defending when they picked this fight which I believe had an impact on the Governor’s approval ratings. We haven’t heard a lot about those subpoenas for Susan Kennedy or Dan Dunmoyer lately. Obviously the budget battle is all-consuming right now, and the Assembly is in recess.
So there may come a time shortly to press that issue. The Governor’s record on the environment is frankly spotty, and CARBgate actually points to his misuse of the office to push for implementation different from legislative intent. Somehow, this got through the PR filter, and people understoof that Schwarzenegger was trying to slow-walk the global warming issue. So how do we replicate this? Obviously the ferocity of our electeds forced attention on the issue. If and when the governor line-items the heck out of the budget, as appears likely, will they be just as loud? Will that be another opportunity to fill in this image of the Governor as all talk about “post-partisanship” but in the end, a reliable supporter of corporate cronyism? There clearly is potential here but state blogs aren’t big enough to drive it; the electeds have to get tough and call the governor out for attacking our environmental future, or programs for the poor.
The Governor and the Budget: What Role Does he Play?
Well, according to many observers not much. Including one who hangs in the smoking tent and stuff: Speaker Nunez. The Speaker calls it wherewithal, I’d just say that I don’t think he has any power whatsoever with the Republicans in the Legislature. They consider him a liberal on the budget and other issues, and have no motivation to help him out. And today, pretty much every major paper in the state has some article about how the Governor has very little power over the process at this point.
From the SacBee you have this:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Republican problem has flared up again.
California has no budget nearly four weeks into the fiscal year, and the Republican governor has failed to persuade two of his own minority party’s state senators to vote for a spending plan he likes.
While Republicans say they are standing on principle, the situation shows how little Capitol influence Schwarzenegger has over his own party after moderating his views and cutting GOP leaders out of legislative deals last year on the environment and minimum wage.
More over the flip…
The LA Times has him warning about state services, and the Republicans blowing him off:
As the latest effort to resolve the state’s monthlong budget standoff collapsed Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to heighten pressure for a quick resolution, warning lawmakers that a continued impasse would jeopardize critical state services such as fighting wildfires.
***
[Senate Minority Leader] Ackerman described as fear-mongering the predictions made by Democrats as well as the governor that essential state services would crumble if the budget fight continued. He said schools should be unaffected by the impasse because Republicans have pledged not to alter education aid.
And there’s a similar story from the AP across the state:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senate Republicans disagreed Thursday about the urgency of the nearly four-week budget stalemate, with lawmakers playing down the governor’s claim that it was hurting state services.
The Republican governor called a news conference to warn that “the daily operation of government that millions of Californians rely on are being threatened.”
***
Republican senators who are holding out for cuts to the state’s $145 billion spending plan said history shows the state can operate smoothly without a new spending plan even weeks beyond the July 1 start of the fiscal year.
So, what to make of Arnold 3.0? Well, to me he looks pretty weak and out of touch with any real power base. The thing is, that he’s kinda right about his warnings. Now, I’m sure that we aren’t going to let fires burn down houses or something like that, but this is not a good thing. The state will get behind on its bills, and fewer vendors will bid for our contracts. Fewer bidders=higher prices. That’s pretty simple economics there. SO, in a very real way this is costing our state money.
I’m not sure that Arnold really has the capacity to do anything about the Republican Senators. But with Sen. Abel Maldanado (R-Monterrey) vulnerable and likely to vote for pretty much anything to try to retain his seat, all we really need is one more vote. If we can peel off one defector, we can get Maldanado to come along for the ride. So, which Republican wants to be the champion for the poor? Which Republican wants to say, enough already? Well, now would be the time, so Arnold, how about a little trade, you’ll do like 4 of your Million-$ fundraisers for the 2 Senators who agree to vote for the budget. Because if there’s one thing Republicans like more than slashing services to the poor, it is campaign contributions.
CA-42, 2008 and the netroots: a jumping off point
Over the past few weeks, there has been a wealth of information in the series of posts regarding the first Congressional run by a member of the netroots, and a campaign run by members of the netroots. In fact, the entire list of posts is below, so you can go back and see the most excellent things that have been written about Ron Shepston and his historic run for Congress.
We were treated to posts that outline the district demographics, the incumbent and his myriad of ethical issues, the political landscape in the district as well as some of the very fine people who are working on this campaign, and why Ron is both an awesome guy and the right man for Congress (and no, those two terms are NOT mutually exclusive). But what I want to talk about is why this oh-so-very important on many levels.
Previous diaries in the CA-42 campaign rollout series:
7/15: thereisnospoon’s CA-42: A Kossack is running for Congress
7/16: atdnext’s CA-42: The Case Against Dirty Gary Miller
7/17: Major Danby’s CA-42: I’m managing a netroots U.S. House campaign
7/18: CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream’s CA-42: CA-42: Hi, I’m Ron Shepston and I’m running for Congress
7/19: hekebolos’s CA-42: A Netroots campaign– politics the way it should be.
7/20: dday’s CA-42: The Lay of the Land
7/21: OrangeClouds115 CA-42: “I Know His Heart”
7/22: Shockwave’s CA-42: Ron Shepston rides into a Republican stronghold
7/23: Major Danby’s CA-42: The DCCC knows us, reads us, and likes us
7/24: Major Danby’s CA-42: On YearlyKos, anger, and dreams
7/25: thereisnospoon’s Get Off the Internet!
7/26: buhdydharma’s Help Save This Baby! **
I’m only talking about the future of progressive politics and the foundation of an infrastructure that has been built over the past few years, and more importantly, how we have been shaping that infrastructure, how we helped move it along in 2006, how we are continuing to do it through the 2008 elections and how 2008 will be a springboard for the future..
Yeah, yeah, you will probably say – heard it before. Well, sure, you probably heard it from me here or here or even here. So, it is safe to say that I have at least given this whole “progressive movement/infrastructure” thing a lot of thought (right, wrong or other).
Building a lasting movement requires us to think about what we will do in 2008 and later – after Bush is gone from the White House, and (hopefully) with the Democrats in control of Congress and the White House. Sure, we have to stay on top of them to make sure that they don’t overstep, or that they do things that are for the good of We the People. Or even that they are kept honest, and that more progressive primary candidates challenge those who are more of the DINO mold (to the extent practical and reasonable, of course).
But it goes way beyond just railing and ranting against Bush, the republicans or whatever isn’t fair or right. And just as the netroots led the charge to counter the lies and crimes of the administration and the republican party, the netroots will “grow up” and adapt to the changing times. Whether that means pushing policy, or being part of the “progressive message machine” or developing future leaders – this is the direction that we should collectively be looking towards.
And this is why Ron Shepston’s campaign as well as all of us here is such an integral part of this. Building off of Brian Keeler’s (NYBri) run for NY State Senate in 2006, a national campaign with the support of the netroots – and run for and by us in the netroots, win or lose, it is a giant leap forward in terms of credibility.
Gandhi had a famous statement: “first they ignore you, then they mock you, then they fight you, then you win”. Well, we have been in the “then they fight you” phase for a while now. 2006 was a big step forward, and the acknowledgment by many in Congress that the netroots had a significant enough hand in tipping the balance of power in Congress (at least the Senate) to the Democrats. And not just in the way that many of us have done for years – canvassing, phone calls, working on campaigns, donating money – but also by sharing ideas, successes, challenges and stories.
We are a force to be reckoned with, and both Democrats and republicans see what the netroots is able to accomplish. Obviously, we still need to do all of the above things – donate money, canvass, share ideas and work on campaigns. However, the “netroots campaign” of Ron Shepston is one that will give us and our causes a substantial amount of credibility. Even for those of us who don’t live in CA-42, there is a LOT that we can do to help out this campaign. It is not just Ron’s campaign. It is our campaign.
And it is just the beginning. For Ron. For the netroots. For the progressive movement.
To donate to Ron’s campaign, all you have to do is click here!!!
July 26, 2007 Blog Roundup
Today’s Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed.
To subscribe by email, click here and do what comes naturally.
Budgets Are Moral
Documents; We’re Still Wondering What California Republicans ARE
- California Progress Report: Schrag – California Water
Policy, Dams, and the Delta More Important than the State Budget
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/schrag_californ.html - California Progress Report: The Importance of the
California Environmental Quality Act to Global Warming: Why Changes
Should be Rejected in the Budget Battle Today
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/the_importance_3.html - D-Day: California Republicans Set Their Budget Priorities
http://d-day.blogspot.com/2007/07/california-republicans-set-their-budget.html - Working CaliforniansGOP Proposes Massive Budget Cuts,
Arnold Digs It
http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/07/25/gop_proposes_massive_budget_cuts_arnold_digs_it - Erik Love: GOP Budget For California Found In President
Bush’s Colonoscopy
http://www.eriklove.com/newblog/2007/07/25/gop-budget-for-california-found-in-president-bushs-colonoscopy/ - California Progress Report: Senate Republicans Propose
Abandoning Voters’ Drug Treatment Program in California
Budget Fight
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/senate_republic.html - California Progress Report: California Republican Senators
Target Kids of Welfare Recipients and Public Transit for Biggest
Proposed Budget Cuts
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/california_repu_8.html - The California Majority Report // Perata Calls on
Republican Senate Budget Blockaders to Put Up 15 Votes for Cuts
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2107 - The California Majority Report // Sen. Runner Says
Low-Income Moms without Jobs Have “Gold Plated System”
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2108 - The Liberal OC » And Ackerman fires
back…
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/07/25/and-ackerman-fires-back/ - California Progress Report: Behind California’s Budget
Delay – Republican Senators Want Attorney General Brown to Delay
Enforcing California Global Warming Laws Until 2012
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/behind_the_cali.html - Working Californians: GOP Budget Cuts: Environment, Parks,
Dentists and Welfare
http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/07/26/gop_budget_cuts_environment_parks_dentists_and_welfare - California Progress Report: California State Budget Crisis
– Many Programs and Services Won’t Be Paid, Including Those for
Seniors, Children and Adults With Disabilities
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/california_stat_11.html - California Progress Report: : The Smoke and Mirrors Behind
California Budget Proposals to Cut Transit to the Core
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/the_smoke_and_m.html - The California Majority Report // Important Research
Institute Under Attack by GOP Senators
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2112
Land and Energy
- California Progress Report: PPIC Poll Shows Californians
Very Concerned About Global
Warming and Air Pollution and Want Stronger Action by State Government
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/ppic_poll_shows.html - California Policy Inbox » Environmental Issues
Increasingly Important to California Voters
http://inbox.berkeley.edu/?p=360 - Working Californians: Voters Say Do More, Talk Less Re:
Environment
http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/07/26/voters_do_more_talk_less_re_environment - The People’s Vanguard of Davis: Commentary: Rhetoric
Continues to Fly Between County and Davis
http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/2007/07/commentary-rhetoric-continues-to-fly.html - happening-here?: I need hills…
http://happening-here.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-need-hills.html - Berkeley Bubble » U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Irvine to
Test Two Plug-in Hybrid Toyota Prius Cars: Resurrecting the Electric Car
http://www.berkeleybubble.org/2007/07/26/uc-berkeley-uc-irvine-to-test-two-plug-in-hybrid-toyota-prius-cars-resurrecting-the-electric-car/ - California Progress Report: California Leafy Green
Industry’s Marketing Agreement Will Not Ensure
Nation’s Salad Bowl is Safe
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/california_leaf.html - The Progressive Connection: Tomorrow’s The Day for the Farm
Bill
http://www.theprogressiveconnection.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=114 - Badlands Journal » California Sportfishing
Protection Alliance lashes Valley agricultural pollution
http://www.badlandsjournal.com/?p=359 - Badlands Journal » Conservation groups’
letter to the Governor in defense of CEQA
http://www.badlandsjournal.com/?p=358
Voting Security
- The BRAD BLOG: New Details on the Release of CA’s Landmark
‘Top-to-Bottom Review’ of E-Voting Systems
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4870 - The BRAD BLOG: “California Election Clerks May Choose to
‘Ignore’ Upcoming Findings of CA Sos Bowen’s ‘Top-to-Bottom’ Review”
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4867
Potpourri
- The Ojai Post: Ojai Peace Coalition to create annual Noble
Peace Prize
http://www.ojaipost.com/2007/07/ojai_peace_coalition_to_create.shtml - California Progress Report: California Needs to Create a
Judiciary that Reflects its Rich Diversity
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/california_need_5.html - Cannonfire: Cindy Sheehan is a Right-Winger
http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/2007/07/cindy-sheehan-is-right-winger.html - California Progress Report: Will the California PUC Provide
All Telephone Consumers Equal Protection on Friday?
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/will_the_califo.html - The California Majority Report // No Controlling Legal
Authority?! [ed.
In which Garry South confuses the age-old problem of con
artists with “the Internet”]
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2106 - The California Majority Report // PPIC: Republicans,
Schwarzenegger Take Hit in PPIC Poll
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2109 - . . . Surf Putah: Random Jottings – 7/26/07
http://surfputah.blogspot.com/2007/07/random-jottings-42607.html - LAist: DEA Bust More Los Angeles Marijuana Dispensaries
http://laist.com/2007/07/26/fda_bust_more_l.php - LAist: California Pols Love Clinton
http://laist.com/2007/07/26/california_pols.php - California Policy Inbox » State Health Insurance
System in “Frail” Condition, According to New Report
http://inbox.berkeley.edu/?p=362
Using the Blogs to Influence the Budget
Lately it feels like any article about the budget mentions a blog post by one Republican legislator or another. The SacBee did a whole article about Sen. McClintock’s blog habit. Too bad they didn’t realize that it wasn’t the blogging that was paying dividends, it was the 85,000 person email list. I doubt McClintock even gets 8,500 visitors a week at his site. It’s impact is disproportionately felt by the reporters reading and writing about it. The calls and emails that he is generating are coming by and large from his email list.
The Flash Report on the other hand is different. They actually get reasonable traffic. How much…who knows. John Fleischman does not publicize those numbers. However, it is less about the quantity of the readership base and more about the quality. They know that they have the eyeballs of most of the press corps, Republican legislators (those that aren’t already blogging), Arnold and his staff, lobbyists and the hard core activists. They have learned that they can be very effective by spending a short amount of time composing a blog post and getting it out to the influentials.
Our side has done a very uneven job of using the same tactics. Lampooning Phil Angelides is fun and all, but how about some messaging on the budget? Speaking about bashing Angelies, what about this post that does that without offering constructive criticism? Now, I have some experience with ragging on his email management skills, but at least I offered up some suggestions. How about saying, hey Phil, I think it is great and all that you are not just letting your email list sit, but how about using it to bash the Republicans instead? Kinda like sacguy did in the comments here, only a little nicer 😉
I want more posts like this one, that let’s me create a message about an MIA governor that I use here at Calitics and other sites. Then others who read this blog can pick up off of that and write their own posts.
What about recruiting Sen. Perata to write a post? Assemblyman Nunez had a decent one at the CPR the other week. Perhaps a few updates from the floor? Maybe you can conn the CDP into sending out an email to their huge list targeting those who live in Republican districts. There is a lot at stake and people are willing to get involved, they just need to be asked. The interest groups are mobilizing, but I would like to see more directly from the Party and the insiders.