OK, so check this out.  Arnold signs the executive order slashing state employee salaries to $6.55 an hour, the federal minimum wage.

At the same time, he’s agreed to host a fundraiser in three weeks with Oregon Senator Gordon Smith (R).  Here’s the invite, courtesy his Democratic opponent Jeff Merkley:

The bottom of the invite says “Host and Photo Opportunities at $10,000 give/raise.”

The annual salary for a state worker under the federal, based on a 40-hour work week and a 50-week year, is $13,100.

So Arnold thinks the cost of getting a picture with him is roughly equivalent to the cost of working for an entire year running his state government.

Priceless.

As we brace for the Governor’s executive order slashing state employee salaries, the Senate Governmental Organization committee wants some answers.

Anticipating that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today will sign an executive order to cut state worker pay and terminate about 22,000 temporary, part-time and contract jobs, the Senate’s Governmental Organization committee has called on Schwarzenegger to explain his rationale. The committee, chaired by Senator Dean Florez (D-Schafter), has scheduled the hearing for Monday at 10 a.m. Schwarzenegger is invited. Controller John Chiang and leaders of state worker unions will testify, according to a press advisory.

Florez, who sought the advisory opinion from the legislative counsel about this move (which showed that John Chiang has more than enough constitutional authority to deny the wage cut from going through), said in his press statement: “I think the Governor owes the public a full explanation as to why he has singled out the state’s workforce with his executive order to cut their salaries.”

Right on.  Which is why you should keep calling Arnold and ruin his birthday by demanding an explanation of your own.

This is a good move by Florez, both from the standpoint of policy and politics.

Sara Robinson, one of my favorite bloggers, had a really fantastic post at the CAF blog about why we have responsible government to thank for the relative lack of damage to the 5.4 earthquake that hit Southern California yesterday.

The fact that Los Angeles returned to normal (as if anything in Los Angeles can ever be considered normal) within just a few hours is one of those invisible but important lessons in the collective power of a functioning government — the kind of non-controvertible, essential fact that conservatives tend to gloss right over when they talk about shrinking government until they can drown it in a bathtub.

California’s seismic codes are serious, strict, and effective. The state has been working on them for 80 years now, refining them through the years after every major quake to incorporate new knowledge and engineering practices. (A major revision this year has recently sent all the state’s architects, engineers, and contractors back to school yet again.) To see the results of this ongoing effort, consider the 1931 Long Beach quake, a 6.4 shaker that damn near flattened Long Beach, killed 120 people, and caused over $40 million (in 1931 dollars) in property damage. And then reflect on the fact that in 1989, it took a quake eleven times bigger — the 7.1 Loma Prieta quake — to create a comparable amount of damage.

That’s how effective the improvements have been. These days, most new structures are hardened to the point that you’d need at least a 7.0 (well over 10 times the size of today’s quake) before things seriously started shaking apart. In many parts of the planet, a 5.8 quake would be enough to level towns, collapse bridges, and take out decades’ worth of infrastructure. In LA and SF, all that happens is a few people lose their phones and power for a few hours.

It really is remarkable what serious attention to building codes has done.  Not too long ago yesterday’s earthquake would have been a disaster – today it’s a blip.  California has recognized the problem, taken steps to constantly improve and innovate, and made sure that the regulations stayed stringent, so that developers would just have to find other means to reduce costs.  The fact that the epicenter was around Chino Hills and Diamond Bar, relatively new areas with new buildings that were constructed according to the strictest building codes, was only a further testament to that.  The after-action reports from the 1989 San Francisco quake and the 1994 Northridge quake were taken seriously and applied in this case.

Diane at Cab Drollery has more:

Now, when the “big one” hits Southern California (the prediction is one with a magnitude 7.8 occurring along the San Andreas fault), we won’t be so lucky, especially with respect to damage. Knowing that, local authorities hold regular emergency drills so that the human devastation can be minimized. One such drill is scheduled for this November and involves a consortium of cities and services.

All of this shows why Grover Norquist was wrong, deadly wrong, with his ideal of shrinking government until it fits in a bathtub and then drowning it. When government does what it is supposed to do, real security for citizens is enhanced.

We have a group of Norquist followers here in this state called the California Republican Party.  And we have to be vigilant that they don’t roll back government in response to budget shortfalls in ways that make the state far less safe.  For instance, in Dan Weintraub’s think piece today trying to envision what he considers an imminent budget, this part is worrying:

• It is going to include some borrowing. That’s not exactly going out on a limb, given the recent history of this governor and these legislators […]

Lawmakers, for instance, might find a way to tap into local government funds, despite a voter-approved initiative that makes that option more difficult than before. Also, the governor’s proposal to borrow against future state lottery earnings, an idea he calls “a gift from the future,” is still very much alive. I would not be surprised if a scaled-down version of the governor’s plan emerged as part of this package.

Local governments are already cash-strapped and have no margin for error if their funding is raided.  And some of that money goes to infrastructure improvements.  Just yesterday, Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell claimed that 150,000 bridges nationwide are in need of repair or replacement.  You can add municipal buildings, roads, and a host of other issues.  If California doesn’t address this structural revenue deficit, despite the strict building codes there will arise a time when the earth moves on top of buildings that should have been replaced, or creaking infrastructure that should have been repaired.  Yesterday was a triumph – but that could be reversed.

The CDP sent out a message from Controller John Chiang about the proposed wage cut to state workers:

When I received word that Gov. Schwarzenegger was proposing to use California’s state workers as pawns in the budget battle by cutting their pay to the federal minimum wage of $6.55, I said civil servants should not bear the brunt of the budget stalemate.

Since then, thousands of Californians have joined with me to protest the Governor’s proposed — and needless — order to slash the pay of California’s public servants. I want you to know I will stand strong against the Governor’s threats.

Show Gov. Schwarzenegger that you stand with me by signing the California Democratic Party’s petition at www.cadem.org/supportcaliforniaworkers.

Forcing public servants to involuntarily loan the State cash by foregoing their hard-earned paychecks puts an untenable burden on our teachers, health care workers and those who provide critical public services.  That is just wrong.

Excellent.  Chiang is really coming out like a hero in this.

Taking another tack, Lt. Governor John Garamendi sent a letter to the Governor (via the SacBee’s new state worker blog:

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

I write to you today regarding the proposed executive order to reduce the minimum wage of 200,000 of California’s state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour.

As you contemplate signing this executive order, please ask yourself – how would you feed and care for your family on $262 per week ($1,048 per month)?  How would your hardworking staff fare on these minimal earnings?  Could you and your family do it for one week?

It is our duty, as elected officials of this great State, to find solutions to the many challenging problems that face California, such as the state budget.  Those solutions should always look to improve the quality of life for all Californians, not impede it.

Please walk a week in a state worker’s shoes before you sign this executive order and imagine yourself and your family surviving on $262 per week.

This is reminiscent of the SEIU’s “Walk A Day in My Shoes” program, as well as the challenge taken by members of Congress earlier this year to live on a food stamp budget for a week.  It gets replicated because it works.  Garamendi is taking the right approach to humanize the budget crisis.

As the news comes in on the indictment of Series of Tubes Ted Stevens, it’s instructive to take a look back at who the Yacht Party in California allows to speak for them as “leaders”.  First we have Sheriff Michael Carona, “America’s Sheriff,” who is apparently more than just a run-of-the-mill corrupt public official, but actually deeply vulgar, venal and unethical, even by the standards of the GOP – but also weirdly representative of a certain level of corruption in the OC.

His attorneys are asking a federal judge to prevent a future jury from hearing secretly recorded tapes of Carona snarling racial epithets, referring vulgarly to women and boasting of both sexual and political prowess.

“I mean, I’ve met millionaires, billionaires, and I’ve traveled on personal airplanes . . . drank great wine and, you know, had great booze and had some, you know, phenomenal [sex] along the way,” Carona told his longtime patron, an auto auction magnate who was wearing a wire. “I’m the most lethal [expletive] in politics in Orange County.”

The revelations have disappointed but not quite shocked Orange County, where the sensibility enshrined at Anaheim’s Disneyland long has informed local politics, as well. Each invests heavily in an idealized, lavishly financed and fervently polished vision of Americana that few appear to accept as entirely real in the first place […]

Before Carona’s public disgrace, a superior court judge last year was sentenced to 27 months for possession of child pornography. The founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, located behind white wrought-iron curlicues in Costa Mesa, paid $425,000 to suppress an account of an alleged homosexual encounter. The Orange County Register reported that the Justice Department is investigating the county treasurer for allegedly diverting funds from a bankrupt trucking company to pay for Botox.

(the party affiliations of these officials have been strangely expunged.  Thanks Washington Post!)

And this behavior is not limited to Orange County (flip it)…

In San Bernardino, Bill Postmus was a young chair of the GOP who delivered a string of victories in the early part of the decade.  Now he’s taking a conveniently timed leave of absence:

Last week, Postmus announced that he’s taking a leave of absence from his elected post as county assessor because of unspecified medical problems.

He’s been under scrutiny lately. A former top aide faces six felony charges, and a district attorney’s investigation is ongoing. The assessor’s office also was the subject of a critical grand jury report released last month.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party, which as recently as two years ago held a five-figure registration advantage over Democrats in San Bernardino County, is clinging to a one-half percentage point lead.

Leaders are working to distance themselves from the party as it was under Postmus — one critic said he ran it like a personal fiefdom focused on his own political goals. Fundraising, which slowed at the end of Postmus’ three-year stint, has flatlined.

From what I hear, the indictment is imminent.

Then there’s the bizarre case of Delecia Holt, a would-be challenger to Rep. Susan Davis.

(We could have a sidebar question about how Davis managed to be one of the only state Democrats to not get the Labor Fed endorsement, but snag the support of the progressive Jewish group J Street. But another time.)

Holt, who ended up not appearing on the ballot in June, may have been a phantom.  She claimed support from the powerful Lincoln Club and $200,000 in contributions.  But nothing materialized.

Holt, 46, ended up not filing to appear on the ballot. The Lincoln Club says she’s not a member in either Orange County or San Diego. The District Attorney’s Office is looking into her real estate dealings. She owes $32,000 in toll road penalties. Three nonprofits have complained about her use of their names for fundraisers in which they were not involved.

And the $216,000 she reported raising?

The Register wrote each of the 217 donors at the addresses listed on Holt’s federal financial filings, inquiring about their donations. Not a single one responded that they had supported the would-be candidate.

The Register heard back from eight of the listed donors – all said they had not given Holt money, and six said they’d never heard of her.

“We aren’t in a position to be giving money to anybody,” said Vista’s Jill Granquist, who is listed as having contributed $2,000, but whose financial straits led to losing her home to foreclosure in March. “I’ve never heard of her, but this makes me kind of curious.”

I’ll be fair and say that there are loony tune fringe candidates like this in every party.  But given the sorry state of the GOP, what’s sad is that a con artist like Holt feels right at home.  It’s almost sad to see how low these people have sunk.  Except I then consider their agenda, and it’s not sad at all.

This is a bit of a hail mary:

Now, business groups and like-minded Republicans have added relief from the meal and rest period rules to the list of things they want approved with the state budget.

California businesses, led by the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber), the California Taxpayers’ Association and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, have spent millions and successfully enlisted the GOP to advocate for their interests over the years.

In California, it takes a two-thirds vote of each house in the Legislature to pass a budget or a tax increase. That gives the minority-party Republicans – and the business community lining up at their doors – far more ability to influence the budget than most other legislation. GOP lawmakers have successfully blocked major legislative tax increases since 1991 because of that power.

This year, with the budget already 28 days late and the state $15.2 billion short of a balanced budget, business groups are pushing to ensure their interests are taken care of as the budget is shaped. With that push comes money.

CalChamber is indeed the most powerful advocacy group with respect to Republicans and the governor.  All of their “job killer” bills are routinely vetoed, the reward for $11.5 million dollars’ worth of lobbying since 2003.  

But I would seriously doubt that they have the juice to overturn labor rules in the budget.  When it comes to influence, labor isn’t exactly a piker. The business community should worry more about their members coping with a failing economy than any of this, but of course CalChamber reflects the opinion of their top-earning members, just as the Republican Party reflects the opinion of their richest contributors.

It’s all posturing, and so is tomorrow’s budget vote in the Senate.  What that vote could be about is beyond me.