Thank God we have Jeff Denham in the State Senate. Without him California might have already succumbed to the Communist menace that seeks to overthrow our great American way of life by subverting our children and our schools in the service of…

Oh? What’s that you say? The Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago and the Cold War has been over for just as long? Huh. That’s odd. Because even though the State Senate passed Alan Lowenthal’s bill to remove membership in the Communist Party as a firing offense for public employees, Denham has denounced the bill as giving succor to our numerous Communist enemies around the world:

Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Atwater, warned “the Communist Party is not a dead organization … and (is) actively repressing human beings in Cuba and China in brutal ways.

“The state has every right to hold school employees accountable for their political standing, especially if that employee belongs to an organization that favors the violent overthrow of the government,” Denham said during the debate on the bill.

Denham said that it’s also “reasonable that use of public school property should be limited to groups who support our democracy and do not advocate the overthrow of government by force, violence or other possible means.”

I wonder if Denham got the memo that the Cold War is over – or are Republicans really so desperate that they have to turn to red baiting to try and improve their political fortunes?

Or perhaps the Yacht Party believes that only their efforts to overthrow government, by starving it of the revenues necessary to provide the basic services that keep a modern society functioning, is legitimate?

At least the recall is still on the ballot in the 12th district, and voters can decide for themselves whether they want to be represented by someone whose politics are 50 years out of date, or by someone  who actually understands the present-day needs of his constituents instead of spending his time chasing after the Red Menace.

The state of California owns land and structures nearly twice the size of Los Angeles County.   Most of that we need, but it turns out that we have a significant amount of surplus property that can be sold off.  These are parcels like land CalTrans purchased for roads that were never built.   Four years ago the Schwarzenegger administration estimated that we could bring in $5 billion from selling the surplus land.

This is something both Democrats and Republicans are interested in exploring.  CCTimes

Sen. Dean Florez, a Fresno-area Democrat who heads the Senate government committee, said he would rather “sell our surplus property, before we sell or lease the lottery.”

“We are going to be looking at every single asset and asking the question of whether there is any longer a use for these properties,” said Florez.

Republican Sen. Jeff Denham, of Merced, said that “we want to see what can be sold to deal with this year’s budget crisis,” as well as those of any future years.

There is absolutely no way that the state can or even should try and sell off all of these properties quick enough to raise billions of dollars to help with this year’s budget deficit.  Rushing would lead to mistakes, ones that could be costly if the state sells off property it turns out we need.  Plus, rushing for quick sales will reduce the revenue back into the state.

It is important to point out that this is absolutely an attack by Republicans on governmental bureaucracy.

But lawmakers said they are ready to get tough with departments, slashing even more than proposed amounts, then letting officials fill in the revenue gap with land-sale proceeds. Currently, proceeds must go to pay off deficit bonds.

Legislators said that, in essence, they want to force departments to justify retaining land.

However, there may be a there there.  Departments right now do not have any incentive to put resources into selling the land owned by them.  They do the work to sell the land and then never see the money.  That appears to be the main cause for the holding of so many parcels that they do not need.

If we are slashing services and our education budget, we do need to examine closely proposals like this one.  There is no way we will get close to $5 billion this year, nor do we have a good estimate if that number is a real one, given the fluctuations in the real estate market.  Basically, we need more information before the legislators proceed.  However, of all of the paths to increasing revenue to the state, this seems like a relatively uncontroversial one that could bear some fruit.

The intellectual inconsistencies are impossible to miss in this story on the Denham recall.  It’d be a lot more effective to cry and whine about a power grab and unfair tactics, for example, if you DON’T tip off that you’re planning on doing it yourself.

Jon Fleischman, vice chairman of the California Republican Party, said Perata was misusing the recall process, which is meant to boot people from office for serious misconduct. Fleischman and other activists in Orange County said that if the Denham recall succeeds, a similar campaign might be launched against Lou Correa, a Democratic state senator from Santa Ana.

Actually, the right answer is to reform the recall process, not to vow to “misuse” it again, if you want to remain on the intellectual and moral high ground.  

But that’s not surprising, of course, since the same people whining about the recall today are the ones who benefited from it in 2003.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supported the budget Denham refused to vote for and even traveled at the time to Denham’s district to pressure him, has disparaged the recall that’s on the June 3 ballot.

“Obviously, it is political,” Schwarzenegger said when asked about the effort at a recent Sacramento news conference, adding that the budget vote as “a reason for recall I think is ludicrous.”

Riiiight, because Gray Davis wasn’t recalled because of a budget deficit.

Like Fleischman, Denham says Perata was abusing the recall process, which is meant to remove from office people who act illegally. But backers of the recall effort note that Denham contributed $17,000 in 2003 to the Republican-led effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis, who was under criticism for the budget mess but had not been accused of criminal conduct.

It’s just so hard to keep things straight, and figure out which are the RIGHT recalls and which are the WRONG ones.  So good that we have honest brokers like Jon Fleischman and Jeff Denham to set us straight.

It’s also a bad thing, we’re told, that people in Sacramento and abroad are telling the good people of the 12th District what to do.  Good thing there’s none of that happening among Denham supporters:

Denham has raised $1.1 million to fight the recall. Major contributions include $50,000 from the Los Angeles Casinos Political Action Committee and $25,000 from the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, which has a casino in Temecula.

Most of the members of the Los Angeles Casinos PAC, we all know, live in Stanislaus County.

Senator Jeff Denham knows he can’t win on his record.  He knows that the state’s budget is screwed, he was and remains part of the problem and people are smart enough to put it together.  And since he can’t resist a recall on his actual performance as a legislator, he’s left bitching and moaning over ticky-tack stuff that only matters if you’re scared of being judged on your merits.

So today, Denham filed two criminal complaints against Senator Don Perata.  They object to some pretty innocuous and obscure actions- like a Senate staffer translating a transcript- which, while worth being looked at, have nothing to do with the actual substance of the recall election. It’s misdirection, it’s obfuscation, and it’s a refusal to take responsibility for the crisis that the state is facing.  Par for the course these days from the Yacht Party and it’s preference for party loyalty over productive governance.

Senator Denham continues to base his entire campaign on the notion that his behavior is no business of anyone outside the district.  He complains that Perata shouldn’t be involved, outside activists shouldn’t be involved, that the eyes of the state have been unjustly turned to his record and district.  But when Senator Denham obstructs a workable budget, it isn’t just his district that suffers.  Kids are losing teachers in every corner of the state because of the budget shortfall that Denham helped create.  Vital services are being slashed across California because Denham refuses to deal in fiscal reality instead of partisan obstinacy.

We’re all in Jeff Denham’s district, and if he’s going to whine about it, maybe he should find a different line of work.

Update: Just received a press release (full text below the flip) accusing Denham’s campaign of using state email accounts to solicit state employees for campaign purposes. State resources should, it seems, be used to protect his own hide but not to provide basic services to Californians. Presumably the resources in question do not exclusively come from his Senate district. We’re all in Jeff Denham’s district.

DENHAM CAMPAIGN IGNORES LAW

Campaign Manager’s E-mail Targets State Workers

In what appears to be a pre-planned attempt to subvert state law, Jeff Denham’s campaign has used state email accounts to solicit state employees to participate in precinct walks.

An email sent to staffers working for Republican legislators – and obtained by the campaign to recall Denham – urges staffers to participate in the effort to save Denham from recall.

The email – apparently written by Denham’s campaign manager – begins with the sentence, appearing in bold and capital letters “DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE FROM A GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT” – clearly indicating that the intended email recipients were state employees using state computers.

“Jeff Denham has stooped to a new low – using taxpayer’s resources to try to help save his political hide,” said Gary Robbins, leader of the Denham recall effort. “Denham went behind our back to raise his own pay, now it looks like he’s willing to break the law to keep his job.”

A copy of the email appears below.

In addition, Denham’s campaign website – until it was abruptly changed this week – contained more than a dozen press releases that were identical to those appearing on his state website – in apparent violation of laws restricting the use of state resources for political purposes.

Disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

Cross posted at Courage Campaign

Jeff Denham’s first tv ad is up and running, and it’s striking a familiar “how dare you” tone, but mixing in a new bit of “you want me on that wall, you NEED me on that wall.”  Via Capitol Alert, is the transcript as delivered by former Secretary of State Bill Jones:

The recall was launched against Sen. Jeff Denham for one reason only.

He refused to vote for a budget billions out of balance. But then the non-partisan Legislative Analyst proved him right, forecasting an additional $10 billion in red ink.

Local newspapers label this recall an “Abuse of the ballot box.” (The Monterey County Herald 2/17/2008)

— a “sham.” (The Madera Tribune, 3/21/2008)

“Petty politics” (Hollister Freelance 2/19/2008)

And “Unjustified” (Fresno Bee 3/20/2008)

Saying this recall is “Just plain wrong.” (Merced Sun-Star 2/11/2008)

I agree. Vote No on the Recall.

At some point between last fall and now, Denham and Republicans forcing their budgetary priorities on the Democratic majority has turned into Republicans standing strong in the face of fiscal irresponsibility. At least in Jeff Denham’s head.  If Denham really wants to hold himself up as a paragon of budgetary virtue, he might need to answer a few questions.  Like why he keeps accepting pay raises even though he proudly/loudly opposes them.  He also better start coming up with an actual defense for why he stood in lockstep with his GOP brethren in sacrifice of his (supposed) legislative priorities:

As proposed, this budget contains much of what Denham wants, including full funding of education. He has been a strong advocate for schools, a position that has found favor with the powerful teachers union and with parents. It also has contributed to his reputation as a reasonable moderate and helped him win easy re-election last fall.

The Assembly and Senate Democrats have agreed to the spending plan, as has Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. The holdup – and holdouts – are the Senate Republicans, including Denham.

That’s right- once upon a time Jeff Denham was a champion of education.  Then somewhere along the way he gave up serving the people of his district in favor of party loyalty.  And since the revenue cuts forced last year by Republicans have turned into pink slips for teachers this year, it’s a pretty stark contrast of priorities.  What could have inspired such a swing? The same article has a theory:

Because of term limits, he cannot run again for the Senate. He has filed the paperwork to run for lieutenant governor in 2010. It appears he is sticking with his hard-line GOP colleagues in order to curry favor with stalwart Republicans whose approval would be essential in his quest to win his party’s nomination for statewide office.

Party over the people.  It’s not surprising news from the same folks that birthed the Yacht Party of course, but somehow it’s still mindboggling.  Granted it’s delusional, but at least the new ad is a half-step away from hollow righteous indignation.  Unfortunately, Denham still can’t seem to shake this lame and worthless “I don’t deserve it” crap.  If Senator Denham doesn’t like being held up as the poster child for Republican legislative failures, he might have wanted to consider not personifying them.