On Sunday 11 of the Media News Group papers – including the San Jose Mercury News – published editorials on their front page criticizing the budget mess. Notably, these papers placed most of the blame where it actually belongs – on the Republicans. From the Mercury News editorial:

The governor and all 120 legislators share responsibility for this. But most of the blame for the immediate crisis falls on Republicans in the Legislature, who this past summer – to a person – signed a pledge to not raise taxes. That was before an already large deficit mushroomed, making the need for more revenue imperative. Since then, Democrats and the Republican governor have offered significant compromise, but GOP lawmakers cling to ideological purity – schools, health care and other essential responsibilities be damned.

These lawmakers constitute barely over one-third of the Legislature. But because the California Constitution requires a two-thirds vote on the budget, it enables the tyranny of a minority to trump majority rule.

This day didn’t sneak up on anyone. It’s the result of too much borrowing and too little political courage over too many years – lavish spending in good times and insufficient restraint in bad. For this, Democrats, who’ve controlled the Legislature, and the governor share responsibility. Compounding the problem are spending initiatives that bind the Legislature’s hands. Voters have themselves to blame for these.

Obviously it’s not a perfect editorial – California doesn’t really have a spending problem – but it’s good to see MNG papers, owned by a notorious right-wing union buster make such a strong case for Republican ideology being at the core of the crisis.

The Monterey Herald was even more direct in their version of the editorial:

The best hope is that the people will become angry enough to get the message across, especially to the Republicans, that they need to get the job done or get out of the way.

The stalemate is the result of the GOP’s “no new taxes” pledge. It may have made for good headlines months ago, but sustaining it to the point of budgetary chaos is irresponsible….

A huge part of the problem is the state Constitution’s requirement that budgets be approved by a two-thirds vote. It has not prevented past overspending, but it enables the minority party, Republicans for the moment, to play the spoiler role no matter the consequences.

It is time to join the majority of states without a super-majority provision. It is time to say goodbye to those who pretend to stand on principle. The no-tax pledge may have been sincere at the start, but it has become only a bargaining chip. Republicans are simply holding out for maximum impact.

Does this mean it’s now conventional wisdom that Republican ideology and the 2/3 rule are to blame? I sure hope so. These editorials should bolster the case for an aggressive push by progressives and Democrats against the Republicans and the 2/3 rule in particular. If/when there is a special election this year, eliminating the 2/3 rule must be on there.

Let’s hope these editorials will percolate around the state, especially to some of the bigger news outlets, and produce some accurate reporting on the crisis for a change – California is broke because Republicans wanted it to happen.