I feel like I can’t help but get really, really shrill with Arnold Schwarzenegger.  See, the thing is that he’s now shown himself to be a petty, vindictive political animal. Nothing new, nothing post-partisan. He’s a politician who carries a grudge.

Case in point, Arnold vetoed the rather standard reauthorization of funding for the California State Bar. Basically, the State Bar is a quasi-governmental organization. Funding comes entirely from the dues of licensed attorneys.  And while you can find plenty of attorneys (this one included) that moan about the dues, it’s not like there are any tea parties organizing.

Yet, it is clear that this veto has little to do with the fees, and a whole lot more to do with an unqualified judge: one former state Sen. Chuck Poochigian.  If you’ve been reading Calitics over the past few months, you’ll have read about his nomination and subsequent confirmation as a judge on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal.  Thing is that the Bar rated him as “not qualified.”  But the part that really got them in trouble was the fact that the score got leaked to the press before the confirmation hearing.

Of course, I suppose it doesn’t matter that Chuck Poochigian isn’t qualified for the job. He was never a high-flying litigator with a vast record of trials. And he never served as a judge.  Ron George, the Chief Justice, for his part, castigated the bar for not considering his political experience (although they actually did).  The fact is that Poochigian really just doesn’t have the experience that you typically see for a judge. And the time in the Legislature? No, that’s really not the same thing.

This brings us back to Arnold vetoing the bill.  He was simply pissed that the Bar didn’t play along with his little game for Poochigian, and basically stated that:

In his veto message, Schwarzenegger cited a recent audit critical of the bar and questioned the group’s “impartiality in considering judicial appointments.” The July audit found rising costs at the bar and poor internal controls, which allowed a former employee to embezzle nearly $676,000.

“The conduct of the State Bar itself must be above reproach,” Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto. “Regrettably, it is not.” (LAT 10/120/09)

Interesting that Arnold didn’t mind letting the Chiropractic Commission or the body that licenses nurses fester as they failed to do their jobs, jobs that affect the very health of millions of Californians. Yet, you mess with his political agenda, and you’ll get the horns.

Post-partisan, huh?

About a month ago, I wrote about the strange proceedings surrounding the appointment of Chuck Poochigian to the Fifth Court of Appeal.  At the time, while his State Bar rating was supposed to be confidential, it was being leaked and reported by the LA legal journal, MetNews, that Poochigian had been given a “not qualified” rating.  Unfortunately, the only confirmation we had on that at the time was the MetNews unnamed sources.

Well, that rating was officially revealed at the former Republican AG nominee’s confirmation hearing this week. The confirming panel is made up of 3 members, the state Attorney General, Jerry Brown, the man who defeated Poochigian in 2006, the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, Ron George, and James Ardaiz, presiding justice of the 5th District Court.  All three voted to confirm despite the “not qualified” rating.  And if you recall George’s tortured logic in the decision to let Prop 8 stand, well, read this:

Jonathan Wolff, chairman of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, … stuck by the commission’s finding that Poochigian’s legislative experience did not give him the needed legal expertise.

George sharply disagreed, pointing to seven state senators since the early 1960s who had moved from the Legislature to the appeals court. George also asked Wolff to update the questionnaire it sends when researching candidates.

The questionnaire, sent to hundreds of legal professionals, now includes a “professional experience” section that references “civil and criminal law trial experience.” It does not ask for legislative experience.

Wolff agreed to change the form, but also noted that the commission did consider Poochigian’s lawmaking tenure. (Fresno Bee)

Poochigian had 12 years experience as an attorney in private practice, doing work most would call tangentially related to the task of being an appeals court judge.  And to George’s point, let’s just say this, if a judge’s role is to make a tremendous stink about ridiculous issues and to thoroughly play a passionate persuasive role in a case, then yes, being a state legislator is great experience.  If you like that whole activist judge thing.

But if a judge is to be a neutral arbiter, being a California legislator has very, very little that would make me confident in the subject’s ability as a judge.  Look, I know many legislators personally, and respect them enormously.  But what I like about them, and what they do day in and day out has remarkably little to do with being a judge. They forcefully advocate, they do press conferences, and occasionally they attend a hearing.  I would give a little credit for the hearings, but considering that many legislators attend as few of them as possible, I’m not sure how much that should go to the qualification question.

No, this was a political favor, there were certaily more qualified legal thinkers to take this position.  Yet, for whatever reason, Arnold felt compelled to give the job to a “not qualified” candidate.  But despite this fact, only one leader came to speak against Poochigian: Equality California’s Geoff Kors.

The only witness speaking against Poochigian was Geoffrey Kors, executive director of Equality California, a gay-rights group. Kors criticized Poochigian’s voting record, which included a 1999 vote against a bill passed into law that prohibits housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

“Sen. Poochigian has never met a gay-rights law he liked,” Kors said.

In his testimony, Poochigian shot back at Kors, accusing him of having his own “bias” and calling his tone “excessive.”

Now, this is the kind of work that Equality California excels at. The insider baseball, props to Kors for getting out in front of the issue.  My only complaint with EQCA on this issue would be the fact that they sent an email to their list AFTER Poochigian was confirmed, rather than before the confirmation when there was something to be done about it from the grassroots.

For a Democrat, the more puzzling issue is the vote of Jerry Brown.  Brown defeated Poochigian, without really running much of a campaign. Yet, Brown voted to confirm Poochigian with only a tough question here and there, including one on a 1999 law that outlawed discrimination in housing based on sexual orientation.  But, being his campaign for governor is now pretty much in full swing, a vote against Poochigian would look something like sour grapes, instead of what it would really be: a vote against an unqualified, biased judge.

It’s a slow day, so another light one. Teasers: Steve Clute and Irma Anderson concede, Rob Reiner and Pooch, and more!

Chuck Poochigian’s surrogate’s lawsuit arguing that Jerry Brown is not qualified under the law for the AG position has been stalled until after the election.:

A decision on whether candidate Jerry Brown is eligible to be attorney general will have to wait until after the November 7 election. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang Tuesday denied a request to have the legal case challenging Brown’s qualifications heard before the fall vote. … Government Code Section 12503 requires attorney general candidates to be “admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court for a period of at lease five years immediately preceding his or her election to office.”

According to the California State Bar’s Web site, Brown was first admitted to the bar in 1965 but let his membership lapse between 1997 and 2003. The Republican activists say that does not meet the five year requirement.

Chang did not rule on the merits of the case and the plaintiffs may still challenge Brown’s eligibility after the election is held.

For Pooch, even though the suit will go forward after the election, this is essentially equal to a loss.  If Brown wins, and the lawsuit succeeds, Arnold would surely not so obviously thwart voter will by appointing Pooch.

UPDATE: I don’t know when this lawsuit would conclude. The inauguration of the new governor is in January I believe, so the appointment would probably fall to the new governor. Well, probably, and that’s on the very remote chance that the GOP wins the suit.

I’ve been putting all the Odds, and all the Ends, in the extended.  But this one, this one, gets front page treatment: The Sacramento Bee has endorsed Jerry McNerney:

If you prefer the politics of extremes; if you’re OK with selling off national parks; if backroom deal-making and tainted money suit you; if you embrace out-of-balance budgets and the concentration of wealth — Pombo’s your man. But he is no longer representing the true interests of his district, state or nation. That’s ample reason for voters to send Jerry McNerney to Congress.

The Bee becomes just the latest in a string of endorsements of McNerney and fellow Dem Charlie Brown.  Now, let’st get to the teasers of the stuff over the flip: Schwarzenegger drops another $3.5 mil, Garamendi cleared, Pooch’s frivilous lawsuit, Dick Mountjoy being…Dick Mountjoy, and more…

As the election approaches, I understand that people are growing tired.  But there are less than 3 weeks, and we need every ounce of effort.  There are so many reasons to be excited.  We have the opportunity to get rid of several corrupt Republicans that have grown to become national embarrassments. We have the opportunity to take back the Secretary of State’s office and really address the issues of voting.  So with that, here’s some teasers: Arnold is desperate and has no coat tails. Ken Blackwell School of electioneering in Pooch’s bid for AG. Brown and McNerney. Jerry Lewis is corrupt, and LACCD goes solar.

• George Skelton thinks Arnold’s “Phil wants to raise your taxes by $18 Billion” line is “desperate”.
• The CapWeekly thinks Arnold’s coattails might be short, very short.
• Phil is going on the offensive (LAT).  He is visibly questioning the Governor’s character.  Well, it’s something that we’ve been doing here and at Tracking Arnold for quite some time.  Arnold has a track record of sexual harassment and questionably (or not so questionably) racist statements.  Rowdy movie set or not, some lines should not be crossed.
• Pooch and the CRP are getting a whiff of desperation of their own. The Contra Costa Cty. GOP is filing a suit stating that Jerry Brown is not eligible (SacBee) to be the AG b/c some of State Bar papers aren’t in order. Sounds like Ken Blackwell has been talking with Pooch.
• The CDP is excited about Brown and McNerney. (SF Chron)
• Shocker!!! Ring the Alarm!! Rep. Jerry Lewis has taken the most money of ANY Congressman from Lobbyists. (LAT)
• In some just all around pleasant news, the LA Community College System is planning an initiative to power their campuses via solar power. (LAT)

The video can be viewed here.  Jerry holds up well, but not great.  All in all, I would have to give this one a toss up.  I’m going to bet that the Chronicle endorses Brown, simply because Pooch really is far to the right of the general population of California, doubly so than the population of SF.

Two “debates” are scheduled today.  I guess calling them debates is a bit of a stretch as the candidates won’t have much interaction with each other, but well, what can you do.  First, in CA-AG Jerry Brown will face off with Chuck Poochigian.  Pooch has been running a very negative campaign, hoping that enough people will simply vote against Jerry Brown to carry him to victory.  It’s a very risky straegy.  The debate is really a forum for the editorial board of the SF Chronicle, but will be webcast live on CBS5’s website.

As for CA-11, Jerry McNerney  faces down Evil Incarnate.  Ok, Ok, maybe that’s too far.  Let’s just call Richard Pombo corrupt and anti-environment and leave it at that.  They will be participating at a Candidate Forum hosted by the Tracy Press at 7 p.m. at Poet Christian School, 1701 S. Central Ave., in Tracy. If you want to attend, try to get there early as seating will be limited.

Ok, if you live in CA-11 or in Tracy or Stockton, or something like that, this “debate” is going to be broadcast on Public Access TV.  I would really love it if somebody knew any additional information.  Better yet, record it and post it on YouTube  or EyeSpot.  I’m thinking of heading out there, so if you want to carpool from SF, let me know. 

We need to get this “debate” out to as many people as possible.  Pombo is in trouble people, let’s make sure we are doing everything possible to make sure that happens.