Here’s the thing: The Republicans understand that there have to be some additional revenues. They know that even they couldn’t come up with the full $25 Billion in cuts in any way that could possibly help them politically. But, on the other side, they are terrified of their own base.<\/p>\n
This is where it gets interesting. Sen. Bob Dutton, the Republican Leader in the Senate asked the Legislative Counsel if there is any way for the Democrats to put something on the ballot on their own, sans the 2\/3 majority. Now, Dutton would probably tell you out in public that this is just to stop the tax hikes or something like that. But, you have to think that Dutton was secretly hoping that the Democrats could do the dirty work while the Republicans could maintain their ideological purity by never voting for anything that possibly resembles an increase in taxes.<\/p>\n
Speaker Perez, for his part, doesn’t seem to be taking the bait, and has cast that aside right from the get-go:<\/p>\n
Assembly Speaker John A. P\u00e9rez said Wednesday that he has no intention of sidestepping Republicans by trying to place a tax-extension measure on the June ballot by a simple majority vote of the Legislature.<\/p>\n
P\u00e9rez downplayed a legislative counsel’s opinion, sought by Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton, that indicated such a measure could be placed before voters without the support of GOP lawmakers, under narrow circumstances.<\/p>\n
“No,” P\u00e9rez said flatly when asked if he is entertaining such a plan for the tax measure proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown to raise $11 billion for the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2012.<\/p>\n