Right now, 100 newly elected (or re-elected) legislators are being sworn into their terms in the State Legislature. This is a good opportunity to provide some "unspin" to counter what we have been reading lately about legislative Republicans and the upcoming session…
There have been several efforts in the last few weeks my the main stream media (including some of the more well read columnists) to frame the election of Mike Villines as Assembly Republican Leader as some sort of ‘lurch to the right’ by Republicans, and a rejection of any notion of bi-partisan cooperation in the State Capitol.
Let us remember that the Republican Party’s major tenants are a commitment to limited government, local control and individual responsibility. It should not come as a shock to any political pundits that Republicans in the State Legislature are very concerned about the growth in the size and scope of state government. Despite the dismal performance of our Republican majorities in Congress where spending increasing steadily under their watch, the vast majority of Republicans, especially when time is taken to explain how their tax dollars are spent, believe that there is too much fat in government, and that taxes are too high.
The change in Assembly leadership from George Plescia to Mike Villines was not based on ideology — there was no shift to the right. Trust me, George Plescia is very conservative fellow. There may have been stylistic issues between Plescia and Villines, and these factors may have garnered an actual change at the helm. But the point is this, whether Villines or Plescia, I guarantee you that the message coming from Assembly Republicans right now would be the same — California’s fiscal situation is perilous, and our bi-partisan cooperation needs to be geared towards working together to reduce state spending, to reduce regulation to keep the economy (and tax base) flourishing and to demonstrate that it is not a far-left ideology that dominates the Capitol, but a true spirit of working together.
Right now, Democrats have been more than pleased to herald "bi-partisanship" as they embrace some of Governor Schwarzenegger’s more liberal positions on a few issues. But the reality is that the Governor has and continues to support a broad amount of trimming of fat in state government, and I bet that if Democrats, to stimulate the economy, put a few tax cuts on the Governor’s desk, he would sign them. That would be tremendous ‘bipartisanship’ that Republicans could embrace.
But don’t swallow the ‘spin’ from the main stream media that legislative Republicans have somehow shifted rightward out of relevance. It is the Democrats who are so far to the ideological left that they can’t stomach the idea that smaller, more efficient government might be better for California.
Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines are both committed to being a part of bi-partisan efforts — but not efforts that fly completely in the face of common-sense. A look at the latest economic forecasts, and the prognostications of experts such as Legislative Counsel Elizabeth Hill, and you know that it makes sense for everyone to work together to invigorate California’s business climate, and tackle the issue of long-term structural deficit by making tough cuts in existing programs to pay off our debts.
I am sure that the main stream media, who are so overwhelming biased in favor of expanding state government, will continue to try to frame legislative Republicans as being uncooperative. But that simply isn’t the case. If you ask any Republican in the Senate or the Assembly if they would vote for a tax cut authored by a Democrat, you will get an enthusiastic "YES!" every time.