If my sources are correct (and they usually are), the problem in this year’s budget is that the Governor is insisting on more spending than the Legislative Republicans want. Fabian Nunez has told Mike Villines that the Assembly Dems want a deal, so that the budget doesn’t foul up the terms limits initiative. He has asked Villines to prevail upon the Republican Governor to reduce his demands for more spending. Villines has declined the invitation, saying that the Dems have to convince the Governor (or perhaps his Democrat wife) that more spending is not in the state’s interest.
None of this is necessary. If the Legislative Democrats truly wish to pass a budget with less spending, they can do it without the Governor’s agreement. The only reason the big five has ever been necessary is to preserve Democrat spending in the budget from the Governor’s line item veto. If there is less spending in the budget, no Governor agreement is necessary. Sure., he could veto the budget, but then he would have to demand a budget with more spending. This Governor won’t do that. He won’t do it because he would then be solely responsible for any budget collapse that could occur, and since a budget collapse in the next two years is a high likelihood, the Governor would be foolish to insist on more spending this year.
Besides, cutting spending is both good policy and good politics. A cut in spending now would likely avoid any future major deficits. Second, it would convince the public that the Legislature is not a bunch of self-indulgent spendthrifts, which would increase the likelihood that a term limits measure might pass. The Governor would also be better off, if it is true that he is insisting on more spending, because the political consequences of his desire for more spending could be a permanent loss of political capital, as future budgets collapse under the strain of the current spending patterns.
In any event, the Legislature would be better off if it just passed a budget, and left the Capitol. The people would be better off, and the Governor would be better off. That is what I call bipartisanship, a good policy that benefits everyone. Let’s see if its true, or if the Democrats are just bluffing.