Garrick: Get to Work… No question that if GOP legislators took a convention holiday without first having finalized a state budget, the outcry would be loud, prolonged and furious. So, why has the criticism leveled at Democrats for hauling off to their convention bash with work still undone been largely limited to the blogs? Please answer me that. In the meantime, this from Assemblyman Martin Garrick, posted Friday at Red County SD:
Skip the Convention and Get to Work
The California State Assembly adjourned shortly after 1pm today, choosing to take the weekend off — even though the state budget has still not been passed. The Assembly will reconvene on Monday at 1pm for floor session, but will take a three day break on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so Legislative Democrats can attend their national convention in Denver.
Yes, you read that right, a three day vacation right in the middle of a budget stalemate.
Unfortunately, common sense often does not prevail in Sacramento, and there seems to be no sense of urgency when it comes to getting the budget done.
If I had it my way, the Assembly and Senate would be here this weekend with our sleeves rolled up, ready to get to work on a budget deal. I believe we owe it to the people of California to stay here until the job gets done.
Anderson – Star of the Dem Blogs… Last Monday, the day after the budget vote failed in the Assembly, Frank Russo of California Progress Report posted a good portion of Assemblyman Joel Anderson’s no-on-the-budget remarks from the debate. "The negotiation has to be a two way street," said Anderson. "You can’t dictate this budget to us. Had we seen this empirical vote a month ago, we might be further along in negotiations."
Of course, Russo interspersed that quote and Joel’s other points with his own rebuttals and criticisms, but so much of the blog content was taken up with trying to pick the GOP’s case apart piece by piece, that several Republican arguments were made in the process. A comment then posted by reader Jay Gould really locked it up:
The Democrat majority had ALL LEGISLATIVE YEAR to manage the budget; being in all the Committee chair and leadership positions has that authority. Yet they waited until the due date and beyond to do so… The Dems are the ones who jacked up spending. Logically, could they not prioritize what to spend money ON as well as what to CUT???
Of course not…
They would rather have the minority party say where to cut from the Dem massive spending so then they can paint those Republicans as "evil" or "uncaring" to the poor, the infirm, THE CHILDREN, those seeking education… But education need to infect the Legislature, specifically MATH. You spend more than you take in. Get it?
And the folks won’t be happy with higher taxes (funny, the Dems didn’t even mention a tax increase until it was obvious the budget would be late again). Nor will they be happy with the reinstatement of the VLF. Paying some $400 for the paper drill of registering your car is ROBBERY, but to Gray Davis & Co, it was REVENUE… And the next time the Dems spend $80 million on an additional election like they did this year in an attempt to keep their jobs via side-stepping term limits (Proposition 93) you will again see how concerned they are about our tax dollars being used or even a budget being balanced.
Dems, LEAD. Get behind those closed doors and COMPROMISE, just a little. That too might be a cathartic experience…
Anderson – Star of Chula Vista… Hardly a week goes by in which the San Diego area doesn’t make a "News of the Weird" listing somewhere, and last week was no different. News surfaced about "concerns" that Chula Vista City Manager David Garcia was spending a tad too much personal time at work on the Internet.
Yet, what red-blooded American city manager isn’t inspired by Pam Anderson? Perhaps she is Garcia’s muse, emboldening him to work long hours and produce twice his normal output of city council reports.
Varying folks had differing reactions to the revelations, some even more amusing than the story itself. Scott Lewis at VoiceofSanDiego.com wrote, "If you’re going to accuse someone in the newspaper of downloading inappropriate content, you better come with something a bit sexier than vacation photos and an ‘inordinate amount of time’ spent on a page described as merely the Pam Anderson page."
Alternatively, the Union-Trib’s Chris Reed of America’s Finest Blog took issue with Mayor Cheryl Cox’s memo that Garcia’s personal web use is acceptable if kept to a minimum. "So it’s acceptable to ogle a former Playboy Playmate and sex-tape star on your computer while at work," wrote Reed," so long as you keep it to a minimum. You’re the city manager of a proud, growing city…and you’re supposed to set an example for all. So, says the mayor, enjoy yourself. But within reason."
Time for me to shut this puppy down. I’ve ogled the FlashReport far too long for a Sunday morning. Have a great week!