It’s 6:55am and I’m sitting on the Senate floor. We’ve been here all night long. All night. We’ve been locked in and there are sergeants at every exit making sure we can’t leave. I slept in a chair for about an hour (and btw – Dennis Hollingsworth snores :/ )

Ah – democracy at work. Normally, I’d make some clever remark about the Assembly here, but we passed all the foolishness I’ve ever seen the Assembly engage in in my 13 years in the legislature. It’s all rather quite embarrassing

To update you —- we’ve done nothing.

Yesterday, the Senate took up the irresponsible budget the Assembly passed the night before and defeated it (actually, it’s still "on call", but short of passage). No Republican supported it.

The budget before us is out of balance, based on gimmicks, ignores existing debts and future obligations. We’ve been real clear all along we couldn’t support it and that we needed to cut spending now to save the state a catastrophic problem next year.

So, after the budget bill went down the Senate Pro Tem Don… Read More

And then there were two. Radlovic, Escobar and now Stan Carroll have abandoned thier bids for the 60th AD race to replace Bob Huff. That leaves Larry Dick and Curt Hagman to slug it out. See here. See previous post on Carroll here.… Read More

Well the lockdown is over – we’re FREE!

After a fruitless effort of trying to break us into passing the irresponsible Assembly budget, the seige is over.

Finally, calmer heads have prevailed and instead of the "we’ll break ’em" tactics, Senator Perata has decided that we should negotiate like adults.

We are working toward a budget without a deficit – that’s our goal. Our budget team will be working over the weekend with the Democrats. Hopefully we will get there.

Senator Perata is a bit testy, but at least we’re free.… Read More

As the State Senate was debating the budget that was rejected by over two thirds of Assembly Republicans, Tom McClintock gave the following floor speech. As you read this, we are all in solidarity with Tom and his colleagues who have been "locked in" to the Senate chambers…

Mr. President: A year ago, this legislature adopted a budget that ran up the biggest general fund deficit in California’s history. The architects of this budget admit to adding another half billion dollars to the cumulative shortfall, and expect that this looks good in comparison. There are two problems. First, by their own… Read More

As the State Senate was debating the budget that was rejected by over two thirds of Assembly Republicans, Tom McClintock gave the following floor speech. As you read this, we are all in solidarity with Tom and his colleagues who have been "locked in" to the Senate chambers…

Mr. President: A year ago, this legislature adopted a budget that ran up the biggest general fund deficit in California’s history. The architects of this budget admit to adding another half billion dollars to the cumulative shortfall, and expect that this looks good in comparison. … Read More

We here at the FR have carte blanche to pick up Senator McClintock’s posts from over at the Citizens for the California Republic website, and here’s what he says in the wake of the liberation of the Senators from their chambers: **This is a good chance to remind all of our GOP legislators that if you send in commentary or thoughts on the budget or other issues, we try within reason to get those posted up.**

From the Senator:

BUDGET VICTORY – THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR YOUR CALLS AND E-MAILS – YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE. … Read More

Today in Anaheim, the YRFC held their annual State Convention.

Chairman Matt Harper handed off the gavel to longtime conservative leader and activist, Ben Lopez.

YRFC also went on record endorsing the CRP’s recently re-affirmed position that only Republican voters should be able to pick the Republican presidential nominee. The organization also endorsed the CRP campaigns of California Republican Lawyers Association President Steve Baric, and former CRP Chairman Shawn Steel.

We just got done listening to Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, who was just presented with YRFC’s Legislator of the Year Award.

And right now, our FlashReport leader Jon Fleischman was given the YRFC Founder’s Award.

Later tonight, talk show host and author Dennis Prager will be addressing the group.

All in all, a great event put on by the Orange County Young Republicans.

(posted from my Treo)… Read More

Well, 120 California legislators can enjoy their weekends, as I just got off of the phone with Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman who told me that there will not be any budget nogiations taking place over the weekend, at least not on the Senate side of the building.

Ackerman did say that he expects more activity on the budget next week.

In the meantime, the taxpayers can be assured that the legislature will not be convening over the weekend. UPDATE: Genuinely nice guy and devout socialist Frank Russo has a post up at the left-of-Berkeley California Progress Report website that (if you can get past Frank’s rhetoric) contains a nifty transcript of the from-the-roster dialogue between Perata and Ackerman at the end of the lock-down this morning.… Read More