One aspect of the Democrats’ most recent budget proposal that hasn’t gotten much attention is that they seem to be on the exact same page as Governor Schwarzenegger and Republicans when it comes to pension reform. Look at what Kevin Yamamura wrote yesterday on the Sacramento Bee’s website:

“ … in order to make their new budget balance, Democrats are counting on $822 million in savings that depend upon 15 bargaining units negotiating the same type of tentative agreements that six other units have reached with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration. The savings is located on page 9 of Assembly Speaker John A. Perez’s budget outline. “If that were to occur, the remaining 15 bargaining units would agree to increase employee contributions to pensions and take one unpaid leave day each… Read More

For more than a year a certain group of people have been making claims about the 5th Assembly District and Republican nominee Andy Pugno. We have heard that Andy would not win the primary. We have heard that Andy puts the seat in jeopardy of Democrat Dr. Richard Pan taking the seat. All of this is not true.

The most recent example is a poll being put out by normally responsible and respected Democrat pollster Ben Tulchin.

The memo (see it here) is titled “New Poll in CA AD 5 Shows Dr. Richard Pan Can Win." The memo goes on to describe a hypothetical matchup between Pugno and Pan where Pugno is ahead 44-40 on the first ballot. Why is this hypothetical you might ask. It is hypothetical because Tulchin clearly did not include all of the candidates on the ballot.

The reality is that Peace and Freedom College Student Elizabeth Martinez is also on the ballot. In Pugno’s polls that have been made public she gets about 10% of the vote. None of them coming form Pugno.

How Tulchin can put his name… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail…… Read More

Assembly Republican Leader Martin Garrick has been extremely forthright and straightforward in his weekly messaging during this budget crisis — we have an over-spending, over-regulating and over-taxing problem facing California government… This latest video message from Garrick continues to emphasize how the Democrats continue to want to punish taxpayers with higher taxes…

… Read More

The Prop 18 Water Bond, seen as not ready for November prime time, looks like it will receive hearings and votes today on the subject of removing it from the 2010 ballot and delayed to 2012. The Senate Resources and WaterCommittee is the first stop for the 2 bills today. Assembly is in recess waiting on the Senate actions, whilst the Senate caucuses.… Read More

Both houses have passed the bills to delay Prop 18 til 2012. After a fairly easy Senate vote for the delay bill, the Assembly fought it for a while and passed it out this evening, eventually gaining the 2/3 votes needed. Interestingly, the arguments for and against delaying ranged from "don’t delay it so we can kill an unpopular,bad bond sooner than maybe squeak it through later" to "we must save this important measure from a certain loss now in 2010 under these dire economic timesby delaying it for the voters to decide in 2012" At any rate, it’s now a 2012 question once the Guv signs the bill.… Read More

New Primary Dates The RNC Summer meeting adopted proposed new significant rules that will change the way we select delegates in the 2012 RNC presidential convention.

The Republican primary season was effectively over when John McCain defeated Mitt Romney in Florida on January 29, 2008. Rudy Giuliani then endorsed McCain effectively ending the primary cycle.

Members of the RNC are concerned as more states force earlier primaries we are facing a National Primary. A National Primary would concentrate the nomination process to major urban areas, campaigning would be only via national TV and end the vetting candidates through state by state retail politics would end.

The rules change is a modest proposal. Three components are:

Last week I penned a column where I was extremely critical of a decision by a jury up in tiny Humboldt County to hammer Skilled Healthcare, which owns and operates nursing homes, with the largest monetary verdict in America this year – the better part of a billion dollars. I’m back writing about this case again because, based on information that has been shared with me, it looks like Skilled Healthcare, and the integrity of our judicial system, may have been the victims of jury tampering and a dishonest juror. If the judge in the case agrees, it will lead to him setting aside this stunningly large and egregious verdict, and requiring an entirely new trial.

Let me first ‘set the table’ a bit… The reason why this particular court case involving Skilled Healthcare, which is a large nursing home owner and administrator here in California, caught my eye in the first place was that the company was hit with a staggering $671 jury verdict – what I call an ‘extinction event’ for Skilled since they… Read More