A few posts below this one we carried (courtesy of killmedia.tv) a two minute video of Audra Strickland’s Sunday night floor speech. Well now we bring you a "greatest hits" video showing you the "ire" of the left.

If these Democrats seem highly annoyed or upset, perhaps it is because the truth hurts. The reality is that the absolute fealty and tribute that Democrat legislators have given at the alter of the employee unions has led to a grossly expensive state government. Among the many victims of a fat and expensive state bureaucracy are those in need of government services. Thanks to the policies passed at the behest of these unions, everything costs more — including the delivery of services to those vulnerable members of our society.

During "times of plenty" — I guess there was plenty of money to go around. But now, when we are facing a massive shortfall of funding, the proverbial chickens are coming home to roost.

Anyways, now that you have endorsed a "Flash Rant" — enjoy another video courtesy of FlashReport/KillMedia… (If you watch all of the way to the end, you can see a… Read More

Keeping true to his word, Governor Schwarzenegger just vetoed the majority-vote tax bill package sent to him by legislative Democrats. Clearly the Governator stands ready to terminate any bills that fall short of a comprensivr $24 billion fix. We commend and encourage the Governor to hold the line…… Read More

As we get closer to midnight rumors are starting up that the solidarity and unity of purpose of Senate Republicans is starting to fray. I've checked into this fairly recently with a source and was assured that GOP Senators were still standing together against any piecemeal cuts that would undercut pressure for a comprehensive solution to take us to June 30 of next year.

We commend Senate Republicans for their resolve, and urge them to reject the false notion that voting for a $3 billion cut bill tonight will help anything. The three biggest results of doing that would be damage to our negotiating position, kicking the can to the pleasure of the unions, and avoiding needed cuts through July and into August.

By standing firm, Senate Republicans will ultimately be able to claim a key role in an ultimate $24 billion solution, and will have protected taxpayers!… Read More

Congressman Tom McClintock delivered the following speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on June 26 during the debate on the "Cap and Trade" (National Energy Tax) Bill… The Biggest Economic Mistake Since The Days Of Herbert Hoover I had a strange sense of Deja Vu as I watched the self-congratulatory rhetoric on the house floor tonight, and I feel compelled to offer this warning from the Left Coast. Three years ago, I stood on the floor of the California Senate and watched a similar… Read More

Today is the last day of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, and it is the final opportunity for the State Legislature to place on the Governor’s desk a comprehensive fix to next fiscal year’s way-out-out-whack budget before we are actually IN that fiscal year. By "comprehensive fix" — I mean a package of cuts and reforms that ensures that state government will be able to make it all of the way to June 30, 2010 without having yet another "fiscal crisis" where we are back at the cliff, again.

Governor Schwarzenegger has been 100% on message since the May 19th Special Election — we need a complete fix for the budget situation — one that does so taking into account that the voters overwhelmingly rejected tax increases to do so.

Legislative Democrats, unbelievably Sunday (in the Assembly) and yesterday (in the Senate) rammed through billions of dollars in illegal majority-vote tax increases for what appears to be the sole purpose of sticking the legislative "middle finger" up at California voters — especially since the Governor has and continues to make it clear that any legislation that hits his desk with… Read More

Cap and Tax Bill: I write you this to you after one of the biggest votes of my Congressional career. I’m sure you have already heard a lot about this bill that passed by a vote of 219-212 on Friday evening. It is known by a variety of titles, but most commonly as ‘cap and trade,’ ‘cap and tax,’ or ‘the national energy tax.’ I won’t repeat a lot of what you already know. But suffice it to say, this bill will be a disaster for our economy, which is already in huge trouble.

The bill is so bad that it took a full court press from the President, the Speaker, and just about everybody who works in the West Wing to cajole the votes necessary with threats and treats. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) was even brought out of rehab where he is undergoing treatment for substance abuse for this vote, and rumors abound that some members were promised 9 figures of pork for their districts if they voted for the bill.

Why is it so bad? According to MIT, it will result in an energy tax that will, on average, cost American families about $3,000 per year! In addition, according to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis… Read More

Normally, half a loaf is better than none, but under the Capitol dome that kind of logic does not always work. Over the last few days the Democrats have offered a solution to the short-term cash flow crisis but not to the on-going problem of overspending. The Republicans are split, with some advocating the partial solution then returning to the issue of a long-term fix while others argue that the problem is so acute that we do not have the luxury of time to address the problem incrementally. Earlier I was on the side of those suggesting that we agree on what is offered and come back for more debate on the rest of the problem.

However, Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter), who is Majority Leader, brought me up short. During the debate on Friday about the short-term measures, he argued eloquently that preventing the state from issuing IOU warrants was the most important item before the Legislature, and since everyone agreed that the proposed bills would cut spending enough to cover the cash gap, they should be adopted now. Then he shocked me with way too much disclosure of the Democrat strategy by saying that the structural deficit and the imbalance of the current… Read More

Note: Thanks to a phone call from Senator Bob Dutton, I stand corrected on my initial posting of this item which claimed the entire San Bernardino County legislative delegation supported raiding local gas tax (road maintenance and repair) dollars.Actually, it was the entire ASSEMBLY delegation from San Bernardino County that voted that way.Only one Senator, Gloria Negrete-McLeod (D-San Bernardino), voted for it. My apologies to Senators Dutton, Runner, Ashburn and Huff.

As of Friday, the state’s attempt to raid the local gasoline tax money cities and counties use for street and road maintenance and repairswas continuing.That’s $288 million in Prop. 42 "deferments", withan outrighttaking of $1.7 billion in HUTA local-share gas tax still on the table.

Let’s review what this would mean if it gains final approval:We would give up our local streets and roads maintenance so they can pay off some state bond debt, prop-up the state’s cash flow and credit ratings, and… Read More