From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail:

It’s Getting Sweaty in Sacramento

Day Five of the California Hostage Crisis grinds on with state legislators no closer to approving a $42 billion plan to close the state’s budget deficit with a mixture of spending trims and higher taxes.

The tax hikes have the support of every Democrat in the legislature, but three Republican votes in the Assembly and three in the Senate are needed to meet the requirement that the budget pass with a two-thirds vote. In the Senate, only two Republican votes have been secured. One of them is Dave Cogdill of Modesto, who was unceremoniously dumped late last night as his party’s… Read More

I am sitting here at an impromptu “blogger row” in the back of a ballroom at the Marriott in Irvine. Sitting next to me is fellow blogger Matt Cunningham.

We are here to check out Meg Whitman as her “campaign kick-off tour” swings through Orange County. She is the featured speaker at a meeting of popular local Congressman (and former Fleischman employer) Ed Royce, who today formally endorsed Whitman in a lengthy, and emphatic introduction of the former CEO of eBay. Royce told the audience that while 9 million people voted in the last gubernatorial election in California, eBay has 12 million registered users here in the Golden State. (Now if we could get all of them to register and vote!)

Because I am so focused right now on the state budget Big 5/Big Spending deal in Sacramento, I will share with FR readers that Whitman just slammed Sacramento politicians for proposing tax and fee increases.

She made a lot of references to the out of touch politicians in the Capitol who don't understand how things happen in the real world.

I couldn't miss the not so subtle shot across the bow of the S.S.… Read More

A busy period of time on the State Senate Floor. Cogdill passed the baton to Hollingsworth, both said a few words — did a "grip and grin" for cameras.

Senate President Darrell "Lockdown" Steinberg went ahead and held the vote on the $14++ billion in tax increases.

On the Democrat side, Orange County’s Lou Correa abstained, and Lois Wolk, who was sick, did not vote. All of the other Democrats, I’m sure with glee, voted yes.

On the Republican side, all of the GOPers voted no, including Maldonado, except for three abstentions — from Cogdill, Cox and Ashburn.

Predictably, no Republican went up on a massive tax increase vote when it wouldn’t have passed. Ideally, there should have been 15 GOP votes of "no" — but beggars can’t be choosers after such a long weekend.

But, it goes on… Everyone is still locked down… Toothbrushes at the ready?

(Wolk came in, and "added on" with her undoubtedly gleeful YES on the taxes. — h/t to our twittering friends Anthony York with Capitol Weekly and John Myer with KQED.)… Read More

As a Republican, I guess you have to use some minor amount of political sophistication to figure out that if the GOP is responsible for passing the largest single tax increase in the history of any state ever, that the cynism of Republican voters with their own party will only increase (check out how many registered Republicans opted not to vote last November).

That said, it is pretty simple to understand how deadly a “Washington State” style open primary system would be to, frankly, both major political parties. First and foremost, the system ends voter registration by political party all together. Secondly, under that system, a party isn't even assured a candidate on the general election ballot.

For Dems, the taxes are a plus, the open primary, a minus. For GOPers — it's ALL Bad.

Abel Maldonado's request to place an effective termination of the political party system on the ballot should be summarily rejected. SHAME on him for advocating it.… Read More

The replacement of Dave Cogdill by Dennis Hollingsworth bodes well for California Taxpayers. Here is the question. Now that Cogdill is no longer the leader will he feel comfortable enough to vote the way he knows is right, as opposed to the way he has been convinced is "responsible."

Every Republican knows that the Democrats created this budget crisis by spending like drunken sailors on leave (with apologies to those sailors, since they are at least spending their own money). They then cry about the bankruptcy they have created, and then whine when Republicans won’t raise taxes to cover their spendthrift ways. Unfortunately, in the past, the general Republican response has been to "be responsible" and bail the Democrats out. Democrats are the bad teenagers, enabled by years of Republican indulgence, who have been arrested for breaking the laws of economics, and are asking Republicans to hire the lawyer and post the bail for their irresponsible behavior in the past. Too often, Republicans have indulged this bad behavior because they "cannot let the people" suffer.

First, the people won’t suffer. Some people… Read More

We have duly elected members of the Legislature under the Capitol Dome being treated like children. Let’s just assume that everyone is an adult and they all of them can generally take care of themselves. Some of you are laughing now but we are talking about grown men and women.

Recently the doors have been locked and they have been prevented from leaving.

I want to know what authority the Assembly Speaker and President Pro Tem have to do this. Under Article 4 Section 7 of the California Constitution:

SEC. 7. (a) Each house shall choose its officers and adopt rules for its proceedings. A majority of the membership constitutes a quorum, but a smaller number may recess from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members.

So who is absent? Was the leadership really compelling attendance be absent members? No one was absent. They didn’t miss anything.

If this is the only justification provided by the leadership for their actions of locking the doors… Read More

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

Purified by Fire

… Read More

There are a lot of problems with the Big 5/Big Taxes plan — some of which are a function of a broken process. The super secret-squirrel negotiations result in a scrambling of speedy analysis, trying to figure out what is really in the package.

State Senator Bob Dutton, who ironically is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, like everyone else has been scrambling to look into the details of the plan, having had it sprung on him just like everyone else.

One interesting analysis that his staff did was they looked over the stated $15.1 billion in cuts in the plan. Guess what they found? Yep, State Capitol "double speak" is alive and well.

Attached is a document (excel format) that details the sad truth, which is that if you apply the traditional "normal" definition of cuts (you know, were we actually reduce the amount of money on a program, as opposed to "cutting an anticipated increase" — or how about calling cuts items that have to be paid back?

Anyways, by the take you take out the "cuts that aren’t cuts" — the real cuts in this package are only $3.1 billion —… Read More