[With updates]

It appears that Governor Schwarzenegger and the liberal Democratic legislature have made a calculated decision to hold up the $100 billion state budget over taxpayer funded health care to illegal immigrants.

I don’t know who’s advice the governor is taking, what focus group told his senior staff (government and/or campaign) that expanding bureaucracy for illegal immigrants is a winning issue, or what the horseshoe’s exit strategy is for getting a budget passed, but kudos to the Republican members of the California state legislature for holding firm on 1) not passing a budget that ignores the structural deficit and 2) not passing a budget that increases bureaucratic spending on health care for illegal immigrants.

The Sac Bee reported today at 1:46 PM:

“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger disagreed with his fellow Republicans in the Legislature over the issue of health care for undocumented children Thursday, saying the state should… Read More

Of all the ways of attacking the problem of illegal immigration in our country, identifying, arresting and deporting the illegal alien criminal element is the most responsible and noble.

It is a cause that virtually all Americans can get behind.

This week the U. S. Dept. of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did exactly what they ought to be doing…arrested thousands of illegal aliens who are known criminals. Their plan is to prosecute them, incarcerate them and then deport them once they have done their time..

You’ll notice that this was in no way a Mexican-centered sweep. Illegal alien criminals were arrested that hailed from Columbia, Senegal, China, Poland and my favorite…Cape Verde apparently a country according to the CIA.

From the ICE Press Release:

Houston, Texas – Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), today announced that ICE agents and officers have apprehended approximately 2,179 criminal aliens, illegal alien gang… Read More

Club for Growth has a post today on their blog about Brian Bilbray’s about face on the issue on congressional earmarks. They point out what he said in the campaign and his FOUR votes againt ammendments proposed to curtail congressional pork. See post here.

One of the reasons CRA opposed Bilbray in the primary was his past history as a congressman. Despite the many assurances that things would change they didn’t. Business as usual

Bilbray wasn’t alone in continuing these congressional practices. Only Dan Lungren voted for a couple of the ammendments. The rest of the GOP delegation voted four times to protect secret earmarks and pork spending projects. Then they all voted for a bill that had 1500 earmarks.

When Democrats were in power, the GOP stood as the check on uncontrolled wasteful spending. But who will check the GOP???… Read More

Well, we just adjourned a bit ago, losing a chance to make some positive history, passing the budget by the true constititional deadline.

The June 15 constitutional deadline will expire at midnight on the $100,000,000,000.00+ California State Budget proposal with no actionover onthe Senate floor or on our side on the Assembly floor. The sticking points being cutting back over a billion in late spending additions and the inclusion of $24 million for health care benefits for children of illegal immigrants…the latter being a huge philosophicalproblem for Republicans and a non-starter for pretty much any Republican support of a budget proposal with such funding in it.

The trouble is both sides know that the 2/3’s vote required to pass the budget won’t happen with that in there. Potentially, it could’ve been on time without this game being played but the mentality is that the effective deadline is really June 30 as after that,people, state employees, contractors with the state, start not to be paid on July 1 and the complaining then moves the legislature to act.

The fight over the illegal immigrant children… Read More

The state constitution requires that the legislature pass a budget by June 15, which is today. Will our well-paid, full-time legislature fulfill to its constitutional duty? Not according to the Democrat’s fearless leader, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. What’s holding up the budget? According to Nunez, it’s the Republicans’ darned obsession with illegal immigration. The Assembly Reps have said that they won’t vote for the Democrats’ effort to expand the state-funded children’s health programs to include illegal immigrant children.

In the Governor’s revised budget proposal, he added an additional $23 million in general funds and personnel to expand coverage to 24,000 uninsured children of the working poor. According to the Assembly Republican Caucus, the Democrats, in negotiations leading up to a legislative vote, expanded the Healthy Families program to cover illegal immigrants and families of four with annual incomes of about… Read More

What do Phil Angelides, Gerry Parsky, public employee retirement pensions and the Cayman Islands have in common? Good question. And one that someone might want to ask the state’s treasurer turned gubernatorial hopeful.

In his bitterly self-righteous and antagonistic style, Angelides has been railing against corporate tax loopholes as part of his campaign for governor of California. The Phil for Guv campaign website encourages supporters to sign a petition to Schwarzenegger with the following language:

"Did you know there is a California tax loophole that lets some corporations do business in California and elsewhere without being taxed?

"That’s right. Because of one loophole, some companies can do business in California and avoid paying taxes anywhere!"

The petition suggests that by closing these loopholes, the state (or more to the point, Phil if only you elect him governor) could use the money to “offer a… Read More

The state constitution requires that the legislature pass a budget by June 15, which is today. Will our well-paid, full-time legislature fulfill to its constitutional duty? Not according to the Democrat’s fearless leader, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. What’s holding up the budget? According to Nunez, it’s the Republicans’ darned obsession with illegal immigration. The Assembly Reps have said that they won’t vote for the Democrats’ effort to expand the state-funded children’s health programs to include illegal immigrant children.

In the Governor’s revised budget proposal, he added an additional $23 million in general funds and personnel to expand coverage to 24,000 uninsured children of the working poor. According to the Assembly Republican Caucus, the Democrats, in negotiations leading up to a legislative vote, expanded the Healthy Families program to cover illegal immigrants and families of four with annual incomes of about… Read More

Congratulations to my Young Americans for Freedom compatriot Brandon Powers for having Martin Wisckol’s favorite quote from the Flag Day Dinner. There were a lot of good quotes from which to choose. It is up on Total Buzz, the Register’s political (non-editorial) blog.

Powers said this of Governor Schwarzenegger:

"He’s a Republican and he happens to be governor, but he’s not a Republican governor."

And I’m sureit will spark discussion.… Read More