From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail… California Finances Slightly Less Awful

Last week thousands of California teachers rallied to extend $12 billion in tax hikes, which they said would help prevent $4.7 billion in education cuts. Well, it turns out that schools won’t be whacked after all, even if the taxes aren’t extended.

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised May budget projects that the state will collect $6.6 billion more in taxes over the next two years than his administration had projected in January. That’s based on tax collections this year that have exceeded earlier projections by $2 billion.

Thanks to the state’s Proposition 98, which mandates that at least 40% of general funds be appropriated for education, schools will get about $3 billion of the “windfall.” That’s $3 billion more than they got last year. Mr. Brown’s revised budget still assumes that income, sales and vehicle tax hikes that expire this year will be… Read More

Some passing thoughts after observing the returns in the first round of balloting in 36th Congressional District special election in Los Angeles County…

Some California voters almost got their first taste of how they were misled by Arnold Schwarzenegger and the CalChamber, who promised that Prop. 14 would deliver increased voter choice. When the dust settled in the first round of voting in CD 36 on the West side of Los Angeles County, Republican Craig Huey was holding onto the second spot in the runoff by about 200 votes. The campaign of Secretary of State Debra Bowen has refused to concede, pointing out that nearly 10,000 late absentee ballots and provisional ballots have yet to be counted. Hanging in the balance is a potential big embarrassment for proponents of Prop. 14. If Bowen climbs back into second place, the “promise of choice” presented CD 36 voters would be candidates who have virtually identical positions on everything from supporting universal healthcare and defending Obamacare, both want to pull back U.S. Troops from around the world, both are proudly pro-choice, etc., etc. There is literally no choice … Read More

Many of us already considered Arnold Schwarzenegger to be among the worst governors in California history, if not the worst. Now we know that he is also one of the most despicable.

Schwarzenegger’s fundamental problem as governor is that nobody could ever trust him. Lacking any core principles, his mood and his style of governance seemed to change with the weather. One day he was a leftie environmentalist, the next a conservative born-again tax cutter. One day he is crusading to recruit jobs, the next he is driving jobs away with ill-considered policies. One day he promotes the Hummer, the next a hybrid. One day he says that the state must live within its means, the next day he is proposing an expansion of government. Negotiating with Schwarzenegger was like negotiating with a stick of butter in the hot sun. This is why he accomplished so little of substance – nobody could ever trust that they were dealing with someone who would stick to the deal for the long term.

Arnold Schwarzenegger utterly lacked principles except for one – Arnold comes first. And that is the sad story that has now been revealed with the… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to present this column on the National Popular Vote issue for your consumption. I interviewed one of the authors of this column, Tom Golisano, back in March. You can see that video here – Flash]

California Republicans: Nowhere To Go But Up By State Senator Mimi Walters and Tom Golisano

November 2010 turned out to be a monumental success for Republicans throughout the nation and a dismal failure for the California GOP. While… Read More

Today, voters in the 36th Congressional District go to the polls to replace Jane Harman.

The district is Democratic, but contains areas the GOP can poll strongly in. Two years ago, the idea would have been for Republicans to recruits a strong candidate and hope for a bloody Democratic primary that nominates a far left candidate. Then hope for some lightning to strike.

The GOP field is filled with several quality candidates. Mike Webb is a City Prosecutor, Mike Gin is mayor, Kit Bobko is a councilman and so far the biggest spender is Craig Huey a successful conservative. Then came Proposition 14.

Proposition 14’s passage means that should candidates get under 50% the top two REGARDLESS of party go on to the “general” election. The last time the state had an open primary that allowed voters to choose candidates from other parties, the voters in open seats went where the action was or in other words where the money was spent. Then all parties that fielded candidates had a spot in the run-off.

In this seat, despite Huey’s spending that would mean a run-off between Democratic Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Democratic… Read More

Former Tennessee United States Senator Fred Thompson joined National Popular Vote campaign as Co-Chairman. He joins former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and former Iowa Governor Chet Culver. I don’t blame him — Tennessee is another state that is basically a “fly over” when it comes to Presidential races. On second thought, I guess that’s a bit better than being flown over and being treated as an endless cash register. That’s our role here in California.… Read More

Treasurer Bill Lockyer caused waves last month when he suggested that given Republican lawmakers’ opposition to higher taxes, their districts should bear the brunt of spending cuts. He said, “The people who want less government ought to be at the front of that line to get less government.”

Senate Democrat Leader Darrell Steinberg expressed openness to the idea, saying, “You don’t want to pay for government, well then, you get less of it.” He added that any district-targeted cuts should not hurt “kids or the vulnerable” but instead be limited to “convenience services that affect adults.”

Outrage to the proposal—appropriately so—came fast and furious.

Senate Vice-Chair Bob Huff said the proposal was “just nuts.”

Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation compared the idea to the strong arm tactics of an organized crime protection racket. He also suggested it might violate the equal protection guarantees found in both our state and federal constitutions.

Even the Los Angeles Times called the plan “ham-fisted and wrong.”

Mr.… Read More

Overtaxed Californians will find little to cheer in the Governor’s revised budget proposal.

Despite the Governor’s concession to postpone higher income taxes for a year, he continues to push for legislative approval of higher sales taxes and car taxes this year.

And although the Governor dropped his effort to abolish enterprise zones—and the jobs they create—he continues to miss the big picture: Californians need jobs, not higher taxes.

Our best hope for new revenues isn’t higher taxes, but new jobs fueled by a recovering economy. Unfortunately, the Governor has yet to truly lift a finger in the fight for California jobs.… Read More