Before Fleischman e-towel slaps me for this entry not being "California enough," it is coming from a CA-based consultant, so I’m goin’ with it.

Either Jennifer Kerns at K Street Communications’ blog is putting herself out there on this one, quoting an anonymous "high-placed DNC insider," or — if she is somehow correct — no one will soon forget….

The Street is hearing from a source this morning that a high-placed DNC insider has confirmed that Vice Presidential pick Joe Biden will step down from the Democratic ticket. The report is that on or about October 5, Biden will excuse himself from the ticket, citing "health problems," and he will be replaced by Hillary Clinton. This follows weeks of a post-Palin bounce following the RNC Convention, and significant… Read More

My reliable Capitol sources are telling me that a new budget deal will be announced this afternoon. It is a deal that includes all parties in the Big 5. The Governor will get his entire Budget Reform package as he articulated in his veto announcement (though as we have pointed out, this is a good start but far short of a Gann-style limit on spending). As for the trading points to get there, well, I have that info but unfortunately have been embargoed from sharing at this time. But now that you know this much, start shaking the trees and maybe you'll find out… Or just wait for the press conference…… Read More

OVERRIDE CHALLENGE #1 It would appear that the first major sticky wicket has popped up in efforts to override the pending veto by Governor Schwarzenegger of the budget that has been shipped his was by the legislature. One (unfortunate) component of this compromise budget is that around $5 billion dollars of the "gap" (the shortfall that needed to be made up because Republicans correctly refuse to raise taxes and Democrats refuse to make more needed cuts in spending) is "made up" by forcing California taxpayers to, in essence, pay their taxes earlier in the year.

That particular component of the budget deal was in a trailer bill which required only a majority vote. To my understanding, no GOPers went up on that rather ugly part of the sausage-deal.

Well, if the Governor does veto the budget and trailer bills, suddenly that component part will need a 2/3 vote — which means a pretty good number of Republicans would have… Read More

OVERRIDE CHALLENGE #1 It would appear that the first major sticky wicket has popped up in efforts to override the pending veto by Governor Schwarzenegger of the budget that has been shipped his was by the legislature. One (unfortunate) component of this compromise budget is that around $5 billion dollars of the "gap" (the shortfall that needed to be made up because Republicans correctly refuse to raise taxes and Democrats refuse to make more needed cuts in spending) is "made up" by forcing California taxpayers to, in essence, pay their taxes earlier in the year.

That particular component of the budget deal was in a trailer bill which required only a majority vote. To my understanding, no GOPers went up on that rather ugly part of the sausage-deal.

Well, if the Governor does veto the budget and trailer bills, suddenly that component part will need a 2/3 vote — which means a pretty good number of Republicans would have… Read More

"We know. Does Janice?" is the threatening ending to a letter I received at my office on Monday. Addressed to mefrom Mr. G. Loves Areoff at 325 N. Maple Dr., Beverly Hills, CA, and typed on patriotic stationary, the letter serves me warning: "[i]n response to your involvement with www.exposeobama.com, we have taken the liberty to do some research on you as a patriot……" "Your ego allows you to feel you can live a certain hypocritical lifestyle. We’re not refering to your weight or that you may take a stiff drink or a cigar. It’s the women, James…." "We know. Does Janice?" Attached is a complete copy of the letter.

Janice, of course, is my wife and law partner. A couple weeks ago, I soberly had her name tatooed on my arm in Las Vegas as a complete surprise for our 21st wedding anniversary (she liked it!). We are faithful spouses.

I’vebeen threatened before in politics.Most significantlywhen I was an elected official. But not often, and neverin connection with my family. My friend, brainy San… Read More

There are a lot of valid reasons for Republican legislators to be upset with Arnold Schwarzenegger. But while voting to override his veto of the state budget would provide some visceral and potentially justifiable feelings of retribution toward a governor who pays them much less attention than they would like, it's not a valid public policy position for a conservative elected official.

There are understandable reasons for a conservative lawmaker to be tempted by the budget that passed the Legislature earlier this week. It doesn't raise taxes, at least according to some definitions. It does implement some spending reductions. It takes the first tentative steps toward budget reform. Most importantly, the long ugly summer has turned into a potentially longer and uglier autumn, and the service providers and editorial writers are screaming for action.

But none of those are reasons for overriding a Schwarzenegger veto. While it's an adroit political maneuver to point out that the so-called revenue “accelerators” that speed up tax and withholding collections originated in his administration's Department of Finance, it doesn't… Read More

The Governor’s petulance over the budget vote is just the latest in his exercise of ego as an element of government policy. It is now clear that he cares little about anything other than getting his own way. Policy has long ago left any discussion. In his mind, it is now all about the Governor.

While it is true the budget is flawed, it has one major benefit. Recessions do not last forever, revenues will recover and will recover soon. Spending that extra money on current bills, rather than program expansions prevents even worse spending crises in the future. The only time this Governor exercised any spending restraint was when he was paying off the bills incurred by Gray Davis. Maybe if we force him to pay off the bills he incurred yesterday from future revenues, we can prevent this spendthrift from sending the state into another budget crisis.

And that is why his criticism today is so hypocritical. It was his spending policies that created this mess. It was his deals with the Democrats that cause the collapse of the current budget. For him to criticize this budget, which is attempting to fix his mess, on the grounds that it doesn’t… Read More

We can dither about California politics all we want here, but Wall Street is imploding on the watch of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox (pictured right, Cox was a long-time Californai Congressman before being appointed to his SEC post by President Bush in 2006), and he needs to be fired or resign immediately. There are many components feeding the crisis in banking and equity markets, but the SEC has failed in its oversite responsiblities under Cox.

The "regulations" set to go into effect tomorrow are merely enforcement actions of laws on the books already. Christopher Cox needs to exit the stage – now. His lack of proactive leadership has cost Americans trillions of dollars of net worth already.… Read More