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George SkeltonCapitol Journal |
Recent Columns:
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer couldn't stand it anymore -- that Republican mantra: "We don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem." So the Democrat did some calculating.
The award for the most cynical, mendacious, Orwellian campaign of the state election season goes to the opponents of Proposition 11, the redistricting reform initiative.
Put down the pitchforks. Stop hurling the bricks. Politicians in the state Capitol have not been total screw-ups this year.
There has been a lot of screaming that Sacramento fails to live within its means, and the howlers are correct. But on Nov. 4, the voters will have their hands on the state checkbook.
Give Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger some credit. The big guy flexed and the Democrats blinked.
In California's Capitol, they're verging on political nuclear war. The ultimate weapons are cranked and aimed.
The Republican mantra in the Capitol is that Californians already are overtaxed and especially should not be taxed higher during a recession.
Don't blame Democrats for the record-long budget stalemate that is forcing the state to stiff private suppliers, community colleges and healthcare centers for the poor.
The Legislature and the governor may have reached the point where the most responsible thing they can do is to be irresponsible.