Newsletter: Essential Politics: When things get serious

In all political battles, there’s a moment when the rhetoric turns to reality and things get serious. On several fronts in California and across the country, that’s where things stand on the issue of gun violence.

Good morning from the the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers and in some ways we knew this day would come. But as Sunday’s events showed us, debates can turn very real in a hurry.

The Orlando shootings will no doubt be talked about this morning at the state Capitol, as a package of closely watched gun violence bills faces a key hurdle. Led by the efforts of Senate Democrats, some of the bills were inspired by December’s San Bernardino shootings and now will likely be seen through the lens of the latest incident.

The bills also, in some cases, mirror a ballot measure that Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is on the verge of qualifying for the Nov. 8 ballot.

Monday saw impassioned comments from lawmakers in Sacramento about the Orlando shootings, with some focused on the perils of gun violence and others lamenting what may have been an attack on the gay community.

In Washington, D.C., the chance of new laws in the wake of the weekend massacre looks less likely, given Republican opposition.

THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE: DUELING SPEECHES

Meantime, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump offered starkly different views on Monday of the weekend’s violence.

Trump broke out an old attack line against President Obama, suggesting that there’s “something going on” with an American leader who avoids blaming “radical Islamic terrorism” for events like the one in Orlando. And he expanded his pledge for a ban on foreign visitors to the United States.

As Christi Parsons reports, the Trump comments seemed to echo ones that he made in the past about Obama — remarks that were brushed off by the White House on Monday.

A SECOND PLEA BARGAIN IN THE CALDERON CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION

As a state senator, Ron Calderon was part of a family legacy of political service and influential positions. On Monday, though, he joined his brother in accepting a plea deal with federal prosecutors in the corruption case against him.

As Patrick McGreevy and Joel Rubin report, Calderon agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud while also admitting in court documents to a series of arrangements with those who offered money in return for his legislative efforts.

“This closes a sad chapter in the Senate’s history,” said state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León.

Just last week, voters approved Proposition 50, a suspension-without-pay amendment to the California Constitution inspired partly by the Calderon case.

CALIFORNIA’S CLIMATE AGENDA UNDER PRESSURE

Now that lawmakers are wrapping up work on the state budget, some want to turn their attention to another, even thornier issue — climate change policy. At the core of the issue is the future of California’s cap-and-trade program, a complex initiative for limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

As Chris Megerian and Ralph Vartabedian report, there are warning signs about the long term future not only of cap-and-trade but also California’s overall climate change approach — not to mention needed funds for things like high-speed rail.

Keep your eye on this one as the Legislature winds down its work for 2016, especially in August as the last political deals of the year are made.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD FOR LORETTA SANCHEZ

A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times survey conducted after the primary finds Loretta Sanchez will need a huge infusion of Republican votes to loft her ahead of front-runner Kamala Harris in the November election for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Cathleen Decker writes that early signs are not good, according to a new poll of voters who cast ballots in California’s June primary.

In the race between the two Democrats, Republicans who plan to vote in November side more with Atty. Gen. Harris than with Sanchez, the Orange County congresswoman.

As for the bulk of Republican voters, almost two-thirds said in the poll that they will not cast a ballot for the U.S. Senate seat in November.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— State lawmakers introduced an effort on Monday to change California’s legal definition of rape, an action sparked by the sentence handed down to a former Stanford student in a brutal attack on the Bay Area campus last year.

— News coverage of the early months of the presidential campaign strongly boosted Trump’s bid and put Clinton at a disadvantage, according to a new study from Harvard that is likely to add to the heavy volume of complaints that the media aided Trump’s rise.

— Trump announced his campaign is revoking credentials for Washington Post journalists covering his candidacy.

LOGISTICS

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