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Townhall...
Dud Deals in
California
By Debra J. Saunders
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Perhaps one of the most dangerous sentences in
the English language is: “It can’t get any worse.”
Anyone who doesn’t know that should not be trusted with sharp objects
or political power. And yet there are California Republican Party
convention-goers who made that claim in a city where everyone else asks
what’s wrong with the Republicans.
On the one hand, hard-liners want to punish any GOP lawmaker who cuts a
deal to put Gov. Jerry Brown’s five-year car-fee, income and sales tax
extension on the ballot. On the other hand, few Republican lawmakers
voted for spending cuts -- leaving Democrats to carry that heavy
burden. Thus GOP leaders come across as inflexible and worthless.
Only five Assembly Repubs voted for a measure to pare state welfare
checks and save the state $156 million. Only one Republican Assembly
member, Chris Norby of Fullerton, voted to end redevelopment so that
$1.7 billion can go to essential services like schools and public
safety.
What are they thinking? That’s what Democrats, independents and those
Republicans who wouldn’t be caught dead at a GOP confab ask me.
GOP faithful and legislative staffers tell me that voters already
rejected a ballot measure to extend the 2009 tax increases by a 2-1
margin -- there’s no need for a do-over. GOP lawmakers see no
percentage in risking their jobs by voting for spending cuts when there
is no real budget -- because the Dems won’t put forth a budget that
only cuts. Besides, they shrug, things can’t get worse.
They also argue that there are other ways to cut spending -- as in
pressuring labor to cut compensation in order to keep schools open. And
some of the Legislature’s cuts are more gimmick than reality. Take the
proposal to save $563 million by putting some felons in jail rather
than prison. Problem: Most county jails don’t have room for more bodies.
That said, most Republicans with whom I talk want a deal. They
understand that if voters don’t get the opportunity to vote on the
Brown budget proposal, voters will blame Republicans for every teacher
layoff, every canceled school day and every felon released to the
streets.
These Republicans appreciate that there will be bad press during the
negotiators’ dance. That’s OK, if the GOP 5 -- state Sens. Tom
Berryhill of Modesto, Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, Anthony Canella
of Ceres, Bill Emmerson of Hemet and Tom Harman of Huntington Beach --
can squeeze out smart concessions, such as pension reform and a
spending cap. They should get something for a vote that will get their
“heads on a stick” at a certain talk-radio venue.
Sacto taskmeister Eric Hogue is not a heads-on-a-stick conservative:
“Some people believe that control is more important than success.” The
purists, with their vendettas, are chasing pragmatists from the party.
Radio-show host and self-described cowboy libertarian Patrick Dorinson
is no longer a registered Republican. He notes with disgust, “Only a
buzzard feeds on its friends.”
Me? I’m getting to the point where I don’t even care if the GOP 5 can
squeeze out concessions from the Democratic leadership. They should cut
a deal anyway.
Because if Brown and the Democratic leadership fail to deliver needed
reforms, the ballot measure and its tax increase will tank. If the
measure fails, it will be on the Democrats -- because they will have
failed to convince voters that they can be trusted to spend tax dollars
wisely.
Read it at Townhall
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