Free Republic

<p>IF JOHN MCCAIN becomes president, he will be confronted by a Congress with significantly larger Democratic majorities than today's — majorities furious about high hopes dashed by an eighth Republican victory in 11 presidential elections. And if the normal pattern of off-year elections obtains in 2010, those majorities will expand. So McCain would have to deal with a hostile legislature for four years, as Arnold Schwarzenegger has done for almost five years. For that reason, and because these two self-styled post-partisan, reach-across-the-aisle mavericks admire one another — ...</p>

<p>IF JOHN MCCAIN becomes president, he will be confronted by a Congress with significantly larger Democratic majorities than today's — majorities furious about high hopes dashed by an eighth Republican victory in 11 presidential elections. And if the normal pattern of off-year elections obtains in 2010, those majorities will expand. So McCain would have to deal with a hostile legislature for four years, as Arnold Schwarzenegger has done for almost five years. For that reason, and because these two self-styled post-partisan, reach-across-the-aisle mavericks admire one another — McCain has given Schwarzenegger a starring role Monday at the Republican convention — it is pertinent to survey Schwarzenegger's governorship of one-eighth of America's population.</p>

The Golden State had a recall almost five years ago. California had a huge budget deficit at the time and soon-to-be-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was promising to “cut up the credit card.” By the March 2004 primary, Schwarzenegger, by then governor, was promoting the passage of ballot Propositions 57 and 58. Prop. 57 was a $15 billion deficit bond designed to refinance the short-term debt California incurred under Democratic Gov. Gray Davis (with a few billion left over for future needs, the last $3 billion of which was borrowed a few months ago). Prop. 58 was a supposed spending cap of...

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who promised not to sign any bills until lawmakers reach a budget deal, reversed his position today and signed a bill for a statewide bullet train system that he strongly supports. The governor also wants to make exceptions for three other proposals that he has been promoting: budget reform; changing the state lottery to allow California to borrow against future ticket sales; and a bond proposal for water infrastructure. The high-speed rail legislation will replace a $10 billion bond measure on the November ballot with a revised version of the proposal that makes the bullet...

Sacramento, CA (AP) -- Backing off his pledge to sign no bills before lawmakers adopt a state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday approved legislation designed to strengthen wording of the high-speed rail bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Much has been written about the August budget put forward by Governor Schwarzenegger last week. At his press conference announcing his plan, the Governor said that his budget plan was "a fiscally responsible compromise" and will "put our state on the road to fiscal sanity." In reality, after spending some time looking it over, and discussing it with state policy experts .., the Governor's proposal will do nothing of the sort. It includes more borrowing and higher taxes on Californians... The Governor said that more borrowing in the budget is "not a wise idea and I will not do that."...

Some things never change in the Golden State. Weeks into the fiscal year, California still has no budget and faces a Pacific Ocean-sized $15 billion deficit. On Wednesday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger offered a "compromise" plan that kicks the legs out from his own party with a big new sales tax increase. "It's time to put ideology aside," he insisted. [Arnold Schwarzenegger] Now he faces a revolt from Republicans in the legislature who think this is precisely the time to be ideological. "Any tax increase plan won't pass with Republican votes -- absolutely not," a defiant Mike Villines, minority leader of...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to The Bee on Thursday after embracing a temporary 1-cent sales tax proposal to help bridge a $15.2 billion budget shortfall. Under the plan, the sales tax after three years would drop permanently by 1.25 cents, and lawmakers would agree to support long-term budget changes. The state is now 53 days into the fiscal year without a budget. You campaigned on the idea of no new taxes. Do you feel that you broke that promise? I look at that as being realistic and not getting stuck in ideology but doing what is right for the state...

Governor May Turn Down Convention Invite SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCBS) -- Governor Schwarzenegger and three other high-profile Californians were chosen today to address the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota next month; however, the governor may have to decline his invitation if state lawmakers are unable to pass a budget. Schwarzenegger, who has been selected to speak on the opening night of the GOP convention, is scheduled to speak the same night as former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, Vice President Cheney and President Bush. While it may seem like the speaking engagement of a lifetime, Schwarzenegger may have to miss...

A day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told lawmakers to skip their national party conventions in the next two weeks if they do not pass a budget, the Republican National Convention announced that the GOP governor will have a prime speaking role on the first night of the St. Paul event. Schwarzenegger is slated to speak on Monday, Sept. 1 at the convention, the same night as President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Also scheduled that day is Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent who has endorsed McCain. After meeting with lawmakers Tuesday, the Republican...

St. Paul from Sept. 1-4. The overall convention theme is “Country First” with each day of the convention intended to “center on a touchstone theme that has defined John McCain’s life and will be central to his vision for leading our nation forward as president” with themes of service, reform, prosperity, and peace. Monday evening • Joe Lieberman • Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger • Vice President Cheney • First Lady Laura Bush • President Bush. Tuesday• Rudy Giuliani • Mike Huckabee • Fred Thompson • Sarah Palin • Jon Huntsman • Linda Lingle • Tom Ridge • Rosario Marin • Michael...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went public Wednesday with yet another state budget proposal, one that he said reflects a true compromise between Republican and Democratic goals for a spending plan. The proposal includes a three-year, one-cent increase in the sales tax, an effort to build a bigger state savings account for rainy days, and more spending cuts than he proposed when he released his last set of ideas in May. With no budget agreement in sight in the Legislature 51 days into the fiscal year, Schwarzenegger said the lack of a budget is "shameful." "Many Medi-Cal hospitals are not getting paid,...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-California state workers will receive their full pay at least this month because of when a judge scheduled a hearing Wednesday. The judge's move also affects attorneys in the California Department of Justice, who were set to receive no pay until a state budget is signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition to doctors and engineers, lawyers in Attorney General Jerry Brown's office had been told they would receive no pay, while other state workers would be paid the federal minimum wage of $6.55 until a budget is signed.

(snip) The Republican governor took a lashing from the popular conservative Los Angeles duo as they pressed him on his proposal to raise the state sales tax by one cent. ... Schwarzenegger tried to defend new taxes as necessary because the state was still paying off debts incurred by predecessor Gov. Gray Davis. But the hosts pressed further and suggested that Schwarzenegger abandoned his original mission of fixing the state's fiscal situation in order to pursue environmental goals. That seemed to upset the governor, who maintained that his environmental policies had nothing to do with the state budget. "This is...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken on an unlikely role as one of the Capitol's most steadfast champions of a tax hike, spurning his fellow Republicans' uncharacteristic effort to borrow their way out of budget trouble. In an interview with The Times on Tuesday afternoon -- 50 days into the new fiscal year -- Schwarzenegger said resistance to tax hikes had led GOP lawmakers down a reckless path. He said they wanted to balance the budget by raiding local governments and public transportation accounts for billions of dollars. That money, under state law, would have to be repaid with steep interest....

Budget negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and four Legislative leaders fell apart Tuesday when one of the Republican leaders stormed out of the meeting, angrily charging that the talks "are not helpful." "Frankly, I was very frustrated when leaving that meeting," Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines from Clovis (Fresno County), said in an interview. "I'm tired of walking into (these meetings) and the only thing that's being talked about is more tax increases." Tuesday's meeting between the "Big Five" - the governor, and the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate and Assembly - was the group's first in more...

WASHINGTON - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter joined with the auto industry Monday to promote simple steps that motorists can take to cut fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The steps include maintaining proper tire inflation, keeping the engine tuned up, avoiding idling and rapid starts and stops. The tips could mean up to 15 percent in better fuel efficiency, the governors and industry officials said. "Consumers don't have to wait for politicians or worry about living in a red state or in a blue state," said Schwarzenegger, a Republican. "Instead, they can live and drive...

Governors at an annual conference explore public-private toll lanes to cut wait times between the U.S. and Mexico. Hoping to cut down on wait times at the border, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that he and other governors are exploring the idea of public-private partnerships to construct vehicle toll lanes at entry points between the United States and Mexico. Schwarzenegger raised the issue at the closing of the 26th annual Border Governors Conference, a three-day summit that drew four governors from the United States and six from Mexico. Among the problems the governors agreed to tackle next year was the...

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will not attend the Republican National Convention if his state’s budget crisis is not resolved before the GOP gathers on September 1. “I will not make any commitments. I will not go on vacation. I will not leave the state. I will not do anything until I have a budget,” he told the Los Angeles Times. His state’s budget deadlock is in its seventh week as California faces a $15.2 billion deficit, The Hill newspaper reports. Schwarzenegger told The Times that he had been in talks with John McCain’s campaign about a speaking role at the...

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Six Mexican border states pledged on Friday to strengthen cooperation with California in fighting climate change and increase green investment through Public Private Partnerships. As part of the cooperation, the six Mexican border states -- Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas -- and California have joined together with Pacific Gas& Electric (PG&E) and the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR)in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to combat climate change, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said at an annual U.S-Mexican Border Governors Conference being held in Hollywood, Los Angeles. California and the Mexican border...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger escaped the budget stalemate in Sacramento on Thursday to lead a conference of U.S. and Mexican governors contending with pollution, gun-running and drug violence along the troubled 2,000-mile border.The annual Border Governors Conference spotlighted a region that stretches from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico and is known alternatively for unyielding problems and economic potential. Illegal immigration has strained relations between the two countries, but Schwarzenegger called the border "a line that unites us" and called for cooperation on issues from water management to building a green economy."There is no divide to the air that...

California legislators have approved legislation to circumvent the Electoral College. But the measure could face a veto from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill by Senator Carole Migden, a San Francisco Democrat, would ratify an interstate agreement in which states award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. That would avoid a repeat of the 2000 election, when George Bush won the presidency but not the popular vote.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said today that Democrats have negotiated key points of a compromise state budget with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and that he considers negotiations over. "I think we've, frankly, gone about as far as we can go," the Oakland Democrat said. Perata said the compromise plan includes a major concession by Democrats - a spending cap to limit annual state expenditures. Republicans have been insisting on a spending cap as part of any budget pact. "The question continues to be, are there Republican votes for it?" Perata said of the compromise plan. The ball is in...

California is going bankrupt over taxpayer dollars funneled to illegal aliens. "Dear Governor: According to many news reports and statements from your office, California is facing an unprecedented budget crisis. The available data suggests California could save several billion dollars by reducing the amount spent providing services to illegal aliens. A 2007 study estimated that California spends over $10 billion on services to illegal aliens and their children. Much of this expenditure is for K-12 education and emergency health care. But some of it is not mandated by federal law and can be eliminated. In your FY2009 budget message, you...

Sacramento, CA (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Controller John Chiang (Chung) are headed for a court fight over the administration's attempt to cut the pay of state workers. Lynelle Jolley, a spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger's Department of Personnel Administration, tells The Associated Press that a lawsuit against Chiang will be filed later today. The Republican governor issued an executive order on July 31 directing that the pay of nearly 140,000 non-security, rank-and-file employees be cut to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour. The order would be in effect until lawmakers approve a state budget. About 30,000 management...

A new survey of corporate executives considering relocating their firms provides fresh reasons to worry about California's economy. The Development Counsellors International survey found CEOs ranked California dead-last in attractiveness among the 50 states because of its high taxes and business-hobbling regulations. California's reputation is likely to grow even worse in the next few weeks when a 2008-09 state budget is finally adopted, given the probability it will raise taxes. But what is truly depressing to contemplate is what happens come January 2011, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger departs and is likely to be replaced by a Democrat. We have griped...

Democrats send AB 2567 to Governor Schwarzenegger Sacramento, California – AUGUST 7 Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), a leading California organization protecting parents' rights and children's innocence, condemns the passage of AB 2567, which will instruct all California public schools to "conduct suitable commemorative exercises" in support of the anti-religious, sexual-anarchy agenda of the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. On Thursday, August 7, the California Assembly passed AB 2567 on a 43 to 26 vote, Democrats for, Republicans silently against. Earlier this week, AB 2567 passed the California State Senate on a 22-13 vote, Democrats for, Republicans against....

I supported and voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger for California governor over Tom McClintock. Not only that, I ridiculed McClintock and his supporters. If I knew then what I know now, I would have supported and voted for McClintock. I hereby openly apologize to McClintock and his supporters. I was wrong. How about the other people here who supported Arnold in 2003: Agree? Disagree?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday he will refuse to sign any bills that reach his desk until the Legislature sends him a budget agreement. "At this point, nothing in this building is more important than a responsible budget to fix our broken budget system," he said at a hastily called afternoon press conference. "So until the Legislature passes a budget that I can sign, I will not sign any bills that reach my desk." Schwarzenegger acknowledged that his decision "means some good bills will fail." But he said with a cash crisis looming, the late budget takes on even greater...

It took nearly five years, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke his no-tax pledge in an effort to break a budget deadlock.It was the right thing to do, even if we would have preferred a more progressive alternative to the governor's proposed temporary one-cent increase in the sales tax. But let there be no doubt: The $4 billion tax increase would have less of an impact on low-income Californians than a commensurate cut in state programs.Now the challenge will be for Schwarzenegger to persuade a handful of Republicans to break their own no-tax pacts that have all but frozen any meaningful...

Sacramento, CA (AP) -- A bill honoring a gay political icon in California has been sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The legislation proclaims a "day of significance" each May 22, the birthday of former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. It would not be a state holiday. Milk became the nation's first openly gay man to hold a prominent political office...

Arnold Schwarzenegger, it would appear, just can't help himself. The man who achieved success as a bodybuilder and action movie star with over-the-top, attention-getting stunts keeps trying to make them work in politics – and keeps failing. The governor's latest political stunt is a grandiose order that thousands of part-time and temporary state employees – including student interns – would be laid off and everyone else on the state payroll have their salaries slashed to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour because the state lacks a budget. The lack of a budget, he said last Thursday, "leaves me...

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed during private budget negotiations over the weekend to close the state's $15.2-billion deficit with a temporary one-cent hike in the state sales tax, to take effect immediately, according to Democratic and Republican legislative sources. The proposal, floated in meetings with legislative leaders and their staff, hinges on lawmakers agreeing to spending restraints to control the growth of government and give governors authority to cut programs whenever the state falls into the red. Lawmakers and staffers close to budget negotiations said the governor, who has repeatedly vowed never to raise taxes, would not support the...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a temporary one-cent increase in the state sales tax for the next three years in exchange for long-term fixes he believes would solve the state's perennial budget woes, several sources familiar with the negotiations said Monday. The governor's proposal comes as he and lawmakers are 35 days into the fiscal year with no approved spending plan.

California's electrical utilities probably will miss the state's 2010 deadline for increasing their use of renewable power and could face a serious obstacle if Congress does not extend tax credits for wind farms and solar plants, according to a report issued Friday. By the end of 2010, the state's large, investor-owned utilities are supposed to ensure that 20 percent of the power they sell comes from such renewable sources as the sun and wind. Utilities such as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. have been frantically signing contracts with wind farm and solar power plant developers to meet that deadline. But...

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday axed 20,000 temporary state employees and slashed the pay of 200,000 more workers in the latest twist to a budget stand-off. "Today I am exercising my executive authority to avoid a full-blown crisis and keep our state moving forward," the actor turned Republican politician said in a statement.

GOVERNOR'S PLOY PUTS PRESSURE ON, BUT OUTCOME IS WHAT MATTERS - If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's intent was to rile up the state work force and put pressure on lawmakers to strike a budget deal, he couldn't have scripted it better.Last week, the governor hinted he would slash pay to 200,000 state workers if a budget wasn't in place by the end of August.On Monday, the Service Employees International Union Local 1000 placed 121 cots in front of the Capitol, one for each legislator and the governor, letting them know where they can sleep until a deal is cut. How's that...

The move reduces state workers' pay to federal minimum wage until the governor and legislators OK a state budget. Controller John Chiang, though, says he won't implement Schwarzenegger's executive order. SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today ordered his administration to lay off thousands of part-time state workers and to work with the state controller to temporarily slash the pay of most full-time employees to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour. Schwarzenegger administration officials said the move will help give the state enough cash to get by until a state budget is signed. The budget was due July 1...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - With California's cash dwindling and legislators still debating a new budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated 22,000 part-time and temporary state positions Thursday and ordered that 200,000 state workers receive the federal minimum wage. His signing of the executive order had been expected since last week but stood as a stark illustration of the cash problem facing the nation's most populous state. Schwarzenegger apologized to state workers but said he had no choice. "Today I am exercising my executive authority to avoid a full-blown crisis and keep our state moving forward," Schwarzenegger said. "This is not an action...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he'll slash wages for as many as 200,000 state employees and lay off 22,000 temporary workers until the state has a budget – but he'd better keep a few lawyers around because he may find himself in an epic legal battle. Schwarzenegger's melodramatic act, which first surfaced last week and was tentatively scheduled to happen on Monday, now has been postponed. "The first day of savings will be Thursday," spokesman Aaron McLear said, "so the governor will invoke his executive authority Thursday to ensure the state has enough cash to cover its costs." Ostensibly, Schwarzenegger's action...

California public students will stick to reading, writing and arithmetic, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided as he vetoed a bill late Friday that would have required climate change be added to schools' curriculum. The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, also would have required future science textbooks to include climate change as a subject. In January, the state Senate approved the bill, SB 908, by a 26-13 vote. Only two Republicans supported the proposal. In his veto statement, Schwarzenegger said he supported education that spotlights the dangers of climate change. However, the Republican governor said he was opposed...

Governor vetoes climate change curriculum California public students will stick to reading, writing and arithmetic, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided as he vetoed a bill late Friday that would have required climate change be added to schools' curriculum. The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, also would have required future science textbooks to include climate change as a subject. In January, the state Senate approved the bill, SB 908, by a 26-13 vote. Only two Republicans supported the proposal. In his veto statement, Schwarzenegger said he supported education that spotlights the dangers of climate change. However, the Republican...

Just a few months ago, images of smiling children, police officers and firefighters filled TV screens and mailboxes across the state, urging voters to support major casino expansions for four Southern California tribes. Gov. Schwarzenegger and other government officials promised that the tribes would help balance the state's troubled budget with an influx of gambling dollars. The casino riches would help protect state funding for schools, police and fire departments, health care and roads, the tribes and their supporters said. Voters approved the deals, but recent signs suggest the promises may not pan out. Deals touted as a sure-fire way...

California will be the first state to ban trans fats in restaurants and bakeries under legislation signed today by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The measure requires restaurants to quit using trans fats by January 2010, and for bakeries to follow suit one year later. "Consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease, and today we are taking a strong step toward creating a healthier future for California," Schwarzenegger said in a written statement. The legislation, Assembly Bill 97, was proposed by Democratic Assemblyman Tony Mendoza of Artesia and opposed by most Republicans. Trans fats, also known as trans fatty acids,...

We may not be getting effective governance from movie star-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but we can count on a steady diet of grandiose, and usually hollow, political gestures. Who could forget, for instance, the time that Schwarzenegger posed with a gigantic faucet, out of which flowed a red liquid, to dramatize budget deficits? Or the time he denounced the Legislature as "girlie men" for delaying budget action? Having promised and utterly failed to end "crazy deficit spending," Schwarzenegger is resorting once again to cheesy stunts, this time a threat to reduce the salaries of tens of thousands of state employees to...

State workers chanted Thursday outside the Capitol to assail Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans to pay 200,000 state employees the federal minimum wage until a budget is signed, providing some of the most compelling budget-related scenes of angry Californians this year. It may have been what the governor wanted all along, even if they shouted his name in disgust. The governor's draft executive order to withhold a portion of state workers' pay, obtained Wednesday by The Bee, has generated public attention for the state's budget situation in a way that months of Schwarzenegger town halls never could. Whether Schwarzenegger's attempt to...

An indignant Don Perata made fun of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his brigade of "13 armed escorts" today. The Senate president pro tem was mocking Schwarzenegger as out of touch with the average Californian at a rally protesting the plan to temporarily slash the pay of state workers to $6.55 an hour. Visibly fired up, the Oakland Democrat declared he had only one question for Schwarzenegger now that the governor had revealed his plan to conserve cash during the budget crunch by cutting workers' pay. "Who in the hell do you think does the work around here?" he shouted to...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is planning to cut the pay of about 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour until a budget is signed, according to a draft of the governor's order obtained by The Times. Administration officials said Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the order early next week as part of an effort to avert a cash crisis. The controversial move, likely to be challenged in court by public-employee unions, would save the state about $1 billion a month, the officials said. Workers would be repaid their lost earnings once a budget was in place....

California, six other Western states and four Canadian provinces will launch a market-based carbon trading system in a major North American effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, according to a draft proposal released today. When it officially begins in four years, the program would first target heavy polluters such as electric utilities, oil refineries and large industrial and commercial facilities, which would be required to begin reporting emission levels beginning in 2011 to allow participating governments to agree on the maximum level of emissions for the region. The plan also includes an offsets system, part of...