Calif. Republicans Oust Leader Amid Budget Talks

[depakid]

Source: Fox

Republican state senators upset with tax increases in the budget proposal agreed to by Republican Sen. Dave Cogdill have voted to remove him as minority leader, Cogdill said early Wednesday. The Senate's 15 Republican members voted to replace Cogdill with Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murietta.

The late-night coup could derail already strained budget talks by requiring Democrats and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to renegotiate with a new Republican leader. Majority Leader Darrell Steinberg directed lawmakers to begin taking up the budget vote just before 1 a.m.

The Senate remained a single Republican vote short of passing a midyear budget fix in an attempt to stave off financial calamity for the state. "I did the best job I could," said Cogdill, who was applauded on the Senate floor after he was removed. "I felt sincerely when we took the budget to the floor the votes were there. Obviously, that wasn't the case. But that wasn't my belief when the budget went to the floor."

Cogdill, who served just 10 months representing a caucus that has grown increasingly conservative over the years, said he negotiated a spending cap, which the Republicans had been working for, and did all he could under the confines of the political system. New leader Hollingsworth had told Steinberg during a pointed floor exchange Monday that Republicans weren't going to let Democrats take from people's pocketbooks. "I don't want to see a tax increase passed," Hollingsworth said Wednesday. "I think the majority of my caucus doesn't want to see a tax increase passed in the package. We'll see what happens in the next few hours, next few days."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/18/calif-republ... /

---

I apologize for the Fox link- but I think it's appropriate considering the ideologues we're all dealing with. You cannot appease extremists- nor can you bargain with them in good faith.

They're spoiled children- and the sooner we all realize that, and start acting accordingly in our dealings- the faster we can set about fixing all of the things that they've broken.

[Joe Bacon]

1. Wow, Arnold SURE knows how to lead, doesn't he?????????????

Unfortunately, that ass is leading California off of a cliff!

Yet the same WHORE PRESS that drove Davis out of office STILL loves him.

[PSPS]

5. This is what happens when you elect fictional characters to office

Plus, as the article points out, the only republicans left are the crazies, just like in Washington. They're probably anxious to see California "fail" too.

[nc4bo]

13. The California Terminator. nt

[Javaman]

25. You are Californianated!!!nt

[No Elephants]

2. The same Hollingsworth that held up the

state budget? http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[depakid]

4. That'd be the guy

Among his stellar achievements: In 2006, he authored a resolution to replace the statue of Thomas Starr King, a Unitarian minister who worked to keep California in the Union during the American Civil War, with one of Ronald Reagan in Statuary Hall.

[varelse]

3. why do I get the impression that our CA republicans are stalling

while they wait for the Federal Goverment to step in with recovery money?

[ej510]

6. As california becomes more liberal. It is just like Washington when it comes to repukes we are left

with the idealogues.

[groundloop]

7. The cannibals have started devouring their own kind

and it looks like the state of California is going down with them.

[bluestateguy]

8. This is what happens when you have gerrymandered safe districts

You end up with politicians who are kool-aid drinkers. They don't fear defeat in the November election, but rather, only concern themselves with ideological purity. They worry more about defeat from a more extremist candidate in a primary.

[slackmaster]

16. I agree with bluestateguy completely

Our state is almost entirely "safe" districts run by idealogues.

Primary elections have become meaningless rituals in which an Heir Apparent gets coronated.

Maybe the new redistricting rules that take effect in 2010 will make a difference in the 2012 election. That's about all I can hope for at this point.

[Frances]

23. The problem is not with the district lines in this case

The problem is with the 2/3 rule which allows the Repubs to control the state.

IMO the state needs to get rid of the 2/3 rule.

The state also needs to get rid of law by proposition.

As a single, moderate income CA resident, I have much less say in my state gov't as a result of rule by proposition. I don't have millions of dollars to pay people to collect signatures to get something on the ballot. I also don't have millions of dollars to advertise on TV to persuade people to vote one way or another. Big churces (Prop 8) and big corporations that back Repubs (recall of Grey Davis) have that power.

[ejpoeta]

9. here is my question

are the republicans going to look like heroes for standing in the way of tax hikes? what gives. i mean, what is the deficit in california?? they are going to have to cut a lot of things AND raise taxes. How do they have another choice?? I think I would start with cutting the pay of these legislators. the longer you take to get this taken care of, the less your pay will be!!

[slackmaster]

17. They look like heroes in their own districts, and pariahs in Democratic districts

Because districts are designed that way.

[YvonneCa]

26. I'm in his district. He's no hero...

...to me.

[jamesinca]

20. the deficit in CA is $47billion

Cuts alone will not close the gap. Elimination of everything in CA will not close that gap. I think all of these cuts only, no taxes people need to ask themselves what the expect from the government and how they plan on paying for it? They are not asking themselves that question and honestly answering it.

$47 billion

[Brgotn]

22. ??

The taxes they want to raise will take almost an entire paycheck away from me. Multiply that throughout the state and see what that will do to the economy. They want to raise the vehicle license fee by 56%. That and the 12 cents a gallon on gas will cripple the poor people!

[annabanana]

24. Are all the proposed taxes regressive ones?

fees and sales taxes are the hardest for poorer people to swallow. Are there no progressive taxes in the mix? Nothing raising the capital gains tax, the inheritance tax?

[fob]

29. The vehicle license fee VLF hasn't been changed EVER and it is

not now going to be changed. That "they're gonna raise the car tax!" crap is the exact same lie ahnold used during the recall.

The VLF was and is, through Gray Davis and ahnold's lie and you're repeat of the same lie, 2%. No more, no less. The TRUTH is that during Gray Davis' admin, when there was a fucking budget SURPLUS, the legislature adopted something called the VLF Offset. The VLF offset was a CREDIT of 2/3rds of the total VLF. For example, if you bought a $10,000 car the VLF was $200. The VLF offset was a credit of $133.33 so the result was you paid $66.67 for the vehicle license. Now, here is where the brilliant idea of the legislature was pissed on, distorted and used by ahnold to LIE about Gov. Davis.

Included in the legislation creating the offset was a provision that said essentially, "this is a credit because we have a surplus and can afford to do this, however, if there is no surplus, the offset will be rescinded".

So here comes enron, bush*s buddy ken lay and the raping of "Grandma Millie" with the energy scam, there goes the surplus, and the rescinding of the offset goes into effect. So in the scenario above instead of a final cost of $66.67 due to the offset, the original, NEVER FUCKING CHANGED VLF of $200 is due in full. ahnold and other gop assholes started saying "Gov. Davis is TRIPLING THE CAR TAX!" It was and is a LIE, but nobody bothered to call them on it because "tripling the car tax" was much easier to say and cover by the "media".

Also, no one said anything because those that bought $100,000 cars were way more fond of the offset than having funding for firefighters or police or a million other things. As for "crippling the poor people" that is a load of shit too. Those that can only afford a $1000 car, the offset was only $13.33 and although any break is better than none, the offset was a helper, not a dealbreaker, but sure came in handy for the wealthy.

ahnold also said all that was needed to solve the then budget crisis was to "open da books", as if Gov. Davis and others were just sitting around unable to figure out how to read a budget. Oh, and the fucking thing was available online, so if ahnold really cared to peruse it and find the magic solution, he could have done so and sent the info to Sacramento. But I guess he wouldn't have gotten a chance to play governator and fuck us all over to the tune of $47 billion dollars and tens of thousands of layoffs.

So, to summarize, just effin' stop it with the "they're gonna raise the VLF". It's 2%, no more, no less, always was.

fob

[BumRushDaShow]

10. If you want another, it's on MSNBC.com now

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29229462 /

The saga in California is truly sad. The repukes are literally clawing to the sides of the cliff they have hurled themselves over while still spouting their divisive nonsense. And the article even mentions how the GOP there has "become more conservative"... Well why do they think that is? The media would make it seem that this is what "people" want, but it's more that they are losing more and more of their own moderates who are rejecting the extremism, which leaves the increasingly more extreme members still trying to hold on.

[Mr. Sparkle]

11. The American Taliban strikes again. They wont be happy until the country is a smoldering pile of

ash and ruin!

[msongs]

12. time to eliminate state services to all districts with repub reps - they want it, they got it nt

[YvonneCa]

27. That's not fair to Dems who...

...live in that district...like me!

[kiranon]

28. Isn't fair but one way to get the people who vote these Republicans in

to understand there are real life consequences to having a spoiler as their representative. Also need to publish all the goodies these spoilers get for their constituencies by holding up the budget. It isn't as ideological as it is getting all kinds of advantages for holding up the process.

[Gold Metal Flake]

14. Grover Norquist Republicans.

They WANT to destroy the state. As the national party and it's crazies know, it's easier to lead a nation to fascism when it is desperate. It almost happened after 1929, and they have learned a lot of lessons since then.

However, withholding tax refunds may be the pressure on the repuke citizens that pushes them past their prejudices and forces them to force their republican dogs to cave to reason.

[fob]

30. Not republican's, they're republiCAN'Ts No No No is all they know

nt

[slackmaster]

15. They might as well suck it up and vote in our big middle-class tax increase and get it over with

There's really no other way at this point.

[depakid]

18. There really isn't at this point

Regarding your comments on another thread re: putting aside monies- Oregon fought for years against Republicans to set up a rainy day fund. Had it been implemented sooner (as opposed, for example to having paltry amounts refunded to taxpayers through what's called "the kicker") the current budget shortfalls in the state would be far less than they are.

Still, it was certainly better than no fund at all.

[slackmaster]

19. Thanks for that

I don't believe anyone could have reasonably foreseen how deep this mess would get.

[depakid]

21. Unfortunately, budget debacles have become a perennial deal in California

If I recall, only two other states have a 2/3's requirement for these matters- Delaware and Rhode Island. Seems to almost guarantee expensive and time consuming process.