Nunez's Blogger Conference Call

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

Speaker Fabian Nunez laid out a case today in a conference call with a group of bloggers that the Republicans are deliberately using Newt Gingrich styled tactics in an attempt to prove the government doesn't work. He contends that the ultra-conservative Republican Senators are holding the budget hostage to accomplish broader goals for their party. Nunez's tone was sharp and it seems like he is quite perturbed to return to this debacle.

He is threatening not to discuss any of the Republican's proposals on water storage, one of their main priorities for the cycle. The three conditions he laid out yesterday for coming back to the table were revisited, though I did notice that he said all of the transportation funds would have to back in. Yesterday, it was just a substantial or the full amount.

It seems clear that Nunez is looking for any and every leverage point to force them to come out of the wilderness. The longer they push this forward, the more resolved we will likely see the Democratic leadership to pursue significant changes to how the legislature operates, from getting rid of the 2/3rds requirement, to dealing with the tax structure (Prop. 13 included). It is crucial that we find ways to communicate with the public about the nasty impact of the arcane 2/3rd rule to pass the budget. Drawing the links between the checks that are not going out and the kids going without meals, to the extreme views of the conservative Republican holdouts to a constitutional rule is important, if a significant effort to amend the constitution emerges.

Here are a few other tidbits from the conference call. A question was asked about the potential for this dispute to doom the prospects of health care reform. First, Nunez took the time to say that the bill is "not fully cooked". They are working to bring more partners in and increase the number of uninsured covered by the bill. He reminded everyone that it only needs a majority vote to pass and he is still very much dedicated to getting it on Schwarzenegger's desk. To that end, he voiced his dismay that Senator Perata's comments that no other legislature would be taken up until the budget passed. That would certainly be an additional victory for the Republicans and may indeed be part of their plan.

The Speaker's staff video taped him answering our questions. I will put that up when it is available.