Republican Obstructionism and Arnold: Should Have Been Prepared

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Here is a question.  Why did Arnold think that the Republicans were bluffing about taking a much stronger stand on the budget?  They promised as much last year during their bloody leadership battles.  I have seen newspapers refer to that as posturing, indicating that they never believed the Republicans would actually follow through.  Did Arnold really thing they would roll over, when history is littered with examples of their obstructionist tactics during previous budget negotiations?

I absolutely love this Economist article on the budget.  The magazine has a well deserved reputation for presenting the news in a straightforward manner.  They hold no punches on this one and go right after the Republicans.

Republicans are causing the delay, as in the past. Ignoring pleas from Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor, Assembly members won some spending cuts and tax breaks. Then, while they hit the beaches, state senators demanded further cuts. Last week, in order to try to end the debate, the Democratic Senate president locked them in. Senators lounged around like teenagers at an all-night party, amusing themselves by sending messages to conservative blogs. ?To update you?we've done nothing,? wrote one. They want a mixture of real and symbolic sacrifices?less money for environmental litigation and trade-union studies, for example.

The Economist points out that the Republicans are digging their heels in because they can under the 2/3rds majority rule and then blames gerrymandering.

The second reason is ideological. California's districts are so shamelessly gerrymandered that hardly any races are competitive. The elections that matter are the primaries, which are dominated by zealots. The result is a political system in which moderation is punished, both by voters and by other politicians. Dick Ackerman, head of the Senate Republican caucus, adopted a co-operative, pragmatic approach to last year's budget negotiations. The result was a putsch that nearly dislodged him. Chastened, he promised to take a tougher line on this year's budget.

The man was fighting for his political life, just a year ago.  His promises were what saw him through.  Did they really think he wasn't going to follow through?  The Republicans put up and shut up last year, listening to Arnold's campaign leadership, which exhorted them to behave so he could be re-elected.  They chaffed, but played along.  That wasn't going to happen this year.  As the Economist notes, they have been cheered on by the ideologues on the blogs.  They took a bold stand and said no to the majority.  Frankly, that is the stuff we advocated on a national scale when the Democrats were in the minority.  It is one of the most effective roles that partisan blogs can play.  While I don't agree in the least with what they are doing, I understand it.

It would be nice to report that a small band of hard-nosed Republicans was bringing fiscal restraint to California. Unfortunately, it isn't true. Republicans have been better at pushing for tax cuts than at balancing the budget. This year the state spent a higher proportion of Californians' incomes than it has for more than a decade. And, having approved tens of billions of dollars-worth of bonds to pay for everything from stem-cell research to road mending, it is racking up ever more debt.

The Republicans are right about one thing: California's finances are a mess. Thanks to cuts in property rates, the state depends on personal income taxes for 46% of its revenues, more than in all but seven states. And because its taxes are so progressive, it relies especially heavily on the fortunes of the rich. ?If the bottom drops out of the stockmarket, the bottom drops out of the budget,? says Jean Ross of the California Budget Project. Partisan posturing, debt and financial gambling: no way to run the world's eighth-largest economy.

The long term solutions are well known here.  Eliminate the 2/3rds majority and fix Prop. 13.  In the short term, Arnold needs to figure out a way to communicate effectively with the Republicans.  They are not bluffing about being willing to stretch this out until December.  At this rate, the Assembly may be back in session by the time the Senate passes the budget.