by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

A quick bit of meta for you this Thursday morning. Occasionally people want to use the name Calitics for promotional purposes. As in "Calitics said X about Candidate Y." That's ok, but only if Calitics did actually say that. "Calitics says" can only be attributed to our editorial board speaking as a whole. The following 6 people, who make up our editorial board, are also allowed to speak for Calitics, and should be attributed to "Editor Name of Calitics":

Robert (from Monterrey) Cruickshank	David Dayen
Brian Leubitz	Lucas O'Connor
Julia Rosen	Jeremy Woodburn

If one of those 6 people did not write it, then please make it specifically clear that no one speaking for Calitics said whichever statement you are intending to credit, rather say "a diarist JohnDoe wrote at Calitics" or something equivalent.

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by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

The Calitics Editorial Board has now concluded our June 2008 Endorsements.  Here are all the links:

Propositions: No on 98, Yes on 99

Assembly Endorsements

State Senate Endorsements

Congressional Endorsements

What suggestions do you have for us on the Endorsements?

by Charles Chamberlain, DFA Field Director [courtesy of Blog for America]

This rocks. The NYTimes editorial board gets how important this campaign is. Whether we succeed in forcing Sec. Rice out is important, but the real game changer here is to make sure she never gets an important job in American government again. 

Head on over to the NYTimes and check it out. Then leave a comment so they know how important this is to you.

http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/condoleezza-rice-teflon-no-more

Thanks! 

-Charles

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

Here is a clear sign that the speculation about Arnold's intentions in proposing a grossly unacceptable budget has some merit. He told the SacBee that he does not expect that they actually close the 48 parks he had called to close in his budget.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday he proposed closing 48 state parks to "rattle the cage" at the Capitol, but fully expects lawmakers to come forward with alternatives -- including higher fees -- to keep parks open.

"The budget is always a proposal ... There's the reality, and the reality will rattle the cage," Schwarzenegger said during a meeting Wednesday on a wide range of issues with the Bee's editorial board.

Last week the governor released a $101 billion general fund spending plan that was balanced largely through government spending reductions. Closing 48 state parks would eliminate 136 positions and help the parks department save 8.9 percent of its budget -- or $13.3 million.

That is $13.3 million out of a $15 billion budget deficit. This was a very high profile proposal, with little fiscal gain, designed to fire up people. It worked.

Current analysis suggests that increasing fees will drive down attendance exacerbating the problem, not solving it.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Cross-posted on Calitics. 

In yesterday's Fresno Bee, the editorial board takes a whack at Prop 93. Fair enough, I can handle a little criticism. But I'd like to go through this a little bit.

"Term limits should be changed. They haven't worked as well as voters once hoped. The net effect of term limits has been to reduce the experience level of those who serve in Sacramento, elevate the role of special interests and their lobbyists, and turn electoral cycles into an unending marathon on fundraising and focusing on the next job, rather than on California's increasingly serious problems."

Now that's something I can agree with, and something that I'm guessing most progressives would agree with. So, a reasonable start there. But then they get into their hang up: redistricting. Why are term limits and redistricting related? Why because the governor said so of course! Silly Californians. 

There's more...

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

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by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

If you answered "Both", you win! The Governor made some pretty interesting statements to the LA Times Editorial Board this week:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that a healthcare overhaul would not be derailed by "Mickey Mouse"-type concerns about covering illegal immigrants. He also compared California's Republican Party to an obese person in denial, and predicted that Rudolph W. Giuliani would be his party's nominee for president. (LATimes 9/20/07)

So, you think Giuliani is going to be the nominee and you're calling the California Republican Party a fat man in denial. Well, I think it's not just the CR(a)P that's got its head in a big pile of mashed potatoes and gravy. Rudy's numbers are falling like a lead baloon as Thompson and others are picking off voters who realize that Giuliani is in fact a pro-choice, pro-gay rights, anti-gun, and not nativist enough. Of course, Rudy is a reactionary on foreign and fisacal policy, but in today's GOP, you have to be reactionary across the board. A single blemish of moderation shall smote you where you stand! Flip it...

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