[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Republican legislators have made it clear they intend to exploit California’s budget crisis to push through policy goals that are unrelated to the budget situation. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass replied to their proposals with a simple, “Not on my watch.” The Speaker was joined by members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus and advocates for the environment, workers rights and the disabled at a capitol news conference to condemn the GOP efforts to roll back protections. Speaker Bass says what the Republicans are really asking for is dirtier air; less access for the disabled, unprotected workers and damaged crops and tourism. Here’s more in an Assembly Web Report.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bob Brigham

While the California Republican Party is busy defending tax breaks for yacht owners, Democrats are busy working to decrease barriers to voting and increase participation in democracy. The California Democratic Party Platform even talks about increasing participation:

"To promote honest leadership and open government, California Democrats will:
[...]
• Increase voter participation by advocating for extended voting hours and/or days, scheduling elections on weekends, or by declaring Election Day a holiday."

While I agree that would be great, the current perspective of the CDP Platform is to seek increases in the percentage of participation among registered voters. Yet there is even greater potential to increase voter participation by reforming barriers to voter registration. This is the premise behind recent national legislation by Democrats in Congress and a bill by Assemblyman Curren Price for California.

by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

While the California Republican Party is busy defending tax breaks for yacht owners, Democrats are busy working to decrease barriers to voting and increase participation in democracy. The California Democratic Party Platform even talks about increasing participation:

To promote honest leadership and open government, California Democrats will:

[...]

• Increase voter participation by advocating for extended voting hours and/or days, scheduling elections on weekends, or by declaring Election Day a holiday

While I agree that would be great, the current perspective of the CDP Platform is to seek increases in the percentage of participation among registered voters. Yet there is even greater potential to increase voter participation by reforming barriers to voter registration. This is the premise behind recent national legislation by Democrats in Congress and a bill by Assemblyman Curren Price for California.

These are two pieces of legislation that deserve to be followed closely, which means you'll probably need to follow on the blogs as so far both reforms have been largely ignored by traditional media.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

CMR's contributors have come out of the wordworks this morning with their unsolicited endorsements for president. We have posted them in the order they were received.

Christine Uribe, Katie Merrill, and Steven Maviglio have backed Senator Hillary Clinton. Josiah Greene and Dave Rand have backed Senator Barack Obama.
 
And speaking of elections in California, Steven Maviglio also posted a CMR exclusive today on failed GOP efforts to steal some of California's electoral college votes.

Check back with CMR throughout the day. You can bet we'll have much more on today's historic primary.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Forget a Pombo/McNerney rematch. Washington Republicans want a moderate to go up against freshman Rep. Jerry McNerney, according to this must-read insider's view into GOP efforts to take back Congress in 2008.
 
McNerney is listed in a sidebar column headed "Low Hanging Fruit" (vulnerable Democratic incumbents) in a profile of the House Republicans strategist in chief, Rep. Tom Cole. Says the article about Cole: " ... he's all about winning. He's a pro-war social and fiscal conservative, but sources say he hasn't pushed conservatives such as Jim Ryun (Kan.) or Richard W. Pombo (Calif.) to try to reclaim their House seats, because he thinks more moderate candidates might fare better."
 
That rules out just about everyone mentioned so far on the GOP side. Which is good news for McNerney.

Photo of Rep. Jerry McNerney courtesy Firedoglake.

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

GOP Troubles May Hurt Bid To Retake Congress in 2008

The abrupt resignations last week of two Republican House members from their sensitive committee assignments have thrust lingering legal and ethics issues back into the limelight, potentially complicating GOP efforts to retake Congress next year.

On successive days, Wednesday and Thursday, Reps. John T. Doolittle (Calif.) and Rick Renzi (Ariz.) disclosed FBI raids on their wives' businesses. The men proclaimed their innocence, but the raids exposed their legal jeopardy. The announcements were only the most recent in a series of developments that have kept the focus on the old ethical and legal clouds that helped chase the Republican Party from power on Capitol Hill.

Democrats Recruiting Challengers for Growing Target List

When Rep. Sam Graves (R) won Missouri's 6th District in 2000 with 51 percent, it was assumed that he would be a regular Democratic target. His subsequent reelection percentages -- 63 percent in 2002, 64 in 2004, 62 in 2006 -- show how quickly Graves fell off Democrats' radar. No more.