by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Feinstein are teaming up to support a bond measureto start fixing our water problems, and the compromise is a victory forDemocrats in that it does not require money to be spent on waterstorage. There are some kinks though, as the Sacramento Bee reportsconcerns from Senate Pro Tem Don Perata and others about the oversightprovisions.

Also in the Bee this morning, State Controller John Chiang says we overspent last fiscal year, to the tune of nearly $4 billion. That means we'll have to borrow money if a budget isn't passed by September, and who knows when we'll have a budget? 

New Congresswoman Jackie Speier is getting out in front on gas prices with a proposal to impose a national speed limit, theSan Francisco Chronicle. Naturally, the motorists association ishowling, but the fact is that we save fuel with this approach.

There's more... 

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

As someone who uses the “blog” world regularly, let me be the first to throw stones at it and especially at its use in the world of political analysis.

Internet communication creates the illusion that there is an unseen audience consuming the information and opinions presented there. The success of some sites and of the Obama campaign in fundraising gives impetus to this notion. I would suppose this is the feeling that long-time editorial writers for print outlets and letters-to-the-editor writers have a conviction that they are involved in ‘shaping’ public opinion.

Some blogs do indeed attract a following. “Commentaries” on expressed opinions can run into dozens, and that creates the illusion of a large audience. If your blog attracts attention nationally, the audience can run into the thousands (nationally).

But it is still a drop in the bucket.

The best example I’ve seen recently was the aborted campaign for Congress by Professor Lawrence Lessig. Lessig is a Stanford law professor who achieved some notoriety among internet fanciers for his libertarian challenge to copyright laws. He is influential among the many thousand net users who follow his entertaining blog.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of Blog for America]

(From Mark Leno's campaign blog.)

On Saturday, May 31, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Assemblyman Mark Leno for the third state senate district. Mark now has the support of all three Congress members of the third district by joining Congresswomen Jackie Speier and Lynn Woolsey in supporting Mark Leno. Here are some of the photos from the rally. Click here for the video.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By David Dayen
d-day

With just over a month to go until the June primaries, and six months to go until Election Day, there's a lot going on all over the state in the Congressional races. Of the 19 seats in California currently held by Republicans, 17 will be contested in the fall, and some strongly so. And we now have a full 34 Democrats with the election of Jackie Speier early in the month, and only one of them is a serious challenge. We also have the first quarter of 2008 fundraising numbers, which will raise some eyebrows. You can track these races yourself with the 2008 Race Tracker wiki.

A note: I'm mainly getting my numbers on cash-on-hand competitiveness from the Swing State Project. Fundraising information comes from the FEC.
Here we go...

DEMOCRATIC SEATS