[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

“I’ve got a great idea, let’s put on our own show”. Thus Mickey Rooney’s line in a half dozen “barnyard musicals” of the 1930’s. The same worn script is now being used by the government in California’s budget crisis.

The legislative “show” is the repeated effort of Democrats to cast Republicans as the villains in the state’s budget crisis for their refusal to offset service cuts with new taxes. The GOP has their own script, claiming they are all that stands between Democratic taxes and economic ruin for California.

The audience for these shows, the Capitol Press Corps, writes critical reviews of both shows. They prefer fantasy scripts of the sort written by the retiring “budget nun”, Liz Hill. Her recommendations have the strange virtue of rave reviews while commanding absolutely NO votes from ANY of those who employ her for advice (!)