[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Oh, those darn legislative Republicans. Yesterday they decided to draw the line in the sand on the state budget by denying foster kids transitional housing. And today they're making out Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who hasn't raised taxes a dime as Governor -- as some wild-eyed, spendthrift. Yes, the same Gov. Schwarzenegger who is proposing cuts to the poor, elderly, and disabled in his state budget.
 
The LA Times article on the extremism of legislative Republicans is a must-read. What the article leaves out is that legislative Republicans are not only out of sync with their Republican governor, but way out to the right of rank-and-file Republican voters.
 
The new San Jose State University poll, as well as recent surveys by Field and PPIC, show that California's Republican legislative delegation is far more conservative than the Republican electorate on issues including health care, global warming, and immigration.
 
That's fine by me. The GOP bench is weaker than ever. The California Republican Party is a dysfunctional mess. And legislative Republicans continue to paint themselves into a corner as a bunch of yahoo extremists without the help of Democrats. Carry on!

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Yet another court has turned the attempt by US Term Limits to challenge Attorney General Jerry Brown's title and summary language for the measure to reduce and reform the term limits of state legislators.
 
Legal experts and political observers said there was little chance a court would overturn the AG's correct interpretation of the term limits reform initiative. The challenge was widely regarded as a publicity stunt designed to garner headlines for the right-wing organization challenging the term limits initiative. Fortunately, only a handful of newspapers, including the Sacramento Bee, wrote about the lawsuit.
 
Supporters of the inititative are expected to turn in more than one million signatures in July. It enjoys strong support in statewide polls, most recently a 56-28 percent edge in a survey conducted by San Jose State University.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Term Limits Would Pass Overwhelmingly if Election Were Today; Schwarzenegger Approval Rating Remains High

By Frank D. Russo

The respected Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University earlier today released a poll showing that voter support for term limits has increased since March, at least when voters are read the official title and summary that has been prepared for the ballot. The survey also shows strong support for a path to legalized residency status for immigrants here illegally, and that Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to be popular with the residents and voters in California.

Legal Residency for Illegal Immigrants

A full 57% of California adults favor allowing undocumented or illegal immigrants who are living or working in the state to become legal residents. Only 33% oppose this. The results, when limited to California voters are similar with 55% in favor and 36% opposed. The results based on phone contacts between June 18 and 22 are in accord with prior findings in polls taken by SRPI quarterly since March of 2006. Since then, support for legalization has hovered between 50% and 63% with opposition to the idea trailing far behind.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

With strong majorities among women, Sen. Hillary Clinton has a better than 2-1 lead over Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama in a new poll from San Jose State University's Survey and Policy Research Institute.
 
Clinton leads in every demographic and geographic category tested, as well among liberals, moderates, and conservatives as well as union and non-union households. Edwards is strong among men, liberals, union households, and LA residents. Obama is most popular among voters under 34 and in the Bay Area.
 
"Clinton is being swept along by her support among women," says pollster Phil Trounstine. "If Edwards, Obama, or any other candidate can peel women away from Clinton, the Democrats could have a competitive race in California. But if Clinton keeps her grasp on women, it's not going to be much of a contest here."

by Todd Beeton [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]

(cross-posted from ATM Watch)

So far, we've received hundreds of questions at our ATM Watch Ask The Candidates page. Today, Senator John Edwards responds. 

In the video below, Edwards addresses two of your most pressing issues, health care reform and energy independence. He then goes on to answer a specific question from Jane in Los Angeles: 

My three issues are poverty, peace and global warming.  I see them as connected.  Do you?  What would you do to address them, both domestically and internationally?  Are they your top priorities and if not, why not?

Great question, Jane.

Video and more over the flip...
Here's the video.  

Tomorrow, Senator Edwards continues to embody the spirit of ATM Watch with his Small Change for Big Change event at San Jose State University. It costs just $15, details are HERE.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will be winging into San Jose on Thursday, with one of his events a small-ticket ($15) fundraiser.
 
Called "Small Change for Big Change," the grassroots fundraiser is begin held at San Jose State University Student Union from 5 to 6 p.m. Alas, there's a cash bar, but it's still a good chance to get up close and personal. RSVP to reserve your spot here.