[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Senate president pro tem Don Perata is ending his efforts to recall Republican state Senator Jeff Denham,reports the LA Times. Republican leaders have persuaded him his supportof the recall would hinder budget negotiations; the measure itself willstill remain on the ballot.

Barack Obama paid a visit to the House of Representativestoday, to the apparent delight of his supporters, reports the SanFrancisco Chronicle's politics blog. Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasreiterated that the race continues, but it's clear that many see Obamaas the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Obama's aides say that he will declare victory soonafter the Oregon and Kentucky contests give him a majority of pledgeddelegates on May 20, but Hillary Clinton is prepared to dispute hisclaim, reports Politico. According to Howard Wolfson, a chiefstrategist for Clinton, “We don’t accept 2,025. It is not the realnumber because that does not include Florida and Michigan. It’s a phonynumber.”

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

California Senate President pro Tem Don Perata issued a statement and took questions from reporters shortly after 5 p.m. today on the steps to the state Capitol. The Sacramento Bee has an article on this with a few more details. Sacramento sources indicated last week that the polling for the race was not too favorable for the recall succeeding.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Embattled State Senator Jeff Denham, who is dangerously close to being voted off the Senate island, pulled another classically boneheaded move today, filing frivolous criminal complaints against Senate President Don Perata and accusing him of improperly contacting state employees to engage in political activity.

Within hours of filing the charges, Senator Denham's campaign was essentially caught redhanded, engaging in the exact same activity of which they are accusing Perata.

Last week, Senator Denham's campaign manager, John B. Franklin, blast e-mailed the following to his campaign master list, which included several state employees and their state e-mail addresses (CMR obtained the email from one state employee who directly received the email on his state computer):

There's more... 

by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

You gotta be kidding me. <> <>Here's script of a new ad from Senator Jeff Denham entitled: "Just Plain Wrong":<> <>"When a public official is guilty of malfeasance or criminal conduct in office, the California Constitution provides for the right to recall. But no such accusations have been made against Senator Jeff Denham.  His only crime? Refusing to vote for a budget he said was billions out of balance -- and he was right. And that's why Senate Leader Don Perata's vindictive recall campaign against Senator Denham has been so widely condemned by throughout the district by elected Democrats and Republicans alike."<> <>Huh?<> <>Where was the hue and cry for the Davis recall? What was the "malfeasance or criminal conduct" then?

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Paul Hefner

Responding to recall petitions signed by more than 60,000 voters, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has formally set the date of the Jeff Denham recall for June 3.

Let’s get something straight about politics and California’s budget: it was Republicans who made voting on the budget a career-ender.

In 2001, the last time a significant number of Republicans broke ranks and voted with Democrats to pass the budget, they were targeted at turncoats and run out of town:

Remember Mike Briggs?

Threatened with a primary challenge, Briggs didn’t seek a third term in the Assembly for his Fresno-area seat. He lost a Congressional primary for the seat now held by Rep. Devin Nunes.

Remember Anthony Pescetti?

The Sacramento Bee famously portrayed him as a prostitute on the stroll following his budget vote. With Republicans promising to challenge him in the primary, he too chose not to run for a third term.

Remember Dick Dickerson?

Then Senate Minority Leader Jim Brulte took special pains to carve Dickerson out of the 2001 redistricting following his budget vote. It worked. Dickerson lost his bid for a Senate seat.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

At right, California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres with long time parliamentarian Joel Wyatt advising while votes were counted in Migden-Leno endorsement contest

By Frank D. Russo

The California State Democratic Convention of 2008 finished its business by voting 742 to 298 (71.3%) to vacate the endorsement of incumbent Senator Carole Migden for the 3rd Senate District. A substitute motion to endorse Mark Leno failed, getting only 60.3% of the vote, with 75% needed for endorsement from the floor.

Following this issue—the most contentious one in an otherwise virtual love fest amongst California Democrats—the body approved by a voice vote the consent calendar comprising the remaining endorsements

In another vote on the 40th Assembly District, the convention overruled a district caucus recommendation to endorse bob Blumenfeld. There are four Democratic candidates running in the primary for that heavily Democratic seat.