Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Gov. Schwarzenegger publicly flirted yesterday with supporting a change to the oft-derided "two thirds rule" for passing the state budget, the Sacramento Bee reports. We certainlycould have used his support three year's ago when he joined withbusiness and anti-tax groups to defeat Proposition 55, a common-sensemeasure that would have lowered the tax-raising threshold to 55percent. At least he's seeing the light now.

Arnold is also turning up the heat on Senator Jeff Denham (above), the MercedRepublican who has refused to move on the budget despite supporting apackage with higher spending and lower reserves last year, the LosAngeles Times reports. The Governor encouraged Denham's constituents tocall him up and say "it is up to you now, you are our man," to which Denham angrily responded that he would not be "bullied, intimidated or pressured."

Despite widespread coverage of this year's budget impasse, voters are paying scant attentionto the issue, and those that are tend to blame the entire Legislature,according to a Field Poll reported in the Bee. The polls shows 12percent of Californians are paying "a lot" of attention to the debacle,with 37 percent paying some attention, although 43 percent consider ita serious problem that the budget hasn't been passed.

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Photo courtesy of the Flash Report.