By Mollie Culver, California Democratic Party political director.
On Monday, Democratic legislators in the State Senate unveiled their budget proposal.
Their budget joins the proposal Democrats in the State Assembly already submitted. Both proposals would balance California's books without sacrificing protections for workers, consumers, or the environment.
Both proposals would also preserve essential elements of our safety net for people who have fallen on hard times.
Sounds good, right? Needless to say, we expect Republicans to stand in unified opposition to these responsible budget proposals.
That's where you come in.
In a perfect world, a few Republican legislators would come to their senses and choose to do the right thing for California.
But if history is any guide, we sure shouldn't expect it -- so a public statement from every Republican about why they'd rather hold us all hostage than help govern our state is crucial.
That's why the first step to rescuing the 2010 California budget is for everyday Californians like you to call Republican legislators and clearly get them on the record - one way or the other -- so all Californians know where they stand.
Will you call a Republican legislator today and urge them to tell us where they stand on the Democratic budget proposals? See below for a grid of our progress and instructions for how to make your call, then report what the Republican you called says by leaving a message in the comments to this thread.
It's unfortunate that it has to come to this, but this is what it takes to pass a budget when a "superminority" of just over 1/3 can hold an entire state hostage.
Fortunately, this year there's something you can do about it.
Making calls is easy, and once you've called one Republican, you'll probably want to call a couple more. See below to get started. |
