Since members of the CDP's Budget Rescue Team started picking up their phones to ask Republican legislators where they stand on the Democrats' sensible budget proposals last week, we've started getting some interesting responses.
Volunteer sak24 contacted Assemblyman Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita)'s office, where a staffer said, "We don't want to hold up the budget again this year."
Although it may not sound like much, this is an admission that Republicans are used to holding up the budget and are becoming a little self-conscious about it.
This statement could end up going nowhere, or it could be the seed of a larger campaign to finally pressure the Republicans into cooperating on the budget. But the important thing is to get Republicans like Cameron Smyth on the record early and make sure they know people are watching them if they try to hold the state hostage again.
Will you call a Republican legislator today and urge them to tell us where they stand on the Democratic budget proposals? You can call any Republican in any district -- see below for a grid of our progress and instructions for how to make your call. When you have their statement, report it by leaving a message in the comments to this thread or emailing cdpeditor@cadem.org
There's a lot working against us getting a fair budget deal, like the rule that lets a "superminority" of 1/3 plus one legislators veto any budget the majority approves. But there are some very concrete ways these calls help:
1. Maybe California can end up with a better budget. By getting Republicans on the record early, Democrats can be proactive in building our budget strategy and get Democrats and progressives the negotiating leverage we need.
With Democratic budget proposals that add revenue to avoid cuts to poverty protections, and a Schwarzenegger cuts-only budget that would put an additional 430,000 people out of work, the more progress we can make here the better.
2. We can definitely build a strong case against Republicans. The past few years, Republicans have held our state hostage to their extreme anti-revenue ideology by holding up the budget. But right now, many Californians just think "the legislature" is to blame for our annual budget problems: They don't realize the central role Republicans play
That's not an accurate picture, and these statements will help us make the case that the budget is late again because Republicans are holding us hostage, not 'because both sides couldn't agree.'
3. We can definitely change things this fall. If we can educate the public on the reason our budget problems get worse every year (Republicans) and the conditions that enable it (a minority can veto the majority's budget), we can take a Republican seat or two and pass Proposition 25 -- the majority vote budget initiative.
See our easy instructions, and our progress, below and get started today! |
