Today's California Blog Roundup is on the flip. Teasers: Phil Angelides, Arnold Schwarzenegger, CA-11, CA-50, Richard Pombo, Jerry McNerney, John Doolittle, Buck McKeown, corruption, health care, immigration, reform.
Randy Bayne points out that Americans want universal coverage for health care. Phil Angelides thinks single payer is the way to go (California is larger than Canada, and 60% the size of France; I think we could do it). Governor Schwarzenegger thinks that universal coverage is a good idea, but has no plan to get there -- now that's some governing, huh? (Oh, and this is why universal coverage is important: real people with real problems.)
Frank Russo asks if Californians are willing to be honest with themselves and pay for the government they want. I tend to put it a bit less politely: are Californians going to continue to fall for Schwarzengger's Republican "and a pony" thinking, where the Republicans promise services without paying for them, and everyone gets a pony?
Interesting: Tom Delay said that 63% of his primary wasn't good enough for him, while Paid-For Pombo thinks 62% is an excellent showing. I wonder who's right. Does that mean that CA-11 is more gerrymandered than Sugarland (believable)? Or maybe it means that California Republicans are more loyal to corrupt leaders than Texas Republicans are (I'd hate to think so).
CannonFire wants to know why there's not a hand recount of the votes in CA-50, since the security procedures used in handling the CA-50 voting machines did not meet the requirements set by Bruce McPherson in order to compensate for the lack of security built into the machines. Pen and paper, folks, pen and paper.
No matter how much the Republicans try to dress it up as "rule of law", using immigration as a wedge issue has a nasty undercurrent of nativism.
Randy Bayne notes that the Republicans in the State Legislature who refuse to fund healthcare that might go in some small part to undocumented children are just mean-spirited. That's right... punish the children for the alleged sins of their parents. That's the way of the Republican leadership.
CannonFire on reverse wedgifying immigation: if the Republicans were serious about border security, why aren't we spending some of the money wasted in Iraq on actual border security?
Lenny Goldberg of the California Tax Reform Association explains why the budget process is so hosed, and how the supermajority requirement for expenditures or taxation is a one-way ratchet. The more I read about how state government, the more I'm convinced of the need for structural reform -- the endless critiques of personality in the legislature are wide of the mark and destructive.
Erik Love posting at the Courage Campaign on the importance of Labor. Hey Courage Campaign -- how about a freakin' RSS feed?
