I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I am glad to be back on the campaign trail, fighting to fix our broken economy and restore the American Dream for millions of hardworking middle class families.
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 month, we've started getting some interesting responses.
Volunteer dbunn contacted Senator Jeff Denham (R-Merced-Modesto-Salinas)'s office, where a staffer reportedly said, "Sen. Denham is opposed to the Dem budget proposals" -- and went on to defend this anti-democratic "superminority" rule!
This kind of statement shows what we've been saying all along: that Republicans would rather hold the state hostage than work with Democrats to govern effectively, We have to continue to put the pressure on budget extremists like Jeff Denham and get all of his colleagues on the record to make sure they know people are watching them if they try to hold the state hostage again.
See our easy instructions, and our progress, below and get started today!
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!
Prop 14 has made some crazy bedfellows. Like today, when I was reading my news feeds and I was forced to stop, look around, and say, well, thank you Jeff Denham:
Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, transferred $50,000 last week from his Senate campaign account to a committee to oppose Proposition 14.
As The Bee has reported, the very vocal opposition to the "open primary" proposal has yet to show significant signs of life when it comes to raising cash to back a campaign. The California Republican Party has launched a No on 14 Web site, but has yet to contribute to one of four accounts opened to oppose the measure, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Secretary of State.(SacBee)
Of course, the Governor hasn't been sitting back on this one. This crazy system is one of his key "reform" measures that he's been targeting. At last check, he's plopped down over $3 million bucks into the campaign to get this thing passed.
So, on this one, Jon Fleischman, the rightwing blogger at Flash Report, and I are in complete agreement. This will lead to a less functional government, not a more functional one. It strips the parties of their right to choose for themselves who will be their standard bearer. And it will create additional costly fights within the Democratic Party. If it was applied in 2008, Democrats would have faced 6 Dem-on-Dem general elections, while there would be only one R-on-R general.
So, thank you Jeff Denham. Excuse me, I need to take a shower now.
Now, the 48-year-old Republican is thinking about a return to Congress - in George Radanovich's 19th Congressional District.
"I started getting phone calls last night," Pombo said today. "Obviously, I haven't made my mind up on it at all, but it is something that I am considering." (Fresno Bee)
Now, don't expect Jeff Denham to simply stand aside for Pombo, and Rep. Radanovich likely won't change his endorsement. After all, Pombo does have some strikes against him. He's a bit of a carpetbagger in this seat, and oh yeah, there are the ethics issues still clouding his record. I'm not sure that voters are really looking to find somebody who has a history with Abramoff.
That being said, Pombo's crazy record, and possible renewal of seniority within the Republican caucus, could be a draw to Republican voters. Don't count him out yet. Maybe SayNoToPombo needs to make a comeback.
George Radanovich (R-Mariposa) has just announced his retirement from the House, and already the Republicans are lining up to take a crack at his seat. You can read Radanovich's full retirement speech at the flash report.
Of course, one of those seeking to replace him is Sen. Jeff Denham. Denham is termed out in 2010, and has been wandering the state looking for a place to land. He was running for LG, but switched to run for Assembly. But now it seems he's managed to secure Radanovich's endorsement and begins as the frontrunner.
But, wait -- there's more! There is already a frontrunner for the GOP nomination (only in politics are front runners in place before retirements are announced) -- apparently Radanovich has drafted as his hopeful replacement State Senator Jeff Denham. Yes, you read that right. Apparently Denham (pictured left), who just a few weeks ago departed from the race for Lieutenant Governor to seek the Republican nomination for a safe GOP Assembly seat centered in Stanislaus County (the Modesto area) will now be shifting his sights, instead, on a bid for a rare open GOP Congressional seat.
Radanovich will announce that he called Denham and asked him to consider running, and he will be doing everything he can to see Denham secure the GOP nomination in June, and win the general election for his seat come November. (FlashReport)
Hurray! Jeff Denham finds a place to land, and maybe this is really, for reals now, the race he is going to run in 2010. Hopefully, his campaign lit just says "Denham 2010." All this flip-flopping must be pure gold for his printer.
Given Denham's past antics, you'd expect him to be a lot more outspoken and visible than Radanovich has been during his career. But, of course, there are a couple of elections before he can be sworn in. The district went 52% to McCain, so it's a tough district for Democrats, but I'm sure there will be some sort of campaign to make Denham earn it at the very least. And you never know, we might pull off an upset.
So, remember how John Garamendi was elected to Congress out of the LG's office? Well, that election will change the course of many others. Interestingly, many of the dominos are falling in the Fresno area, far from the Congressional district. A rough guide from the Fresno Bee:
The first domino to fall was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's selection of state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, as his nominee to replace former lieutenant governor John Garamendi, who left the post when he was elected to Congress.
*** *** ***
Denham's options grew last week when Assembly Member Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, announced he was running for the state Senate seat of Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, who is leaving after his first term. Some Valley Republicans want Denham to remain in the Legislature and think he would be a good match to replace Berryhill, the source close to Denham said. Denham would have to move however, because he lives just outside the district. (Fresno Bee
Now, much of this is to do with some hand-wringing in the Republican party over a primary fight for the LG race. But whether Denham runs or not, Sam Aanestad is still in the LG race, and has not indicated whether he would be willing to step aside for Arnold's handpicked LG, Abel Maldonado. If there is a single conservative candidate in the Republican primary, Maldo is in even worse position. A split vote amongst conservatives could allow St. Abel to cruise through. If there's only one conservative, Abel is in for more of a dogfight. Of course, Arnold would like to clear the field for Abel, but it isn't like Arnold has much sway in the GOP these days.
You have to love (or not) the twisted game of musical chairs in Sacramento these days.
Speaker Pelosi on the recent revelations by Scott McClellan:
''This war is a big lie. It was a lie to begin with..and it continues to be a lie..at some point, maybe the lies just got to be too heavy for him to carry.'' (SF Chron Blog)
Congratulations to Fiona Ma and the Assembly for passing Ma's AB 2716, paid sick leave. Business interests howled that it would break them after SF passed mandatory sick leave by initiative. It didn't, and SF is better for it. California will be better for it if the Governor signs the bill.
Note: I do some web work against 98. Not a whole lot of people are coming out in support of Prop 98, while nearly every newspaper, elected official, and interest group opposes it. You have labor, business, good government, environmental, tenants, and the list goes on and on. On the other side, you have, well, apartment owners and Howard Jarvis' corpse that they keep dragging out.
Today, environmental leaders got together in SF to decry the measure for the potential harm it could do to environmental safeguards. And today, Protection and Advocacy, Inc, a lobbying group for disabled Californians came out against Prop 98 and in favor of Prop 99. Poor Jon Coupal must be crying that even with millions of dollars of landlord money, they still can't catch a break by fooling voters and keeping progressive voters from turning out.
A couple more from Dave:
I found someone who supports Prop.98: Jeff Denham! In fact, he'd rather put abolishing rent control on its own ballot. Another reason to vote yes on the recall.
More bills are facing their fate this week, the last to move bills out of one house. And Republicans blocked the bill put together by a federal receiver and supported by the governor, to build additional medical facilities at our overcrowded prisons. The prisons should be less crowded, and there are plenty of steps to be taken, but this is a human rights issue. Prisoners are dying from lack of adequate care, and without implemented some basic standards there is no way the state will avoid a federal takeover of the entire system. That must be just what those big-government conservatives want.
Anthony Wright has the scoop on some other health care bills, outside the prisons, that did manage to pass through one chamber of the legislature. These are some good, sensible proposals, including a mandate that 85% of premium money go toward patient care (SB1440), independent reviews before insurer rescissions (AB1945), expanding the requirement on insurers covering mental health services (AB1887) and maternity services (AB1962), and SB1522, which standardizes insurance and simplifies the process, in effect eliminating "junk" insurance.
Hank Shaw of the Stockton Record gives us the lowdown on the Republican Central Valley aristocracy who will be in attendance at the gala:
The new news is that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be at the party, too, as will a who's who of local Reeps. Congressional candidate Dean Andal will be there, as will his employer Gerry Kamilos. Andal hopes to beat Rep. Jerry McNerney this year, and the man Jerry ousted -- former Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy -- is supposed to appear at casa de Spanos, too.
Thank God we have Jeff Denham in the State Senate. Without him California might have already succumbed to the Communist menace that seeks to overthrow our great American way of life by subverting our children and our schools in the service of...
Oh? What's that you say? The Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago and the Cold War has been over for just as long? Huh. That's odd. Because even though the State Senate passed Alan Lowenthal's bill to remove membership in the Communist Party as a firing offense for public employees, Denham has denounced the bill as giving succor to our numerous Communist enemies around the world:
Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Atwater, warned "the Communist Party is not a dead organization ... and (is) actively repressing human beings in Cuba and China in brutal ways.
"The state has every right to hold school employees accountable for their political standing, especially if that employee belongs to an organization that favors the violent overthrow of the government," Denham said during the debate on the bill.
Denham said that it's also "reasonable that use of public school property should be limited to groups who support our democracy and do not advocate the overthrow of government by force, violence or other possible means."
I wonder if Denham got the memo that the Cold War is over - or are Republicans really so desperate that they have to turn to red baiting to try and improve their political fortunes?
Or perhaps the Yacht Party believes that only their efforts to overthrow government, by starving it of the revenues necessary to provide the basic services that keep a modern society functioning, is legitimate?
At least the recall is still on the ballot in the 12th district, and voters can decide for themselves whether they want to be represented by someone whose politics are 50 years out of date, or by someone who actually understands the present-day needs of his constituents instead of spending his time chasing after the Red Menace.
The state of California owns land and structures nearly twice the size of Los Angeles County. Most of that we need, but it turns out that we have a significant amount of surplus property that can be sold off. These are parcels like land CalTrans purchased for roads that were never built. Four years ago the Schwarzenegger administration estimated that we could bring in $5 billion from selling the surplus land.
This is something both Democrats and Republicans are interested in exploring. CCTimes
Sen. Dean Florez, a Fresno-area Democrat who heads the Senate government committee, said he would rather "sell our surplus property, before we sell or lease the lottery."
"We are going to be looking at every single asset and asking the question of whether there is any longer a use for these properties," said Florez.
Republican Sen. Jeff Denham, of Merced, said that "we want to see what can be sold to deal with this year's budget crisis," as well as those of any future years.
There is absolutely no way that the state can or even should try and sell off all of these properties quick enough to raise billions of dollars to help with this year's budget deficit. Rushing would lead to mistakes, ones that could be costly if the state sells off property it turns out we need. Plus, rushing for quick sales will reduce the revenue back into the state.
Don Perata has no ability to end the recall, mind you, but in his mind he's done it.
First off, let's say that I'm happy to have been on the right side of Prop. 93, the outcome of which will send Don Perata into the sunset. What a laughable bit of incompetence this is.
Let's start with the fact that he doesn't get to say what's on the ballot and what's not. The authoritarian style of "what I say goes" is the only thing that would've doomed this otherwise perfectly justifiable recall of a legislator who forgot his district and went along with an obstructionist GOP that is harming the state to a severe degree. A real Senate leader would have broadened the race into a referendum on state Republicans and would have done very well. You either do something like this full-speed or you never start it in the first place. This half-step just furthers the narrative of Democratic weakness.
Combined with the stab in the back on SD-15, where Perata demanded that nobody contest Abel Maldonado in another winnable seat, the Senate Pro Tem has assured that there is no way we reach a 2/3 majority in 2008. It's still possible by 2010, but this is a wave election, a realignment year and we're waving the white flag in two prime Senate races. That's just stupid politics. I appreciate the need to speed along the budget; the state is broke. But this recall is over by June 3, and it's not like everything's going to be wrapped up by then. And the stupidest part is that Perata RECOGNIZES that the threat of the recall was helping provide leverage for the Republicans.
In a statement, Perata credited the recall for recent legislation that passed out of the Senate:
"The vote we couldn't get last year to close the tax loophole for yacht owners -- we got that vote," he said. "The vote we couldn't get to help homeowners facing foreclosure - we got that vote. You put everyone here on notice -- and I don't think people are going to forget that anytime soon."
No, you now let everyone off the hook because you've proven you can be bullied by a Republican hissy fit and tut-tuts from the conventional wisdom crowd in the media. No Republican will EVER take a Democratic threat seriously in the near future, crippling the leadership of Darrell Steinberg. And all the leverage on getting legislation passed in the Senate just ended.
Great friggin' job, Don. If you want to just go ahead and quit now and let any stray cat from Berkeley finish out your term, that'd be just fine with me.
...the thought has crossed my mind that Perata is just taking his name and aura off the recall because it'd be easier to pass without him, but if any organization associated with him donated a dime there'd be an even bigger hissy fit cry of "hypocrite," so his dropping the recall really signals a drop of any financial infusion, and I'm not seeing how Simon Salinas or the Dump Denham group will raise the necessary funds (especially considering that Denham is not restricted by any fundraising limits in a recall).
The intellectual inconsistencies are impossible to miss in this story on the Denham recall. It'd be a lot more effective to cry and whine about a power grab and unfair tactics, for example, if you DON'T tip off that you're planning on doing it yourself.
Jon Fleischman, vice chairman of the California Republican Party, said Perata was misusing the recall process, which is meant to boot people from office for serious misconduct. Fleischman and other activists in Orange County said that if the Denham recall succeeds, a similar campaign might be launched against Lou Correa, a Democratic state senator from Santa Ana.
Actually, the right answer is to reform the recall process, not to vow to "misuse" it again, if you want to remain on the intellectual and moral high ground.
But that's not surprising, of course, since the same people whining about the recall today are the ones who benefited from it in 2003.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supported the budget Denham refused to vote for and even traveled at the time to Denham's district to pressure him, has disparaged the recall that's on the June 3 ballot.
"Obviously, it is political," Schwarzenegger said when asked about the effort at a recent Sacramento news conference, adding that the budget vote as "a reason for recall I think is ludicrous."
Riiiight, because Gray Davis wasn't recalled because of a budget deficit.
Like Fleischman, Denham says Perata was abusing the recall process, which is meant to remove from office people who act illegally. But backers of the recall effort note that Denham contributed $17,000 in 2003 to the Republican-led effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis, who was under criticism for the budget mess but had not been accused of criminal conduct.
It's just so hard to keep things straight, and figure out which are the RIGHT recalls and which are the WRONG ones. So good that we have honest brokers like Jon Fleischman and Jeff Denham to set us straight.
It's also a bad thing, we're told, that people in Sacramento and abroad are telling the good people of the 12th District what to do. Good thing there's none of that happening among Denham supporters:
Denham has raised $1.1 million to fight the recall. Major contributions include $50,000 from the Los Angeles Casinos Political Action Committee and $25,000 from the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, which has a casino in Temecula.
Most of the members of the Los Angeles Casinos PAC, we all know, live in Stanislaus County.
The Yes on the Recall Campaign has a new ad up talking about Sen. Jeff Denham's little pay hike scam. You know, where he told the media that he was rejecting pay hikes, only to quietly accept them a few months later. Pretty sweet deal. All the fun of the press coverage without all the problems of actually getting less money.
Also in the Denham recall race, Simon Salinas has launched his website. It's not going to win any awards or anything, but it's got some good info on there.
Yesterday I noted that even Dan Walters was coming around on budget solutions that addressed the revenue problem. Today there's news that Republicans in the State Senate crossed party lines to pass a mortgage relief bill.
SB 1137 would give notice to property residents that the foreclosure process has begun, provide tenants additional time to move from a foreclosed property, and mandate maintenance of foreclosed properties to diminish the impact on the value of neighboring homes.
A previous version of this bill, SB 926, failed on the Senate floor in January when it fell one vote short of passage and faced opposition from the financial services industry. Since then, Senator Perata has addressed industry concerns and produced a more workable bill that has broad support and no known opposition.
One of those Senator who voted for the bill? Senator Scared as a Chicken in a Fox Cage Jeff Denham. He actually spoke on the Senate floor in favor of the bill. That's no accident: two of the worst-hit counties in terms of foreclosures are in his district (Stanislaus and Merced). Cox, Maldonado and Wyland joined the majority as well. The final vote was 28-10.
This is a compromise bill, to be sure (only loans from January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2007 are included), but would provide more transparency and the ability for homeowners to get help before foreclosure, as well as increased notification for renters whose property heads into foreclosure, which is an increasing problem.
What's notable here is the Republican support, which suggests that they're starting to feel pressure on issues like the mortgage crisis from their constituents. The old saw in California politics is that these Republicans are so gerrymandered into their seats that they can't be moved by public outcry. I'm not sure that's true anymore, and it's something to be recognized as we head into the budget fight.
As for Denham, I think he's got a bigger problem with his racist campaign manager, but clearly he's trying to radically backtrack his Senate history and come off as a nice moderate. Since this week is the deadline for bills to move from the Senate to the Assembly, we're going to see him tested on a lot of votes in the coming days.
"Don't I know you? You look like the man who does my lawn." Those are the words of Jeff Denham's campaign manager, John Franklin, to a Latino supporter of the recall.
Seriously, you just can't make this stuff up. He continued on by asking an African-American recall supporter, "Obama yo mamma...who you voting for? I bet you're voting for Obama."
And to wrap it up? Well, Denham's hired gun responded to the idea of inviting recall supporters into the office by saying, "either that or I could shoot them all."
Jeff Denham, the Merced area Senator who is the subject of a recall election on June 3, really knows how to hire them. Lest we think that this is just one bad apple, others in the Denham gang joined in the fun by asking "You, can you even read your sign?"
The Jeff Denham Campaign: One Classy Organization.
[UPDATE] by Robert At the Monterey County Democrats I have some important background info - Denham has a habit of racist campaigning:
Such ugly racist smears are unfortunately nothing new for the Denham campaign, which has consistently used racism as part of its negative election strategy. In the 2006 campaign Denham sent a mailer to voters made to look like a child's picture book where all good people are white and the only person of color is implied to be a child abuser who is shown behind behind bars. The mailer caused an uproar as voters across Monterey County expressed their outrage at Denham's use of racist imagery.
Denham also engaged in some extremely negative campaigning in his 2002 race for the SD-12 seat against Rusty Areias, who Denham beat by just a few hundred votes. Negativity tinged with racism is a Denham theme, it seems.
Senator Jeff Denham knows he can't win on his record. He knows that the state's budget is screwed, he was and remains part of the problem and people are smart enough to put it together. And since he can't resist a recall on his actual performance as a legislator, he's left bitching and moaning over ticky-tack stuff that only matters if you're scared of being judged on your merits.
So today, Denham filed two criminal complaints against Senator Don Perata. They object to some pretty innocuous and obscure actions- like a Senate staffer translating a transcript- which, while worth being looked at, have nothing to do with the actual substance of the recall election. It's misdirection, it's obfuscation, and it's a refusal to take responsibility for the crisis that the state is facing. Par for the course these days from the Yacht Party and it's preference for party loyalty over productive governance.
Senator Denham continues to base his entire campaign on the notion that his behavior is no business of anyone outside the district. He complains that Perata shouldn't be involved, outside activists shouldn't be involved, that the eyes of the state have been unjustly turned to his record and district. But when Senator Denham obstructs a workable budget, it isn't just his district that suffers. Kids are losing teachers in every corner of the state because of the budget shortfall that Denham helped create. Vital services are being slashed across California because Denham refuses to deal in fiscal reality instead of partisan obstinacy.
We're all in Jeff Denham's district, and if he's going to whine about it, maybe he should find a different line of work.
Update: Just received a press release (full text below the flip) accusing Denham's campaign of using state email accounts to solicit state employees for campaign purposes. State resources should, it seems, be used to protect his own hide but not to provide basic services to Californians. Presumably the resources in question do not exclusively come from his Senate district. We're all in Jeff Denham's district.
The recall was launched against Sen. Jeff Denham for one reason only.
He refused to vote for a budget billions out of balance. But then the non-partisan Legislative Analyst proved him right, forecasting an additional $10 billion in red ink.
Local newspapers label this recall an "Abuse of the ballot box." (The Monterey County Herald 2/17/2008)
-- a "sham." (The Madera Tribune, 3/21/2008)
"Petty politics" (Hollister Freelance 2/19/2008)
And "Unjustified" (Fresno Bee 3/20/2008)
Saying this recall is "Just plain wrong." (Merced Sun-Star 2/11/2008)
The recall war is continuing to deliver drama, with Senator Denham dropping a radio ad a few days ago which implicitly suggests that he shouldn't even be eligible for recall. As Capitol Alert recounts, "The ad...says: 'When a public official is guilty of malfeasance or criminal conduct in office, the California Constitution provides for the right to recall.'"
But as Capitol alert and Don Perata's spokesman both note, that's just one reason for someone to be recalled. CapAlert was good enough to track down the applicable portion of the law, which says: "Recall of a state officer is initiated by delivering to the Secretary of State a petition alleging reason for recall. Sufficiency of reason is not reviewable."
I don't recall any conduct by Gray Davis that was either criminal or contrary to law, but I guess that could be in the eye of the beholder. You may recall (ha!) that the petitions circulated back in 2003 said in part:
[Governor Davis's actions were a] "gross mismanagement of California Finances by overspending taxpayers' money, threatening public safety by cutting funds to local governments, failing to account for the exorbitant cost of the energy, and failing in general to deal with the state's major problems until they get to the crisis stage."
Now, Senator Denham may not personally or at least exclusively be responsible for "gross mismanagement" of anything, but last I checked, our current budget crisis (which is based on the budget that Denham's obstinacy helped create) is cutting funds to local governments (which threatens local education if not safety), has failed to account for the exorbitant cost of energy, and rather obviously failed in general to deal with the state's major problems before they got to the crisis stage. So basically, the one example of a major and modern recall election fits exactly with the premise driving the Denham recall attempt. But rather than actually defend himself, Denham has decided to to whine about being picked on.
It might be that there's a reasonable case for Denham to make on this, but he sure isn't making it with this "why is everybody always picking on me?" silliness.
Simón Salinas has pulled papers to run in the Denham recall. He has until 5 p.m. tomorrow to turn in papers and signatures.
One Republican has also pulled papers, but there is a question about residency which may disqualify John Nevill, a Monterey County health care compliance officer.
I'm sure there will be a few stragglers on the ballot, but if Salinas is it that would significantly increase the chances of the recall, since Denham is not on that part of the ballot. It's an expansive district and no candidate has a power base throughout it, but between Salinas' stronghold in the Monterey County area, and the new report that Stanislaus County has turned blue, with a 5,000-vote registration shift between 2006 and today, there is obviously a lot of movement here, and if Denham continues to whine about the process than his record, his days are numbered.
[UPDATE by Robert]Hank Shaw is reporting that Anna Caballero's brief flirtation with a run has ended, clearing the field for Salinas.
