"Reflecting on four years as the state's chief executive, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday that he
now regrets a number of the policies he championed in his early days in office and acknowledges his own rhetoric was at times overheated and naive," reports the LAT's Evan Halper.
"During an unusually self-reflective interview with Times editors and reporters, the governor no longer talked like the outsider he portrayed when he campaigned to recall his predecessor from office in 2003.
"In that campaign, he labeled many state legislators as inept. Now, he spoke of how it would be a "disaster" for term limits to force some of the same politicians from their offices. He scoffed at the notion that ridding the state of the "waste, fraud and abuse" he railed against in his early days would actually do much to help California's finances. He no longer insists that the state's troubled schools can be repaired without spending more.
"'
I have learned a lot of things where I felt one way before I went into office, and all of a sudden you learn things are not quite this way and you change," he said. 'People call it flip-flopping. I would rather flip-flop when I see something is a wrong idea than get stuck with it and stay with it and [keep making] the same mistake.'"
Meanwhile, the governor continued the road show. The U-T's Matthew Hall reports: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
stopped in San Diego yesterday to promote a budget proposal with far-reaching cuts and push for two spending reforms he says will end Sacramento's all-too familiar shortfall drama.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger explained his proposed budget to civic leaders yesterday at Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego. Because of a projected shortfall of revenues, the governor proposes trimming 10 percent from the next fiscal budget.
The trip was his sixth on a statewide budget-promotion tour that began last week after his calls for a 10 percent cut next fiscal year and no new taxes.
"His plan met instant criticism from teachers and set up a showdown with a Democratic-controlled Legislature. Schwarzenegger's visit yesterday seemed designed as much to build support for his budget as to blunt criticism.
"
'It sounds kind of cold but what can we do?' Schwarzenegger told a crowd at Mission Trails Regional Park. 'The system has driven us to that stage that we have to make these cuts because we can't grab the money anywhere else.'"
"Democratic lawmakers
grilled state finance officials Thursday about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's comments a day earlier about closing 48 state parks, saying they
wondered whether he is serious about his cost-cutting plan," writes Judy Lin in the Bee.
"The Republican governor told The Bee's editorial board Wednesday that his budget proposal was intended to "rattle the cage" at the Capitol, but that he fully expects lawmakers to come forward with alternatives -- including higher fees -- to keep parks open.
"'
How can we take, as a Legislature, the seriousness of the solutions put forth by the governor if the governor does not support these?' asked Sen.
Alan Lowenthal at one of two legislative budget hearings.
"'And why didn't the administration just propose fee increases to ensure access and administration of the state parks?' added the Long Beach Democrat.
Deputy Finance Director
Vince Brown said the governor remains committed to containing government spending
but is open to a "creative solution" that minimizes the effect on the public."
Isn't it "creative solutions" that have gotten us into this mess?
Capitol Weekly reports on
the fundraising, and spending of the Yes on 93 campaign.
"In the last week, more than $3 million has poured into the coffers of a campaign to change the state’s term-limits law. The Yes on Proposition 93 campaign has raised the money from key proponents of the Speaker’s proposed health care reform, Democratic lawmakers, telecom companies and teachers unions.
As the new money pours in, proponents of the measure have opted to pass on more than $500,000 worth of television advertising time that the campaign had reserved.
It is impossible to tell just what that figure means. It could mean anything from a shifting of resources to a tweak of campaign strategy. This week, the Yes on 93 campaign picked up a coveted endorsement from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and another from Republican state Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta. Could this shift mean that the Yes side is hoping to reach out to Republican voters with their new, Republican spokesmen?
But the No on 93 campaign says the numbers show the Yes side is in trouble. “It says to me they’re having trouble raising money,” said Wayne Johnson, a consultant for the No on 93 campaign. “It’s much more likely that they’re not hitting their fundraising targets to fund their buys.”
"At first blush, fundraising would not seem to be a problem for the Yes campaign. The latest reports from the Secretary of State’s office indicates the Yes on 93 campaign has raised $10.5 million to date. Through the end of 2007, the campaign had spent about $5.5 million. A separate Yes on 93 committee, which is expected to fund the campaign’s direct mail operation, has raised about $1.8 million. And Speaker Fabian Nunez has another $5.2 million in his personal account that he could tap for the campaign.
"The president of the California NAACP
has been paid more than $40,000 in consulting fees -- and the organization itself has received $60,000 -- from a coalition of Indian tribes at the same time the civil rights group has endorsed four ballot measures pushed by its tribal benefactors," reports Shane Goldmacher in the Bee.
"The payments to
Alice Huffman, who has served as president of the state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People since 1999, continue a three-year pattern in which Huffman's political firm has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by special interest groups.
"Those same interests, including tobacco and pharmaceutical companies, have also donated tens of thousands of dollars directly to the state NAACP while receiving the organization's backing.
"It is commonplace for political campaigns to hire consultants for outreach to various constituencies and ethnic groups. But Huffman's dual role as a paid political strategist and president of a respected civil rights organization has raised questions about whether the group's endorsement can be bought.
"Huffman's firm, AC Public Affairs, operates out of the same office as the state NAACP. State records show it received about $40,000 in December from a campaign account funded by the tribes seeking compacts -- the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
And, this gem...
"She continues her consulting work because 'campaigning and politics is my livelihood,' she said. '
That's how I make my money to buy my Gucci handbags and other things that enhance my standard of living.'"
"State Treasurer
Bill Lockyer, saying he was "deeply disappointed" by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's support for a toll road extension through San Onofre State Beach,
called on the state Coastal Commission to reject the project," writes David Reyes in the Times.
"The toll road shouldn't be built, Lockyer said Thursday, because 'it would cut through the heart' of California's sixth-most-popular state park.
"Last year, Lockyer, as state attorney general, filed a lawsuit to block the road, saying it would destroy environmental resources and disturb sacred religious and ceremonial sites for Native Americans.
"The 16-mile Foothill South tollway, with an estimated price of $875 million, is to be the final link in the network of toll roads operated by the Transportation Corridor Agencies. Planners say it would accommodate growth in southern Orange County and relieve congestion on the 5 Freeway, but critics have long contended that the road would degrade the beach and its famous surf breaks."
" U.S. Congresswoman
Marcy Kaptur came to a House committee hearing on Thursday prepared to ask U.S. Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson tough questions about his involvement in the subprime mortgage crisis.
Unfortunately, she was questioning the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
The Ohio Democrat, at a House of Representatives Budget Committee hearing, said she wanted to know what Wall Street firms were responsible for the securitization of subprime mortgages.
She then asked: "Seeing as how you were the former CEO of Goldman Sachs ..." But the only person testifying at the hearing interrupted.
"No, no, no, you're confusing me with the Treasury Secretary," said Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke."
Hey, all those white guys look alike...