George Skelton
cautions the governor from trying to match the will of the voters to closely. "Here's one vital lesson: The best way to be the people's governor is to lead them, not try to follow. When a governor tries to figure out where the puzzled people are headed, too often nobody gets anywhere."
One could be equally puzzled reading this weekend's analysis of the rift between the state GOP and their governor. The OC Register's Soraya Nelson penned a piece entitled
Schwazenegger fueling GOP angst, while David Olson writes in the Riverside Press Enterprise
the "State GOP faithful dismiss rift".
From our
The Times They Are A'Changin' Files, the Mark Barabak and Maria La Ganga take a look at how
the state's political climate has changed since the days of Pat Brown. "Serving at a time of bursting pride and civic promise, Brown oversaw the creation of California's backbone — the great institutions and public works that undergirded a prosperity he could scarcely have imagined.
But 40 years later, that foundation is crumbling, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for a building binge unlike any since that heady era.
From our
Long Time No See Files the Roundup is happy to once again link to the Bee's Margaret Talev, a former Bee Capitol Bureau reporter, who writes from Washington about
states' efforts to limit the influence of lobbyists in the wake of the
Jack Abramoff scandal.
"Many states are steps ahead of Congress, trying to restore public confidence in incumbents before this year's elections. But the results have been mixed," she writes. ... "Washington state traditionally has had some of the strongest laws in terms of lobbyist disclosure requirements, along with California and Wisconsin, while the weakest include New Hampshire, Wyoming and Pennsylvania, the Center for Public Integrity found.
Hey, we've got a great idea! Let's see how many spam filters we can get caught in if we mention the words "kiddie porn." All in the context of
conservatives targeting Assemblyman Mark Leno, of course. "Leno, author of an alternative to a 'Jessica's Law' ballot initiative backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has been called a danger to society and
a friend of child pornography during the past week. It was also suggested in a political newsletter that
he may be brain damaged after inhaling all of that secondhand marijuana smoke wafting through the streets of his hometown."
The latter might explain some of the Roundup's behavior, as well. See, we were just in San Francisco recently and, oh, never mind...
The California Teachers Association
endorsed Phil Angelides over the weekend in his campaign for governor.
"The union is expected to spend millions of dollars this year in an effort to unseat Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and some of that money now could be put behind Angelides' bid for the Democratic nomination," the Times reports.
Meanwhile, the AP reports anti-war activist
Cindy Sheehan may challenge Dianne Feinstein in November. "Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who set up camp near President Bush's Texas ranch last summer, said Saturday she is considering running against Sen. Dianne Feinstein to protest what she called the California lawmaker's support for the war in Iraq."
The Union-Trib's Chet Barfield takes a look at the
boom in construction on tribal lands in San Diego County. "San Diego County's status as the casino capital of California is not only affecting Indians and their next-door neighbors. The industry's growth is affecting the region as a whole, bringing big business to the backcountry and catapulting tribes from obscurity to prominence."
From our
Granny Get Your Gun Files, an Orange County "man died Sunday of gunshots police say were
fired by his son's 81-year-old great-grandmother when he came for a court-monitored visit with the child ... [The shooter] is being held on $1 million bail. She is due to be arraigned in court Tuesday."
