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Posted on 08/26/2003 3:22:05 PM PDT by pogo101
Cruz Bustamante it is. Or should be if not for the "giggle factor" that might propel a Jesse Ventura wannabe into management of the world's sixth-largest economy.
Even if one accepts the false assumption of the recall — that California's governor, reelected by a clear majority less than a year ago, is suddenly unfit to govern — then the logical and fair alternative is to replace him with the lieutenant governor, who was selected by the voters for just that purpose.
Bustamante has the training, experience and track record required to work with the Legislature to produce a budget come January. Contrast this with the GOP's muscleman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admits he finds the budget process baffling and doesn't plan to pull in his financial experts to study it until after the election — a couple of months before a new one is due. As the Democratic state Senate Leader John Burton (D-San Francisco) told me over the weekend, "I hope those will not be the same trusted accountants responsible for the debacle of Enron and so many other companies."
...snip...
[In 1966-67] Reagan came to grips with economic reality quickly, as Lou Cannon, Reagan's definitive biographer, pointed out in the New York Times: "In the first week of his governorship Mr. Reagan proposed a $1-billion tax increase, then the largest tax hike ever sponsored by any governor of any state." And, Cannon noted, it was mostly aimed at banks and corporations.
... The same was true for Republican Govs. George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson, both of whom raised taxes substantially.
...
If he wins, Schwarzenegger will have to raise taxes or his promise to improve the lives of citizens will ring as hollow as the initiative he pushed through on last year's ballot. In his one previous public foray into politics, Schwarzenegger helped pass an initiative for after-school programs that failed to provide funding and therefore was a nonstarter.
Schwarzenegger is arrogant enough to suggest that he can solve the budget shortfall by mouthing a few lines from action flicks. In the real world, every program turns out to be sacrosanct to the very voters now clamoring for a recall; all but a measly 4% of the state's general fund expenditures are allocated to education, health care, the courts and prisons. Where is the fat in K-12 education or emergency-room care that Schwarzenegger will terminate? Will he cut the prison population?
Burton relishes the thought of going one-on-one in Sacramento against an actor shorn of his Hollywood props. But as Burton pointed out, for Californians facing real problems, politics is not a game, making it crucial that we defeat the recall — or failing that, elect Bustamante.
That is the only way to stop the cynical right-wing Republicans who control the party. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Scheer is the giggle factor.
1. Scheer vs. Hitchens on the War for Iraq: Christopher Hitchens faces...
Last Sunday night I went to the great debate over Iraq at the Wiltern Theater, which many of you may have caught on C-Span. The subject was billed as the Bush Administration's war policy on Iraq.
www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/867481/posts - May 25, 2003 - 13 KB
2. Scheer Lunacy at The Los Angeles Times [Free Republic]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management.
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a93f4bc76b0.htm - July 23, 2002 - 85 KB
3. Anti-American Leftists Have Declared War on America! We Must Fight...
Anti-American Leftists Have Declared War on America! We Must Fight Back! below I have assembled a list of traitors who should be looked into to see if they are leading the treasonous anti-war movement.
www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/770500/posts - May 31, 2003 - 50 KB
4. Conservative Columnist Axed by San Diego Paper [Free Republic]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management.
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b84d90a61b3.htm - July 25, 2002 - 138 KB
5. The Ungraceful Decline of the Los Angeles Times
Posted on 11/16/2001 1:08 PM PST by jbemis THE UNGRACEFUL DECLINE OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BY JAMES BEMIS What would you think about a publication that:
www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/570835/posts - April 27, 2003 - 71 KB
6. Leftists in Los Angeles Mobilize Against the War on Terrorism
As America mourned those lost on 9/11, hundreds of left-wing "peace activists" gathered Tuesday evening at the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles to trumpet their opposition to the War on Terrorism....
www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/750283/posts - April 19, 2003 - 15 KB
7. First Blood: The Battle Over Bush's Cabinet (Excellent!) [Free...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management.
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a5bd35506b2.htm - June 20, 2002 - 89 KB
8. Group Posts - Full
Free Republic Log In | Register News/Activism Latest | Search | Topics Q3 FReepathon. Target: $60 000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $9 029 15% 15%! Way to go FReepers and Lurkers!! Thank you for your...
www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/involved?group=81 - July 9, 2003 - 52 KB
9. STARR ISN'T NUTS -- BUT HE IS DANGEROUS
Topic: White Water STARR ISN'T NUTS -- BUT HE IS DANGEROUS Op - Eds 3/4/98 Robert Scheer March 4, 1998 STARR ISN'T NUTS -- BUT HE IS DANGEROUS I'm starting to develop subpoena envy.
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a117411.htm - September 26, 2002 - 12 KB
10. Hot Rodham [Free Republic]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management.
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a96e2b03dd5.htm - April 18, 2003 - 38 KB
I would call Scheer LA's answer to Paul Krugman. Both proven to pack in lie after lie in every single column they write, and their stuff actually appears in print instead of only on computer screens.
In Robert Scheer’s latest column, he uses his usual liberal bias to once again distort the facts of reality. As Reagan said (quoting John Adams) facts are stubborn things. For fairness, I have linked the Times article below:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-scheer26aug26,1,6894268.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
Taking his article point-by-point and it is clear that Scheer has an agenda and uses the Times as the vehicle.
Even if one accepts the false assumption of the recall — that California's governor, reelected by a clear majority less than a year ago, is suddenly unfit to govern — then the logical and fair alternative is to replace him with the lieutenant governor, who was selected by the voters for just that purpose.
Wrong, the Lieutenant Governor is supposed to replace the Governor, if the Governor leaves the State, or is otherwise incapacitated. If the Governor lies to us about the budget, and tells us before the election that we are 10 to 12 billion in the hole, then 11 days after the election that it is really 38 billion, what are we supposed to do? When the population has grown 21 percent, and revenue has grown 25 percent, and the spending has grown 40 percent and we are informed we are not paying enough, what exactly are we supposed to do?
The purpose of the recall is that, yes, Governor Davis was, and is unfit to continue serving as Governor. Since the blindingly obvious fails to find its way into Scheer’s columns, I will spell it out for him. First Davis lied to us about the budget. Second Davis refuses to accept anything but a token portion of the responsibility. In his “responsibility” speech, he blamed the Bush Administration, the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, and Republicans in general for all his missteps. Third Davis only reaction to the budgetary quagmire is to triple the car tax, and freeze employment for the State, which he continues to do, while numbers of State employees increase. No, not hiring new employees does not count as reduction in the number of employees. Fourth, part of our budgetary problem is due specifically to the increases in pay and pensions to prison guards and other employees. Stupidity is one thing. Impropriety is another.
Bustamante has the training, experience and track record required to work with the Legislature to produce a budget come January.
Why would the electorate of this State fire the Captain of the Titanic and replace him with the First Mate? In fact (those stubborn things…) Bustamante did not do anything while the Titanic was sinking in this icy budgetary quagmire and the silence was coldly deafening.
Contrast this with the GOP's muscleman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admits he finds the budget process baffling and doesn't plan to pull in his financial experts to study it until after the election — a couple of months before a new one is due.
What Scheer has failed to understand, is how convoluted the State’s budget is. While we are taking in 25 percent more revenue, why are we spending 40 percent more? Just knowing that with vastly increased revenues we are in a deficit is baffling, and it will take time to identify each problem and fix it.
As the Democratic state Senate Leader John Burton (D-San Francisco) told me over the weekend, "I hope those will not be the same trusted accountants responsible for the debacle of Enron and so many other companies."
Note that Davis was dealing with Enron and the “so many other companies” as defined by Burton. Davis is known as a broken Governor, Bustamante is known as a person that stood by and said nothing. Arnold, if he took advisors from the phone book could not do worse, but instead he has assembled members of both parties to analyze the problems facing California.
The giggle factor, for a state that's survived the contrived "energy crisis" as well as the dot-com crash and a sick national economy, is that for some it sounds like a fun diversion to make the old Terminator our new Governator.
Apparently Scheer thinks the recall is funny and he proclaims everything is "contrived". As for Davis, he signed the inflated energy contracts eight months late. What Scheer convenient forgets is that Edison and PG&E urged the PUC and Davis to allow for a modest 10 percent increase so they could enter into long term energy contracts and remain out of bankruptcy. The PUC and Davis refused until both Edison and PG&E were either bankrupt or on the edge of bankruptcy. The “sick national economy” is partly due to California’s total mismanagement and overspending. You simply cannot spend more than you take in, a concept that Scheer fails to understand.
I could keep going but Scheer is not worth the cyber-ink…
DD
Mike, please refresh my memory: Who is that leftist race-card playing shrew who editorializes for the AJC? Cynthia Tucker, isn't it?
Scheer at his best: in order to improve the lives of the "little people", one must first "raise taxes".
I hope Scheer takes himself seriously. There is certainly no reason for anybody else to...
It's faint praise, but Cynthia Tucker actually has more substance in her little finger than Scheer has in himself and his ego.
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