Redstate

Posted at 10:45pm on May 3, 2008 Fighting Eminent Domain Abuse in California [Updated]

My view: Yes on 98, No on 99

By Neil Stevens

The fight continues to protect Californians from the abuses of civil liberties authorized by the Supreme Court in Kelo v. New London. Proponents of our civil rights against theft of property have placed on the June ballot Proposition 98. Unlike the last Proposition 98, which began our disastrous budget problems by placing hard lower limits on school spending growth, this one is from the good guys. The new Proposition 98 is a proposed state Constitutional amendment that would place sweeping restrictions on eminent domain abuse statewide, and ensure that "just compensation" is provided even when the takings occur.

However, the forces of big government are not quick to give up. Corrupt city and county governments have in turn put on the ballot Proposition 99, another proposed amendment. Masquerading as an anti-eminent domain law, Proposition 99 would not even have helped in the Kelo case, so narrow are the limits on government set.

Read on... Updated below the fold

Posted in Arnold Schwarzenegger | California | Eminent Domain | girly man | Kelo v. New London | State Politics — Comments (11)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 5:03pm on Mar. 27, 2008 The Girly Man Stops Trying

By Neil Stevens

Once upon a time, California Republicans would appoint great members to the Board of UC Regents, and men like Ward Connerly would fight radical leftism from there.

Not now though. Governor Schwarzeneegger is now appointing left-wing Democrats to the body, making his administration all the more indistinguishable from what Phil Angelides's would have been.

I blame the recall, and the progressives who created it. Down with progressivism in all forms. Up with closed political primaries and caucuses. Never again must we let a man like this be our nominee.

Posted at 8:30pm on Feb. 19, 2008 Thank you Governor Schwarzenegger

By Neil Stevens

California State Senator Jeff Denham was one of the Republicans who held firm in the budget battle last year. So as payback, Senate Democratic leader Don Perata is leading an effort to recall Denham.

However according to Flash Report, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is opposing the effort and standing up for a conservative. Thank you Governor. This is what Republicans are supposed to do: stick up for each other even if we disagree on some issues.

Posted at 11:11pm on Jan. 30, 2008 Major McCain endorsement in CA tomorrow (or, "Debate Open Thread #2")

By Jeff Emanuel

The word on the street is that it will be the man who recently called the L.A. Times to apologize for being a Republican, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

That ranks up with the NYT endorsement, and if it's accepted wholeheartedly and touted in CA or nationwide, then I'm seriously going to just give up on this cycle and hibernate until 2012.

Oh, by the way, this is the Debate Open Thread #2. Take it away.

Posted in 2008 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | California | girly men | McCain — Comments (123)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 9:01pm on Jan. 28, 2008 California Medical Care: AB 1X1 dies in committee

By Neil Stevens

Governor Schwarzenegger invested much effort into trying to get 'universal coverage' here in California, but his tax and spend and probably illegal medical care plan he concocted with Assembly Speaker Núñez isn't going anywhere. The relevant Senate committee killed it on a 10-1 vote today. The Republicans voted 4-0 against it, the Democrats 6-1 against.

Says the Sacramento Bee:

Opponents, citing a report released last week by the Legislative Analyst's Office that concluded the plan might be underfunded by billions of dollars, said they were concerned about adding to the state's projected $14.5 billion deficit.

"It doesn't matter how many good things are in the bill if there isn't money to pay for them," said Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica and chairwoman of the committee.

Ha ha. About the only bad thing about this is that it now won't go to court, and set a precedent for getting MassCare thrown out as well.

Posted at 11:28am on Jan. 11, 2008 The Girly Man Strikes

By Neil Stevens

It's official: Governor Schwarzenegger wants to release 22,000 prison inmates early in order to try to balance the budget more easily. He's now the Girly Man on crime. It's a good thing he can't run for President, because this is surely going to be a Willie Horton moment for him. Out of those 22,000 supposedly low-risk criminals, surely at least one is going to defy that classification.

Posted at 3:06am on Jan. 8, 2008 I Love California Republicans

Too bad the Governor Isn't One

By Neil Stevens

California Governor Schwarzenegger is dealing with a self-made budget crisis (I told you so, and so did Assembly Republicans), as Gray Davis-level spending increases have led to a budget deficit just as large as the one Gray Davis left behind. He's planning to deal with it by calling an emergency, which can force the legislature to pass a bill to re-balance the budget. He's formally calling for spending cuts, but the Democrats want to raise taxes.

So guess what? Sacramento Republicans are signing a no-tax pledge, says the San Diego Union-Tribune and Republican votes would be needed for any Democrat-led tax plan. And we know they're going to try for a tax hike.

Read On...

Posted in Arnold Schwarzenegger | Budget | California | Deficit | State Politics | taxes — Comments (14)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 2:52am on Dec. 28, 2007 Court rejects San Francisco insurance mandates; Governor's plan next?

By Neil Stevens

US District Judge Jeffrey White threw out part of a San Francisco law this afternoon, one that required employers to provide or pay for medical insurance for employers. White ruled that the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts and prohibits the states from imposing such requirements on employers.

Ordinarily I wouldn't care, because San Francisco is such a freaky place, and if a conservative worried about every bad bill passed there, he'd never sleep. But this is important because Governor Schwarzenegger's plan for all of California includes a similar requirement, and thus could also be illegal under ERISA.

Read on...

Posted in Arnold Schwarzenegger | California | courts | ERISA | Law | Medical Insurance | San Francisco — Comments (12)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 2:05pm on Dec. 21, 2007 Schwarzenegger Considering Release of 12% of California's Prison Population

Good thing we're getting free health care for the future victims of those 22,000 criminals

By Neil Stevens

After California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger fought Republicans for months over their pesky demands that we cut spending to prevent a disastrous budget deficit, it turns out that gee, we're facing a disastrous budget deficit after all! The conservatives were right.

So how does the Governor want to go about saving some money that we can't afford to spend? He's weighing the early release of 22,000 of the state's 172,000 prison inmates in order to save a few hundred million dollars we would spend keeping society safer.

Read on...

Posted in Arnold Schwarzenegger | Budget | California | Crime | girly man | Policy | Republicans | Spending — Comments (12)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 10:17pm on Dec. 18, 2007 "The largest business tax increase in the history of California"

By Neil Stevens

That's what Irvine Republican Assemblyman Chuck DeVore calls key parts of the plan concocted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in conjuction with California Assembly Democrats to create 'universal medical coverage' for Californians through subsidy and mandates.

The plan has a long way to go though. It has to pass the Senate where Democratic leader Don Perata who, unlike the Governor and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, seems to realize that we just can't afford this plan, even with tax hikes and hoped-for federal money.

Then after that, the voters have to approve parts, including tax hikes. Then it has to survive court challenges, where in the past similar plans have been thrown out (according to the Sacramento Bee).

So I'm not quite worried yet.

Posted at 11:25am on Nov. 12, 2007 California Bullying

By Neil Stevens

Governor Schwarzenegger may have sided with the Democrats against Republicans on the matter of deficit spending, but he now has an opportunity to redeem himself and be a team player. If he means what he says on cutting spending next time, he ought to defend Republican State Sen. Denham against a recall effort launched as political payback by Senate Democratic leader Don Perata for Denham's fiscal discipline.

This would be the ideal way for Schwarzenegger to show he means what he says on the budget, and begin rebuilding bridges with Republicans to boot. To me, this is the test that proves whether it's all talk or not.

Posted at 3:36am on Nov. 7, 2007 Re: Schwarzenegger

By Neil Stevens

Update: Dan said what I said, only he took an hour less and only three words... Silly me!

Talk is cheap. The Governor had an opportunity in August to join with legislative Republicans in demanding a balanced budget this year.

Instead, he joined with legislative Democrats in attacking and pressuring those Republicans to violate the Constitution and vote for their illegal unbalanced budget, eventually himself having to be pressured by his fellow Republicans to use the line item veto properly in exchange for passing the budget. He then turned around and called for a special session of the legislature for "health care reform."

Keep in mind this is also the governor who put billions of dollars of new debt on the ballot in lieu of cutting spending to prevent the state from defaulting on any debt.

How bad was his proposed budget this year? With his own projections it had a $2 billion deficit, and his own document says his revenue projections were beefed up. The final budget ended up (after his $700 million in Republican-demanded vetoes) with expenditures $1 billion over revenues (see page 72), with the legislative analyst predicting the structural deficit to balloon this year, not withstanding the Governor's revenue projections. He and the Democrats are pretending this deficit is legal by doing some accounting tricks of transferring money from other accounts (which will then be transferred back later) in order to pretend that it's a balanced budget.

Higher spending, steady taxes, budgets full of red ink. I don't see what's fiscally responsible about this Governor at all.

Posted at 2:35am on Nov. 7, 2007 Re: Schwarzenegger (R) Showing Fiscal Responsibility

By Dan McLaughlin

Man bites dog.

Posted at 3:16am on Nov. 3, 2007 Arnold Schwarzenegger: Team Player

By Neil Stevens

A recent Field Poll shows Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger virtually tied with Senator Barbara Boxer 44-43, were he to run against her in 2010. But the good Governor is a team player, oh yes. He will not run against her, according to a Sacramento Bee report:

Despite a Field Poll this week showing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a virtual tie with Sen. Barbara Boxer if he were to run for her seat in 2010, the Republican governor said Friday he has "no interest in that at all" during an appearance at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Schwarzenegger joked that he was fine with the growing speculation about what he would do after he is forced to leave the Governor's Office in January 2011, implying that the rumors have been fueled by a desire by Boxer to raise money.

"This way she can raise more money when she says, 'That Schwarzenschnitzel, he's after me, he's after me, oh my god, we've got to raise a lot of money!'" Schwarzenegger said. "That's what this is all about. So, no, I have really no interest in that at all."

Boxer is a terrible Senator, she being the one who even bought into the Diebold conspiracy theories, and challenged Ohio's electoral votes after the 2004 election. And yet the team playing Schwarzenegger will not challenge her.

Oh, did you think I meant he was playing for the Republican team? Oh my, no. That's not his team at all, and here we see yet more proof of that.

He won't challenge a vulnerable Democrat, but he's sure interested in trying to bring "health care reform" to California, calling the legislature into a special session to try to force the Democrats to pass such a bill. He even wants the Democrat-controlled body's approval ratings to go up. What a team player indeed!

Posted in 2010 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Barbara Boxer | California | Elections | senate — Comments (31)/ Email this page » / Read More »