http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/community/blog_rss/roberticruickshank One of the bigger news stories circulating this morning is Arnold's letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson warning that California might run out of cash if the credit markets don't unfreeze. The gist of the problem, according to the /LA Times/: It's customary for California to borrow billions of dollars at the start of the fiscal year to fill its coffers until the usual flood of sales tax receipts comes in after Christmas and income tax receipts arrive in the spring. "California is so large that our short cash-flow needs exceed the entire budget of some states," Schwarzenegger wrote. The cash needs to be in the state's bank account by Oct. 28 to be available to fund a scheduled $3-billion payment to more than 1,000 school districts. Said Matt David, Schwarzenegger's communications director: "California faces the potential of a perfect storm created by the financial crisis' effect on liquidity, lower-than-anticipated revenues currently coming into the state, and our late budget. The governor is taking steps to prepare for this scenario to ensure that the state can make critical payments." The SacBee clarifies the role the late budget played in bringing about this mess, by quoting California Treasurer Bill Lockyer: "More urgently, because the state budget was so late, we have only four short weeks to complete what otherwise would be a routine revenue anticipation note sale to meet the state's cash-flow needs," he said. Had the budget been on time the revenue anticipation note sale would have been completed earlier, before the credit markets seized up. We have Sacramento Republicans to thank for this, who put their own ideological agenda above basic financial principles and the needs of the state. It's also likely that this letter is not just designed to publicize California's cash flow problem, but to help grease the skids for the Paulson bailout that is being debated right now on the floor of the House. Arnold supports the bailout but believes it was "mismarketed" : What was wrong right from the beginning was the way it was marketed. I mean, you can't talk about a Wall Street bailout. No one in America is interested in bailing out Wall Street [laughter] because those are the guys that are making the billions of dollars. So who is going to help that? But if you go and explain to people this is going to be a bailout for the ordinary citizens and for businesses, small and large, for everyone, the economy and everyone will be affected all the way down to Main Street, not Wall Street, that is then a different ball game. This letter is certainly much better marketing for the bailout than anything we've seen out of Capitol Hill. That's not to say the cash crunch isn't real here in California - it is. And we should remember who and what we have to thank for it - Republicans, and the 2/3 rule. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLc http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLc/commentary#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:52:41 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLc Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 2 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLLc/ Arnold has been making some rather shocking vetoes of important legislation this week, including a cave-in to Sarah Palin on port air quality and the veto of the anti-rescission bill . On balance his record on bills this week is atrocious. But there are a few bright spots, including a bill that has the potential to revolutionize land use in California. Arnold has signed Sen. Darrell Steinberg's SB 375 , a bill that links land-use planning to the AB 32 global warming targets. The intent is to eliminate sprawl by limiting sprawl and favoring infill development. The logic is clear - sprawl creates more auto traffic, and more auto emissions, which worsens global warming. 38% of greenhouse gas emissions in California come from transportation. The obvious solution is to crack down on sprawl and encourage infill development - urban density served by mass transit. SB 375 includes language streamlining CEQA review for infill development that meets carbon emissions reduction goals. That's an important element of an anti-sprawl, anti-global warming effort. It's the Portland model - you can't stop sprawl merely by limiting growth on the edge of a metro area. You must also encourage infill, dense development and provide the mass transit to serve it. It's also vital to California's economic recovery. As I have argued before, we must redefine the California Dream by using urban density to provide for affordable living and economic security. There are still some outstanding issues regarding SB 375 - business groups were lobbying to have urban commercial projects given the same CEQA streamlining as residential projects: Some business groups remained critical because the bill did not allow commercial development to benefit from CEQA changes. And some local officials said it overreached by allowing the state to dictate greenhouse-gas reduction goals for each region. Steinberg said he promised the governor that next year he will clarify that projects funded by the 2006 voter-approved transportation bonds will be exempt. But Steinberg said he agreed only to have "good-faith" discussions about the commercial development issue. "The balance we struck was so precarious, we couldn't pile anything more on top of the bill," Steinberg said. California cannot afford sprawl. SB 375 is a big step forward in our efforts to redefine the California Dream and follow Portland's successful model into a prosperous 21st century future. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLX http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLX/commentary#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:50:24 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLX Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLLX/ Matt Stoller at Open Left has reproduced a letter from progressive Democrats in the Congress demanding changes to the proposed bailout package. Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey are the two lead authors, and other California members of Congress who have signed it include Hilda Solis and Pete Stark. The letter insists that 4 kinds of reform be included in any bailout: A 0.25% tax on all stock trades and "exotic transactions" such as derivatives trading as a kind of "progressive PAYGO" to ensure that the taxpayers won't be paying the costs of the bailout. Equity shares in any companies that benefit from the bailout "Major bankruptcy reform" including homeowner renegotiation of mortgages. Obama undercut progressives on this when he said bankruptcy reform didn't need to be part of the package, perhaps a telltale sign of how unprogressive an Obama administration might be. But it's still a necessary part of any financial solution. A detailed list of new regulations to protect consumers and provide more stable, responsible regulation of the financial industry to prevent a recurrence of this crisis. The progressives' move in Congress comes as more economic observers question the need for a bailout . It's possible that this represents the first move by the 74 members of the Progressive Caucus to block a bill that in particular lacks bankruptcy reform. Even so, an axis of Bush Dogs, House Republicans, and timid/weak/complicit House Democratic leadership may prove to be too much for the Progressive Caucus to overcome. Still, this letter is a welcome move by California progressives like Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey. The bailout needs to be either made a fundamentally progressive policy move or stopped entirely. If a progressive coalition is to come together to stop it leadership from the Progressive Caucus is a necessary component. Even if it is too little too late, it potentially marks the beginning of a push for truly progressive solutions to our economic crisis - the kind that FDR and the Democratic Party stood for 75 years ago, but that current Democratic leaders from Obama on down have now eschewed. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLN http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLN/commentary#comments Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:43:30 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLN Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 1 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLLN/ I yearn for the day I no longer have to write titles like that: Democrats have decided to allow a quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to expire next week, conceding defeat in a months-long battle with the White House and Republicans set off by $4 a gallon gasoline prices this summer. House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., told reporters Tuesday that a provision continuing the moratorium will be dropped this year from a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running after Congress recesses for the election. Republicans have made lifting the ban a key campaign issue after gasoline prices spiked this summer and public opinion turned in favor of more drilling. President Bush lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling in July. "If true, this capitulation by Democrats following months of Republican pressure is a big victory for Americans struggling with record gasoline prices," said House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio. ( AP via SFGate ) To her credit Dianne Feinstein is outraged, sending out this statement a few minutes ago: I think it's awful. This battle is not over. We will come back and fight another day - that's for sure. I regret the House appropriations committee didn't see fit to go with a better, more widely accepted alternative, which would have kept in place a moratorium 50 miles or more off shore. In my view, there were better options than this. Once again the Democratic Congress caves to Republicans who say "boo!" Drilling had faded from public consciousness and Democrats would have done well to insist Especially as bailouts are being discussed, you'd think Democrats would not want to be sending any signals that they can wave the white flag if pressured to do so. Dems would have done well to listen to Van Jones, who at Netroots Nation in July explained the need to move from opposition to proposition - that the only way we will beat back the drilling push is to aggressively propose a more sensible and sustainable alternative. Dems didn't do that, and once again they've failed at politics and failed America. Sure, they might restore the ban next year - but it's not clear if it will be a total moratorium, or if this will have opened a door that can't be closed again. And if McCain wins, Congress will have a very difficult time reimposing a moratorium. Otherwise they've signed a death warrant for California's oceans and those who depend on them for a living. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLJ http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLJ/commentary#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:27:40 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLJ Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLLJ/ To expand on the voter fraud in San Bernardino County that the CDP alerted us to yesterday, funded by would-be governor Steve Poizner, Carol Robb of the San Bernardino County Democratic Central Committee has provided more details, including Republican DA Mike Ramos' unwillingness to even return Democrats' calls: Here's what has happened: ·Immediately after the Labor Day weekend, we saw a large increase in San Bernardino County in Republican Registration, as compared to Democratic, for the first time in 14 months ·The office of the Registrar of Voters was alerted to this situation by Carol Robb. ·The Secretary of State's office was also alerted by a phone call from Carol Robb. ·Knowing that voter registration fraud was taking place in Riverside County, Carol Robb got a list from the Registrar of Voters, containing new registrations and re-registrations between Aug. 18 and Sept. 3. That file was used to identify over 400 voters whose registration changed from Democrat, or "declined to state," to Republican. ·Calls were made to about 100 randomly selected voters from the 400+ on the list. Because of incorrect phone numbers, only 33 interviews were completed. · Phone interviews determined that 27, of the 33 voters reached had been "slammed" -- their party affiliation was improperly changed. ·The advice of the California Democratic Party was sought, and Bob Mulholland was designated to assist us. ·Carol Robb, Patrick Kahler, Sam Clauder, and Phil Robb (Carol's husband, retired Deputy DA) met with Kari Verjil and her key staff on Friday, September 12. The Registrar was given all information, including copies of our 33 telephone interview forms. ·Carol Robb also filed an on-line complaint with the DA's Public Integrity Unit. ·Carol and Sam kept in close contact with Bob Mulholland, who constantly urged us to "go public." ·When our calls to the DA's office were unreturned Monday and again Tuesday morning, Mulholland took matters into his own hands, and sent out a press release from the state party linking San Bernardino's situation to State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner's repeated press releases, about his personal funding of Republican voter registration bounty programs. ·In the meantime, the Registrar's office has handed over all information to both the District Attorney and the Secretary of State, with her request for immediate investigation. ·Congressman Baca was asked to call DA Mike Ramos to urge immediate action. ·Supervisor Josie Gonzalez has pledged to contact the DA's office and urge immediate action. ·A copy of our press release and other information has been shared with a representative of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. Karen Bass will be meeting with both Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Attorney General Jerry Brown in the next day or so, and will share our information directly with them. SBD Republicans are trying to cast this as Democratic sour grapes but it's clear that there is something worth investigating here. Democrats held a press conference at 11 AM today to explain the matter to local media and demand an investigation and accountability. It's worth keeping in mind that this isn't just about the 2008 cycle - but that the involvement of Steve Poizner, a leading candidate for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2010, suggests this could be a long-term strategy for Republicans in California. Certainly the track record of YPM , the Republican firm at the center of the scandal and with many years of voter registration fraud dating back to at least 2004, suggests this to be the case. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLj http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLj/commentary#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:39:30 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLj Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 1 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLLj/ According to the LA Times Don Perata is ready to wave the white flag and give in to Republican anti-tax demands: http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLx http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLx/commentary#comments Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:13:21 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLLx Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLLx/ That's what the Correctional Officers are considering, according to Matier and Ross : http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL34 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL34/commentary#comments Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:10:47 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL34 Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CL34/ After what was described in the Sac Bee as "hard lobbying" from the governor's office, the California Taxpayers Association has endorsed Arnold's plan to balance the budget with a temporary sales tax increase that becomes a reckless and nonsensical sales tax /cut/ - below the current level - in 2011. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3m http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3m/commentary#comments Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:48:16 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3m Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CL3m/ The primary reason Republicans continue to hold the state hostage and deny us a budget is they are afraid that if they vote for a necessary tax increase, they will face a primary challenge from within their party, either for their current seat or for another office in the future. All such a challenger would have to do is say "Joe Blow voted for a tax increase" and the challenger, flush with money from the Club for Growth, the Howard Jarvis Association, and the other usual suspects will take out the incumbent. The only way to challenge that calculus is to suggest that these Republicans will face a greater backlash from voters than from other wingnuts. California voters, especially those in districts represented by Republicans, hold the most leverage in the current budget stalemate. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3f http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3f/commentary#comments Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:19:46 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3f Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CL3f/ Arnold is admitting defeat with his petulant "I won't sign any bills" nonsense, which has accomplished exactly zero progress on the budget while confusing the fall ballot picture. He will sign AB 3034 today which will replace the existing high speed rail Proposition 1 with Proposition 1A. Prop 1A is a slightly modified version of Prop 1 with more fiscal oversight, clearer rules on public-private partnerships, and some environmental rules that the Sierra Club had sought. It was believed that the final deadline for changes to the November ballot was Sunday, but according to the Fresno Bee "the governor's office thinks there are a few days left." While it's good to see Arnold getting back to the process of governing, the whole sorry episode is another example of his failed tenure as our governor. Petulance isn't leadership. More information is at the California High Speed Rail Blog . http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3Q http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3Q/commentary#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:31:22 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3Q Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CL3Q/ One of the most important but so far overlooked narratives of this election cycle is the return of taxes as a major political issue. The recession is hitting government budgets just as that same downturn, combined with soaring gas prices and global warming is creating demand for new spending. Against this backdrop conservatives are now convinced that their way out of an ugly election cycle is to rally the public behind their rabid anti-tax politics. Constant attacks on Obama as a tax-raiser are partly to blame for McCain's recent rise in the polls. And here in the states Republicans are again turning to the tax revolt, their bread and butter for 30 years. Republican intransigence on the California budget is best seen as part of this national strategy to break Democrats on the tax rack. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3b http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3b/commentary#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:38:27 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3b Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CL3b/ It's 1995 all over again, as Republican-induced government shutdowns are all the rage. Congressional Republicans are planning a shutdown in September if they don't get their way on drilling, which looks to be their core electoral strategy going into November. Here in California the possibility looms as Republicans show no sign of budging on the budget . Saturday is the deadline for adding propositions to the November ballot, and as most budget solutions proposed have involved going to voters - whether it's Arnold's lottery bonds, his sales tax plan, or the Republicans' spending cap demands, the deadline becomes all-important: http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3q http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3q/commentary#comments Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:05:34 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CL3q Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CL3q/ A few months late and several billion dollars short, Arnold has finally gotten around to making a serious revenue proposal - a 1 cent increase in the sales tax for a duration of three years. The SacBee reports this is expected to raise around $4 to $5 billion. Not one to offer a solution without strings, Arnold insists that this would only happen in exchange for "long-term budget fixes" such as a rainy-day fund. A rainy day fund is a good idea but that needs to come AFTER we fix the structural revenue shortfall . http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqL http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqL/commentary#comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:18:50 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqL Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLqL/ Our governor was on This Week this morning and as Arnold has a largely undeserved reputation for being an environmentalist George Stephanopoulos decided to ask him some questions on that topic. The answers were quite revealing, and should give Obama a major opening to attack McCain should he be interested in doing so. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqN http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqN/commentary#comments Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:55:46 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqN Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLqN/ As my recent diaries have shown there is a shortage of firefighters to meet the unprecedented amount of fires burning across California. As I began digging into this yesterday I came across the same report highlighted in today's Monterey Herald - that US Forest Service firefighting efforts have been cut to the bone and left the nation vulnerable to massive fires. Deliberate staffing shortages have left the USFS unable to do vital off-season brush clearance, and left them without the staffing to get a quick jump on fires in their crucial initial stages. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqn http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqn/commentary#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:59:23 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqn Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLqn/ The numbers are staggering - 1,400 wildfires burning around the state. Over 70 homes destroyed and 7,800 under threat. President Bush has declared the fires a federal emergency and released $50 million in federal aid, announced by FEMA administrator David Paulison - surely a sign that the feds are fully engaged in the fire aid effort, right? Not so fast. There is a difference between an "emergency," which frees up something like the $50 million in firefighting funds, and a "federal disaster" declaration, which frees up the full range of FEMA assistance to fire victims, including relocation shelters and financial assistance. According to the Monterey Herald the federal government has refused to declare the California fires a disaster: http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqS http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqS/commentary#comments Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:44:12 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqS Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLqS/ Crossposted from my high speed rail blog where there is a lot more information on the project The Senate Transportation Committee today approved AB 3034 by an 8-4 vote. But as Erik Nelson at the Contra Costa Times reports it included some great amendments, including Sen. Leland Yee's plan to restore the primacy of LA-SF: http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqG http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqG/commentary#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:50:11 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLqG Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLqG/ When you drive along Highway 101 near Santa Barbara, or Highway 1 in Huntington Beach, it's hard to miss the many oil rigs on the ocean's horizon. They are relics of a bygone age - not just the 1960s, when they were constructed, but an age in which California believed that cheap oil would always be plentiful and available. We built an entire infrastructure around that and neglected trains, walkable neighborhoods, and lagged behind the rest of the world in developing solar and wind power. Now the consequences of that misguided belief in the permanence of cheap oil have become clear. Gas prices are nearing $5, causing economic distress and sending Californians flocking to mass transit . For his part Barack Obama is proposing massive new investments in sustainable energy and rail infrastructure. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLX7 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLX7/commentary#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:24:32 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLX7 Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLX7/ That's what California Republicans are planning this summer, according the LA Times : GOP lawmakers hope to use their leverage over the state budget, which cannot pass without some of their votes, to roll back landmark policies implemented by Democrats and the governor. Among them are curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, regulations banning the dirtiest diesel engines and rules dictating when employers must provide lunch breaks for workers. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLXT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLXT/commentary#comments Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:26:59 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLXT Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 1 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLXT/ Today's LA Times has an interesting series of op-eds by historians and authors examining how past governors dealt with budget crises . It's an interesting look not only at how those governors all helped build the prosperous state that we're living off of today, but also how the real problem with the budget isn't a lack of pragmatism or deal-making, but ideology. And since the articles were commissioned by California Forward they are particularly important in shaping how we will respond to this crisis. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLXk http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLXk/commentary#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:17:46 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/roberticruickshank/CLXk Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/8e501f6005c216fc9b_j8m6b99j3.jpg Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLXk/