Cross posted at Calitics

Senator Jeff Denham knows he can't win on his record. He knows that the state's budget is screwed, he was and remains part of the problem and people are smart enough to put it together. And since he can't resist a recall on his actual performance as a legislator, he's left bitching and moaning over ticky-tack stuff that only matters if you're scared of being judged on your merits.

So today, Denham filed two criminal complaints against Senator Don Perata. They object to some pretty innocuous and obscure actions- like a Senate staffer translating a transcript- which, while worth being looked at, have nothing to do with the actual substance of the recall election. It's misdirection, it's obfuscation, and it's a refusal to take responsibility for the crisis that the state is facing. Par for the course these days from the Yacht Party and it's preference for party loyalty over productive governance.

Senator Denham continues to base his entire campaign on the notion that his behavior is no business of anyone outside the district. He complains that Perata shouldn't be involved, outside activists shouldn't be involved, that the eyes of the state have been unjustly turned to his record and district. But when Senator Denham obstructs a workable budget, it isn't just his district that suffers. Kids are losing teachers in every corner of the state because of the budget shortfall that Denham helped create. Vital services are being slashed across California because Denham refuses to deal in fiscal reality instead of partisan obstinacy.

We're all in Jeff Denham's district, and if he's going to whine about it, maybe he should find a different line of work.

Update: Just received a press release (full text below the flip) accusing Denham's campaign of using state email accounts to solicit state employees for campaign purposes. State resources should, it seems, be used to protect his own hide but not to provide basic services to Californians. Presumably the resources in question do not exclusively come from his Senate district. We're all in Jeff Denham's district.

DENHAM CAMPAIGN IGNORES LAW

Campaign Manager's E-mail Targets State Workers

In what appears to be a pre-planned attempt to subvert state law, Jeff Denham's campaign has used state email accounts to solicit state employees to participate in precinct walks.

An email sent to staffers working for Republican legislators - and obtained by the campaign to recall Denham - urges staffers to participate in the effort to save Denham from recall.

The email - apparently written by Denham's campaign manager - begins with the sentence, appearing in bold and capital letters "DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE FROM A GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT" - clearly indicating that the intended email recipients were state employees using state computers.

"Jeff Denham has stooped to a new low - using taxpayer's resources to try to help save his political hide," said Gary Robbins, leader of the Denham recall effort. "Denham went behind our back to raise his own pay, now it looks like he's willing to break the law to keep his job."

A copy of the email appears below.

In addition, Denham's campaign website - until it was abruptly changed this week - contained more than a dozen press releases that were identical to those appearing on his state website - in apparent violation of laws restricting the use of state resources for political purposes.