Calif. Republicans Oust Leader Amid Budget Talks

fox news ^ | 2/19/2009 | ap

[tobyhill]

Republican state senators upset with tax increases in the budget proposal agreed to by Republican Sen. Dave Cogdill have voted to remove him as minority leader, Cogdill said early Wednesday.

The Senate's 15 Republican members voted to replace Cogdill with Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murietta.

The late-night coup could derail already strained budget talks by requiring Democrats and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to renegotiate with a new Republican leader.

Majority Leader Darrell Steinberg directed lawmakers to begin taking up the budget vote just before 1 a.m.

[WSGilcrest]

ping me in the morning.

[calcowgirl]

Cogdill’s statement issued a bit after midnight:

“My primary goal in leading this Caucus has always been to maintain unity within our dynamic membership. I knew this would be a daunting task with the state’s precarious fiscal situation, but it was a challenge I was honored to take.

“While there are many things to dislike in this budget, I am proud it contains the vital reforms our Caucus has been pushing for - fixing our broken budget system, making government more efficient, giving flexibility to schools to direct more money to the classroom and creating more jobs in our state. It is now painfully apparent that this package will not achieve the votes needed to pass the Legislature.”

[Enterprise]

Just for fun, I think the Democrats should oust THEIR leader too!

[CriticalJ]

Wow. A politician held accountable for his actions. In CA no less.

[blueplum]

bump

[wita]

Gee, maybe something good will come from the standoff. A state with a broken budget and just a few people that want to fix it.

[rockinqsranch]

We need to encourage our State Republican Representatives to continue their actions. This State is on the proverbial slippery slope. Without them holding to their convictions, it’ll be over the cliff for this State.

Break out the pom poms, the batons, do a little dance, whatever is necessary to let them know they are appreciated.

[ALPAPilot]

We need some of these Republicans on the national stage.

[truthkeeper]

So are the talks still stalled? Are those pigs I see flying overhead?

[prismsinc]

Hmmmmm......this could be an early sign of impending doom for Democrats in the great blue state of Calipornia

[calcowgirl]

Ooops... there was more to Cogdill's statement. Here is the whole thing (I only had the first two paragraphs before):

My primary goal in leading this Caucus has always been to maintain unity within our dynamic membership. I knew this would be a daunting task with the state's precarious fiscal situation, but it was a challenge I was honored to take.

While there are many things to dislike in this budget, I am proud it contains the vital reforms our Caucus has been pushing for - fixing our broken budget system, making government more efficient, giving flexibility to schools to direct more money to the classroom and creating more jobs in our state. It is now painfully apparent that this package will not achieve the votes needed to pass the Legislature.

Inaction is not an option. The consequences of an extended budget impasse will be catastrophic, hurting real Californians and bringing irreversible damage to our state's finances and economy. Lawmakers must pass a comprehensive budget solution right away if we are going to prevent California from falling off the financial cliff.

Californians who paid their taxes in good faith deserve their tax refund checks, not paper IOUs. Counties could go bankrupt and stop services to Californians in need. Additionally, public sector inaction hurts the private sector. Thousands of infrastructure projects across the state have stopped, costing tens of thousands of jobs at a time when we are facing record-high unemployment.

Today is a setback but Senate Republicans will continue to work toward a solution. Tonight, our Caucus has chosen to move forward with budget negotiations with new leadership in place. I will work toward a smooth transition as Senator Dennis Hollingsworth assumes the duties as the new Senate Republican Leader.

[calcowgirl]

I think for now, it’s on its death bed. They were still in lockdown and they didn’t adjourn. they just went into recess and were told to be on call and not to leave the building. That was at 1:15. Since then, nothin’ happening.

I just saw something at Flash Report that said that two sources were “twittering” during this thing (KQED/Myers and CapWeekly/York). I’m going to go track those down and see if there is any good info.

[Mount Athos]

anything more?

[calcowgirl]

I’m getting all these threads mixed up, LOL.
I posted a couple things over here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2188150/posts?page=57#57

I’m takin’ a break for a while.

[originalbuckeye]

We are a serious minority in CA but we know when to fight. The State legislature is trying to double our car taxes, raise sales tax to nearly 10%, raise our State income tax, blah, blah, blah. In this economy where do the Dems think we will get the extra money???

[JRios1968]

[jrp]

Sounds like good news. They dumped Cogdill because he was willing to consider tax increases.

[papasmurf]

“Just for fun, I think the Democrats should oust THEIR leader too!”

Oh, you mean Ahnold?

[Right Cal Gal]

Red counties do hold their representatives accountable. Unfortunately, the blue counties (coastal) have the greatest number of people in both houses.