Free Republic

Dear Marylanders, It has now been seven years since you first granted me the honor of serving as Maryland’s governor, and there has not been a single day—good or bad—when I was not grateful for the privilege. Our mission was to change Maryland for the better, and I’m proud to report that we have done exactly what we said we would do, and because of that, the state of our state is strong—by any measure, stronger and better than it was when we began our mission. We have changed Maryland for the better by: Facing our fiscal challenges head-on, easing...

MADISON, Wis. - While the left and the right staked out their positions on the Badger State's condition, Gov. Scott Walker's 2016 edition of the State of the State address was replete with the kind of core conservative ideas that had gotten lost in the din of his failed presidential campaign. "For too long, government programs have entrapped individuals...into extended dependency," the Republican governor said Tuesday in laying out his executive blueprint, which promises to be somewhat muted by election-year inertia. "Our reforms help people get the training they need to get back up on their feet." While the diminishing...

Police have arrested a man who allegedly threatened the Wisconsin Capitol on his Facebook page and then told officers he had a molotov cocktail in his backpack after entering the building. The arrest occurred Tuesday afternoon, just hours before Gov. Scott Walker was scheduled to deliver his State of the State speech to lawmakers at the Capitol. Police closed one entrance and evacuated a portion of the building as they investigated the contents of the man's backpack outside.

Months away from an expected recall election, Gov. Scott Walker declared Wednesday night that "we kept our promises” and explained why he believes the state's economy is improving. Walker’s 3,700-word speech offered no new spending initiatives or programs. He called on lawmakers to pass legislation now pending that would make it easier to build an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin, touched on his initiative to ensure Wisconsin students can read by the third grade, and revisited his Wisconsin Working agenda. But he spent the bulk of the speech reminding listeners of what he’s accomplished in his first term, argued...

Madison - With a turbulent year behind him and the prospect of a historic recall election before him, Gov. Scott Walker is expected to highlight Wisconsin's economy in his second "state of the state" address Wednesday. ~snip~ In his first year, he balanced a $3 billion budget deficit with a focus on spending cuts rather than tax increases; presided over a modest increase of 13,500 private-sector jobs; and has seen unprecedented campaign fundraising and a new poll Wednesday putting him ahead of Democratic challengers. But challenges abound: The state has lost jobs for six months straight while the nation has...

Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway of Tulare -- in her official response to Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State address Monday -- argued that budget-strapped California must maintain its parks, schools and public services -- but argued against extending taxes that would hurt businesses and residents. "Republicans stand united as the only line of defense for California taxpayers,'' Conway said in the official GOP Assembly response to the governor's address. "We believe the best solution to help close our deficit is not by raising taxes, but by creating private sector jobs. That is done by lifting regulations and by...

California Governor Jerry Brown delivered his State of the State address this evening before a joint session of the California State Senate and Assembly. Speaking for about thirty minutes, Brown tried to tie his proposal for a special election to the crisis in Egypt. "When democratic ideals and calls for the right to vote are stirring the imagination of young people in Egypt and Tunisia and other parts of the world, we in California can't say now is the time to block a vote of the people.” It’s a convoluted sentence, but no more so than equating the events in...

When Gov. Jerry Brown appears before the Legislature this afternoon to give his first State of the State speech in nearly 30 years, it may be more about what the governor won't be saying than what he will. The state's $25.4 billion budget deficit looms over every conversation in Sacramento, and the new governor is busy trying to sell his proposed solution, a mix of spending cuts and tax extensions, that has a little something for everyone to hate. So it's unlikely that Brown will be rolling out any ambitious projects or plans because there's no money. And while those...

Live thread on the State of the State address (cause I didn't see one started)...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday in his final State of the State address that he will protect schools in his upcoming budget and proposed a constitutional guarantee that California will never spend more money on prisons than on higher education. Schwarzenegger urged California's congressional delegation to block the federal health care overhaul backed by President Barack Obama unless the package includes billions of dollars more each year for California. He delivered his harshest indictment yet of the plan, calling it "a trough of bribes, deals and loopholes" and "health care to nowhere." The Republican governor said California's budget deficit stands...

SACRAMENTO - Sources at the Capitol say Governor Schwarzenegger is expected to call another special session to deal with the growing deficit. This comes as he prepares for his last State of the State address which he will give later this morning. The state is facing a potential $21 billion deficit. The governor is expected to warn about more severe cuts today. One political expert says the Governor needs to deliver an optimistic speech with a recovery plan he can actually accomplish despite the recession.

Calling Suze Orman, State of the State speech put government first. By Starlee Rhoades What can Arizona lawmakers learn from guru of personal finance Suze Orman? Plenty. Orman's mantra is "people first, then money, then things," which is pretty much the opposite of what we heard on Monday in the Governor's annual State of the State address. Governor Janet Napolitano proposed 12 new government programs and initiatives for the state, in addition to the expansion of several existing programs. These proposed new and expanded programs are offered at a time when Arizona faces a $1.25 billion structural deficit. The new...

Governor Schwarzenegger to Deliver 2008 State of the State Address 1/8/2008 - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will deliver his 2008 State of the State Address at the State Capitol. Watch the live webcast at 3:30 p.m.

In his refreshingly short State of the State speech Tuesday evening, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger boasted of his commitment to transcend partisan divides and to work together, Republicans and Democrats, toward achieving a California agenda. The state government can avoid the partisan gridlock of Washington, D.C., and move forward, he said, "because the future does not wait." While those words make for decent political rhetoric, we were less than heartened by the big and bold agenda the governor detailed. ... The mountain he has pledged to climb with the Legislature looks a lot like a mountain of debt and regulation. If...

It is difficult not to be seduced by the vision for California outlined by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in yesterday's State of the State address. If taxpayers just borrow more money, he said, the state could fix its crumbling roads, boost its dwindling water supply, jail every criminal, build more schools and lead the world in just about every important industry. And, for good measure, let's reform corrupt gerrymandering and mandate health insurance for every resident. Whew. California has neglected, postponed and gridlocked its way into a host of major problems. Clearly, this is a governor with great imagination and considerable...

From the Libertarian Party of California: www.ca.lp.org Press ReleasesLibertarians Respond to Schwarzenegger Tue, 9 Jan 2007 The Libertarian Party of California offers alternative solutions to the problems the governor is trying to address PANORAMA CITY, CA-January 9, 2007:  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today gave his annual State of the State address to the legislators and other key members of California's government, and once again demonstrated the arrogance that is at the root of many of the state's problems. Contrary to the governor's claim that the speech was about "our vision, because I think we all want the same thing for...

Governor Napolitano's State of the State speech yesterday made no pretense of hiding her plans to expand government, it was like listening to one long spendfest. There was no mention of lowering taxes (which was part of the platform she ran on and won on) or cutting spending. So it was unbelievable to hear her say at the end of a long laundry list of new government bureaucracies and spending programs, "Every initiative I have announced can be accomplished without raising taxes one thin dime." Smokescreen and mirrors. She'll blame the Republican-controlled legislature. It doesn't take a fortune teller...

Jan. 9 - Lieutenant Governor Garamendi, Speaker Nunez, Senate Leader Perata, my fellow servants of the people, ladies and gentlemen... I am honored to stand here once again. I want to thank the legislature, as I did in my Inaugural, for putting the people above politics last year--an election year. The federal government was paralyzed by gridlock and games. But you here in this chamber acted on infrastructure, the minimum wage, prescription drug costs and the reduction of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. What this said to the people is: we are not waiting for politics. We are not waiting...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to call for a bold new environmental plan in his State of the State address Tuesday evening. The speech, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., will call upon Californians to make the Golden State a leader in the fight against global warming, NBC11's Mike Luery reported.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to call for a bold new environmental plan in his State of the State address Tuesday evening. The speech, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., will call upon Californians to make the Golden State a leader in the fight against global warming, NBC11's Mike Luery reported. "I propose that California be the first in the world to develop a low-carbon fuel standard that leads us away from fossil fuels," Schwarzenegger said. The governor said he wants to see 7 million hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles on California's roadways. That's more than 20 times the current...