Villines seeks to make GOP relevant again (resisting the Austrian invasion)

SACRAMENTO — As Gov. Schwarzenegger cut deal after deal with the Democrats this year, Republicans in the state Assembly watched with frustration. The tension grew when the governor's chief of staff compared their leader, George Plescia, to a startled deer."It upset a lot of people," said Assembly Member Mike Villines, R-Clovis. The administration, Villines said, "basically viewed us as being irrelevant.

The fallout continued last week when Assembly Republicans ousted Plescia as their leader, replacing him with Villines. Villines, 39, is an unabashed fiscal and social conservative who represents a heavily Republican district. "I don't think it's so much a move to the right as a move to be heard," said Assembly Member John Benoit, R-Palm Desert.

Rank-and-file Republicans complained that they had little say on the $37 billion bond package. The state budget, meanwhile, passed the Assembly with only eight of a possible 31 Republican votes as most in the GOP argued that more money should have gone to pay down debt. In a recent article published on conservative Web site flashreport.org, Assembly Member Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, said the governor "repeatedly side-stepped the Republicans" in the bond talks. "No more side-stepping or steamrolling can be tolerated," he wrote.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Adam Mendelsohn declined to comment on the "inner workings of Republican leadership." The Republican governor, he said, is "focused on working with Democrats and Republicans on all issues. But consensus might be hard to find next year, especially on the state budget. Villines is a strong advocate for reducing the budget deficit — estimated to be $5 billion next year — and he says his goal is to keep the Assembly's 32 Republicans unified in that cause. "Nobody believes we have a revenue problem," Villines said. "We have tremendous revenue. We have a spending problem."

"Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabián Núñez, D-Los Angeles, cautioned Republicans against having a "road block" agenda."

Hey FABIAN - "where the sun don't shine."

2 posted on 11/19/2006 2:07:17 PM PST by Enterprise (Let's not enforce laws that are already on the books, let's just write new laws we won't enforce.)

Give 'em hell, Mike.

3 posted on 11/19/2006 2:18:36 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Cheney X -- Destroying the Liberal Democrat Traitors By Any Means Necessary -- Ya Dig ? Sho 'Nuff.)

"Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabián Núñez, D-Los Angeles, cautioned Republicans against having a "road block" agenda."

Boo Hoo, Fabian. Balancing the budget ain't a "road-block"--it's the Law!

Go get 'em, Mike!

4 posted on 11/19/2006 2:41:32 PM PST by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)

We need more roadblocks... and fewer toll booths in California.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

5 posted on 11/19/2006 3:00:33 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)

6 posted on 11/19/2006 3:49:18 PM PST by Enterprise (Let's not enforce laws that are already on the books, let's just write new laws we won't enforce.)

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