Calcowgirl, tell me more about what happened in the Assembly. I understand that DeVore quit as Assembly whip? Is the Assembly now hopeless for stopping this budgetary madness?
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/019655.html
February 16, 2009
DeVore fails in push for Villines’ ouster
The first GOP leadership challenge resulting from the budget negotiations came and went Saturday night as Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, moved unsuccessfully to unseat Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines.
In a closed-door Republican caucus before the marathon floor session, DeVore made a motion to remove Villines as GOP leader (known as “vacating the chair” in Capitol-speak). None of the other 28 Republican Assembly members seconded the motion.
“The discussion was a credit to the caucus. Nobody raised their voice, everything was logical, people made their case and I lost,” said DeVore, who is plotting a 2010 run for U.S. Senate.
DeVore’s motion was not seconded despite the fact that all of his Assembly GOP colleagues have endorsed him* in his bid to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer, including Villines himself.
(snip)