Free Republic

SACRAMENTO -- A group of moderate Democrats, many of them Latino lawmakers from Southern California and the Central Valley, united in the Assembly this week to defeat or significantly weaken a number of bills by fellow Democrats designed to impose new environmental regulations or consumer safeguards. Their success stunned other Democrats and environmental advocates. "This has been one of the worst years I can remember," said Mark Murray, who has been executive director of Californians Against Waste for 11 years. "It's shocking. I thought we had a majority of Democrats, but apparently we don't. ... Environmentalists are not getting any...