Free Republic

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back on the campaign trail again this week, selling for his bonds plan. After five years of Gray Davis, who governed by holding his finger to the wind, it's good to see a governor out trying to build support for his program. The problem is that what Schwarzenegger is pushing isn't worth fighting for.</p>

<p>As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushes a plan to put before voters two initiatives - a $15 billion bond and a spending cap - to fix the state's budget crisis, the state's Democrats are showing they have yet to understand the clear message of California voters: No new taxes. Had the public wanted tax increases to fix a problem caused by overspending, they would have voted differently in October.</p>

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The state Senate has turned down Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget package. That leaves little possibility for a last-minute agreement as the clock ticks toward Friday's midnight deadline to put measures on the March ballot. Senators vote 34-0 against the governor's plan to cap spending, with even Republicans voting no after the outcome became clear. The governor's bond measure also lost. At the same time, counter proposals from Democrats failed to get the two-thirds majorities needed for passage. Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga is warning that Republicans will try to put an even tougher spending...

<p>After saying for weeks there would be no option for putting a big bond measure on the spring ballot, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger quietly gave the green light Friday to a plan to borrow $10.7 billion without voter approval.</p> <p>Last summer, the Legislature authorized the bond sale as part of the budget agreement signed by former Gov. Gray Davis. But taxpayer groups, as well as many Republican lawmakers, criticized the deal, saying borrowing of that magnitude should be approved by voters.</p>

Shortly before 8 p.m., the governor's proposal to borrow $15 billion was defeated in a Senate floor vote. The plan got only five votes, all from Democrats; all but one of the 15 Republicans abstained because of a lack of support for the governor's spending cap. There were 14 votes against the governor's proposal: those of 13 Democrats and Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks). The Democratic counterproposal also failed, receiving 23 Democratic votes — four short of the 27 required for two-thirds approval. McClintock voted against it, and the other Republicans abstained. Later, Senate Republicans changed their votes to send...

Schwarzenegger Aide Offers First List of Proposed Budget Cuts By DEAN E. MURPHY SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 25 — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's finance director asked lawmakers on Tuesday to approve a stark economic bailout package that includes sharp cuts in programs for the poor and the disabled while borrowing large amounts of money from transportation projects to cover other spending. The finance director, Donna Arduin, presented the Legislature with $3.8 billion in suggested cuts over the next year, the first specific reductions that Mr. Schwarzenegger has proposed since becoming governor on Nov. 17. Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, had promised in his...

Schwarzenegger paroles woman who killed husband's mistress The Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to parole a woman who killed her husband's mistress in 1987, the second time in a week the newly elected governor has granted the release of a convicted murderer. Schwarzenegger's decision Wednesday marks a departure from former Gov. Gray Davis, who during his five years repeatedly refused to grant paroles approved by the state's Board of Prison Terms. Davis blocked all but eight of 294 paroles approved by the board in murder cases. He twice rejected parole for Rosario Munoz, the woman Schwarzenegger...

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't have a backup plan if the Legislature or voters reject his proposal to sell $15 billion worth of bonds to pay off the state's existing deficit. "Failure is no option. It just doesn't exist," the Republican governor said Monday. Without a backup, he said, "That means it has to happen." To push the plan, which must be approved by the Legislature by midnight Friday, the new governor said he's ready to take his budget proposal to the voters in recalcitrant lawmakers' districts and he will invite legislators to join him in pushing the bond...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the campaign trail again, but this time he is trying to beat a Friday deadline to get his $15 billion bond measure on the March ballot. Schwarzenegger is telling Democratic lawmakers he wants to negotiate and compromise, but he's also taking the bond measure directly to voters. On Tuesday he campaigned for his budget plan in San Diego. The governor will spend much of the week on the stump, trying to persuade voters to pressure their lawmakers to put the bond measure on the March ballot. In order for the initiative to appear on the...

In true Hollywood-style and after much media speculation, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy for Governor of California on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Aug. 6, 2003. California Recall: How Schwarzenegger Won the West is a political satire that tells the story of the most bizarre American election to date. High-profile celebrity with action-hero status - it doesn't get better than that. The world was watching. But as Schwarzenegger hit the campaign trail, were we just witnessing the cult fo celebrity? Director Alex Cooke filmed this extraordinary election campaign from the moment Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy through to his victory....

From: Marty Omoto, Legislative Director Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 5:06 PM Subject: CA UCP CAPITOL REPORT #176-2003: Senate Budget Subcommittee Hearing Rescheduled for 12/10 CALIFORNIA UCP CAPITOL REPORT #176-2003 DECEMBER 3, 2003 - Wednesday Senate Budget Subcommittee Hearing on Governor's Spending Cuts Including Lanterman Suspension, IHSS and Respite Program Elimination Scheduled for 12/10 Wednesday 11:00 AM - Protest Rally Set for 10 AM The Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata) has rescheduled the informational hearing on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's current year budget cuts for December 10, Wednesday morning at 11:00...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California lawmakers on Friday rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to use a $15 billion bond and a spending limit to solve California's fiscal crisis, marking the Republican's first defeat in his three weeks in office. Schwarzenegger had wanted lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled legislature to put the bond measure and a spending limit on the March ballot -- something the governor said was needed to help cover a budget shortfall estimated as high as nearly $20 billion. But even before a midnight deadline hit on Friday, talks between Schwarzenegger and top lawmakers aimed at reaching a deal...

Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger quietly gave the green light Friday to a plan to borrow $10.7 billion without voter approval - a plan he had previously criticized. The plan was authorized by the Legislature last summer as part of the budget agreement signed by former Gov. Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger said shortly after being elected in the Oct. 7 recall election that voters should approve the bonds - and has said for weeks there would be no alternative to his proposal to put a $15 billion bond measure on the spring ballot. But Friday, members of the California Fiscal...

<p>Arnold Schwarzenegger considers himself a master strategist. But in the heat of his first legislative battle, he seems to have lost sight of what his goal really was. He ended up losing while fighting for something he didn't really need and might not have even wanted. Having morphed from Arnold Schwarzenegger into Gov. Schwarzenegger, he allowed himself to get sucked into the very kind of non-sensical partisan deadlock that, as a private citizen, he used to decry.</p>

<p>The Legislature failed to act by a Friday deadline on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's first steps for addressing the state's fiscal crisis, leading the new governor to threaten to take part of his plan directly to the voters in November. The Senate rejected bills that would have put the Republican governor's budget measures, including a $15 billion bond and a new spending limit, on the March 2 ballot.</p>

SACRAMENTO — Rebuffed by state lawmakers in an early test of his administration, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will now try to bypass the Legislature whenever feasible and tap into the public support he commands by bringing his agenda directly to the ballot, administration aides said Saturday. The governor, himself, remained publicly silent about Friday night's defeat of the state spending limit and $15 billion bond measure he had proposed. His aides, however, cast the votes as confirmation that the Legislature is ignoring the message of the Oct. 7th recall vote and the mandate they contend Schwarzenegger won. That campaign would...

<p>Have you ever had to make serious cuts -- 15% or more -- in your family budget because of an unexpected job -- loss or unforeseen expense? It's not pleasant, but it's not impossible. And it's also not permanent. As long as you're willing to face your financial problems squarely, you can be sure that the hard times won't last forever and things will improve.</p>

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to seek support — starting today — by holding several public rallies for a controversial plan to close budget gaps and shore up the state's finances. His appeal for broader backing comes as state Treasurer Phil Angelides, a Democrat expected to run for governor in 2006, is scheduled to launch today an advertising campaign against the $15-billion borrowing plan. This week, Schwarzenegger, who proposed cutting $4 billion from the state budget over the next four years, has stepped up his drive for a bond issue of up to $15 billion, as well as a spending cap...

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in yesterday as the 38th governor of California, completing a meteoric rise from bodybuilder and action hero to leader of the nation's most populated state in a historic recall election.</p> <p>The 56-year-old Austrian immigrant took the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol before an audience of 7,500 dignitaries and supporters — as millions more around the world watched the event live on television.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Arnold Schwarzenegger's ascension to the top job in the nation's most populous state is the culmination of one of the most earthshaking political sagas ever witnessed in America. Even six months ago, it seemed unfathomable that a Republican movie star could oust Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, a 30-year political veteran just elected to a second term. Now the voter outrage that fueled the recall has catapulted Schwarzenegger into a position of changing the way political power is used in California and elsewhere. And that's exactly what he'll have to do to make good on the many promises he made during the recall campaign.</p>