Governor (Schwarzenegger) to Republicans: Stop hiding

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

SACRAMENTO — In an interview with the Mercury News this morning, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger challenged legislative Republicans to say how they would close the state's enormous budget deficit, and suggested the reason they haven't done so yet is because they know the public would turn against them.

"I'm calling on Republicans to show me your plan,'' the GOP governor said during a half-hour session in his office. "You know, if you believe in what you're doing, you can take the heat. They obviously are worried about putting theirs out because they know it would not be good. They know."

... At least six GOP Assembly members and two senators are needed to reach the two-thirds threshold required to pass a budget. The state is heading into the third month of the fiscal year with no spending plan, threatening funding for schools, nursing homes, and hospitals, among others.

Responding to the remarks of one Republican legislative leader that releasing an alternative budget proposal would unleash a media spectacle and set back negotiations, the governor said, "I think it's very clear why it will be a media circus: Because what they recommend is something that will be quite shocking."

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10327109

[MichiganVote]

1. Arnold when are you going to wake up? Republicans don't support accountability.

[Juan_de_la_Dem]

7. Sounds like a "Charles Barkeley" Shift to the Dem party is brewing

[MichiganVote]

16. Agreed.

[flvegan]

2. Kennedy blood.

Hope the influence takes over.

[Beregond2]

3. I would bet my life that Ahnuld

will switch parties one of these days. He has always been an opportunist, and he sees which way the wind is blowing. He'd rather die than be on the losing side.

[truthisfreedom]

6. I'd welcome that. He sounds pretty fucking intelligent and aware once in a while.

[Trillo]

18. He's calling for a regressive tax.

Schwarzenegger is at odds with his own party about how to solve a $15.2 billion shortfall, with the governor calling for a temporary 1-cent sales tax increase and GOP legislators vowing to never vote for a tax hike and calling for deeper spending cuts. But to the frustration of Schwarzenegger and Democrats, Republicans have not laid out their own proposal to balance the budget.

Why is Schwarzenegger receiving some lukewarm praise on DU when he's calling for a higher regressive, instead of progressive, tax?

[kestrel91316]

4. Ahnuld isn't even going to go to the RNC, and they were counting on him

to be, like, keynote speaker or something. Bwahahahahahaha!

Claims he has to stay here to sign the budget he's not getting for a while, lol.

[orleans]

5. what is he complaining about? he encourages this shit by being a repuke himself. n/t

[JDPriestly]

8. Schwarzenegger does not understand American politics.

He seems to think that Democrats are like the Austrian Socialists. That is not true at all. Democrats are capitalists, but not extreme laissez-faire capitalists. The Republicans are more like the Austrian party of Haider which is extreme right and racist. American Democrats translate to something between the Socialist and Christian Democratic parties in Austria. IMO.

Schwarzenegger just does not get the American political reality.

[Ian David]

10. Don't blame me, I voted for Mary Carey.

No, not really.

[Wabbajack_]

13. At least her films are about love...

[PATRICK]

14. He understands deals

He is not going to the Convention to be used as a prop when the GOP in CA will not deliver substance for him. It is a good ploy to force some two-way for his service to the party but someday he might realize the GOP will never support him as other than a prop. Dems are those interested in getting the job done, cooperation welcome.

[Ian David]

9. They're behaving like scared little girlie men. Jah! GET BACK TO THE CHOPPER! n/t

[aaroh]

11. STOP BEING ECONOMIC GIRLY MAN

[Ian David]

15. Remember THIS idiot...

[Trillo]

12. Why does the link redirect through

https://secure.passport.mnginteractive.com
mngi/servletDispatch/ErightsPassportServlet.dyn?url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10327109?nclick_check=1&forced=true

At least for me, it hangs there. Maybe it's just down.

[Trillo]

17. Something's corrupted in my browser's profile.

I was too tired last night to figure out the problem.

[denverbill]

19. Actually, this is pretty entertaining.

Republicans continually shoot their mouths off about cutting spending, and you know for damned sure the California Republicans ain't going to make raising taxes part of their plan. I imagine reading off a list of things they would actually cut would be pretty entertaining.