California Democrats Launch Another Losing Strategy

This is why it's vital that Schwarzenegger be replaced next year with another Republican:

State Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said today that he will file a lawsuit against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to challenge his use of line-item vetoes last month to make nearly $500 million in spending cuts to the state budget.

Steinberg said he will file the lawsuit as an individual in San Francisco County Superior Court early next week and will tap political funds to pay for the legal challenge.

“We elected a governor, not an emperor,” Steinberg said at a Capitol news conference. “In making these line-item vetoes the governor forced punishing cuts on children, the disabled and patients that he couldn’t win fairly at the bargaining table. And in doing so, he overstepped his constitutional authority.”


The announcement was made just two days after the Legislature’s legal counsel issued an opinion arguing that Schwarzenegger exceeded his constitutional powers by imposing the cuts to health, welfare and other programs.

Democratic leaders contended that the cuts should have been off-limits to the governor's blue pencil because they had been funded under a February budget agreement. That budget fell out of balance as state revenue plummeted.

The Legislature sent the governor a budget fix July 24 that left the state in deficit, without a reserve, forcing the governor to find more cuts, said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor.

"The governor’s constitutional authority to veto appropriations is unquestioned and will be upheld by the courts," McLear said.

The legislature will lose this fight. The line item veto is part of our state's constitution, and although they have a history of disapproving of things in the constitution (eg. Prop 8), they also have a history of losing these fights (again, Prop 8).

The Democrats that run the legislature are completely out of control. If we elect a Democrat governor next year there will be absolutely no checks on their power and we'll see all kinds of tax increases to fund every sort of stupid social program you can think of. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a concerted attack on Prop 13 that's kept California from taxing people out of their homes.

Arnold has been a disappointment, but he's a ray of sunshine compared to any Democrat we might get.