The Reign of Moonbeam II

California's latest mistake takes office this morning:

As Jerry Brown takes the oath of office Monday for his third term as California governor, he will begin a 100-day sprint that could determine the future success of his administration.

The first 100 days for a governor — often described as the honeymoon period — can set the tone for his entire tenure. It will be particularly true for Brown, who has been clear that he wants to leverage the political capital he has as a relatively new governor — he first served from 1975 to 1983 — into decisive action on the state's fiscal crisis. [...]

Brown plans to pass a budget through the Legislature within two months, instead of the usual seven or eight. Those involved in budget discussions with him say he then plans to ask voters to extend temporary increases to the state sales, income and vehicle taxes that lawmakers and the governor enacted in 2009. Voters have already rejected an extension of those taxes as part of a 2009 special election, and Republican leaders have indicated there is no GOP support for putting the issue back before voters.

Brown's main charge will be to keep voters on his side, even as he introduces a series of spending cuts and potential tax increases that are bound to be unpopular.

Already, Brown is promising shared pain and fiscal austerity. Monday's inaugural festivities will be subdued affairs, with Brown set to take the oath of office at Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium at 11 a.m. In the afternoon, he is scheduled to appear at a gathering outside the Capitol where free hot dogs will be served, before hosting guests at an afternoon reception at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento.

Any Republican who supports Brown's tax hikes deserves to have his head on a pike. Although the giant red November wave stopped before it got to California (and Nevada), there are still plenty of Tea Party-type Republicans in California who are able to toss incumbents out of office in the primaries if they insist on playing bipartisan games with Brown, games that always end up with the GOP caving to Democrat demands.

Just say "NO!" to Moonbeam's tax hikes.