Moonbeam May Not Get His Vote

Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown wants the voters to make the tough decisions on the state budget, but he needs a certain number of Republican votes to agree to put the measure on the June ballot.  It doesn't look like he's going to get those votes (from the Daily Caller):

Jerry Brown will miss his deadline for saving California from ruin -- "Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday he does not have enough Republican votes to pass his plan to address California's $26.6 billion budget deficit, just days before the deadline he set for the state Legislature to call a special election and place a tax measure before voters in June," reports the AP. "Brown needs those GOP votes to ask voters to extend temporary sales, income and vehicle tax hikes for another five years, which would be accompanied by $12 billion in spending cuts." Yes, that's right: Brown needs the GOP to vote for something so that he can then ask voters to vote for it. Meanwhile, Republicans want Brown to do something about the high salaries at the Department of Transportation and other agencies as a means of closing a $26 billion deficit. California is complicated. And possibly doomed. 

Republicans are telling Brown they're not going to accept a continuance of the tax increases he asked for because higher taxes will not get the state moving again. The massive waste and overspending has to stop first.