Remember how Jerry Brown was going shake up Sacramento? He was the old pro who'd been around the block once before. The man who would calm the political waters and then walk on them.
It's now four months since Brown began his second stint as California's governor after a 30-year hiatus. Not unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger before him, little has been accomplished. Brown has discovered even more contentiousness in the capitol this time around. Partisan political stalemate has solidified into solid ideological impasse.
Governor “Moon Beam,” reincarnated, has presented a complex mixture of spending cuts and tax extensions that have been deemed “Rube Goldberg-ish” in their complexity. These proposals will supposedly allow Californians to praise the Lord and exclaim, “Oh, so that's how it's done!”
The governor spent precious weeks attempting to cut certain Republicans from the party herd through private negotiations (political perks). Few were interested in dealing individually, but those that listened exhibited sizable distrust with Brown's intentions. The hustled Republican lawmakers asked for public pension and budget reforms in trade for “temporary” tax increases.
Republicans were familiar with that type of terminology reminiscent of the phrase, “kind of pregnant.”
As expected, the talks collapsed as Brown's political handlers, the public employee unions, would veto such a deal. They had good reason to make that decision. Private polls indicate that voters given multiple choices for their favorite reduction plan would choose cuts to public pensions and budget reductions while rejecting increased “temporary” taxes.
The political wolf in sheep's clothing is revealed these days in a tax-weary California.
So it's Jerry back to the smoke-filled meetings with Democratic leaders. How do they find ways to entice California voters into believing they're getting a choice, when the opposite is true? Brown must keep his handlers happy which is becoming harder by the day.
The California Democratic Party is in its own disarray. Many lawmakers aware of Brown's personal political dilemma are reluctant to become entangled in his public web of deceit. Allies are harder to find than his last stint in town.
In other words, his potential supporters are anxious to protect their political asses first and help Brown second - code for a primal desire to be re-elected. It may be Brown's last hurrah (as he has stated many times), but a majority of his colleagues twist in the political winds of change sweeping across the California landscape.
'Plan B' for Brown is being discussed behind closed doors - the option to raise taxes without a special election. That too will require four Republican votes by law. The governor is feeling the heat from both sides of the aisle.
Taxpayer revenues in the state have marginally improved. There is still a sizable gap between projected income and monies going out. Most Democrats will never agree to an all-cuts budget. Those voting for that kind of budget would have zero influence protecting their own selfish interests that got them elected.
Taxes can be raised temporarily, subject to voter ratification later. That will simply buy useless time. The Republicans will still insist on pension reforms and budget cuts. The clock once again is running out while California runs out of cash once again.
Governed by an overwhelming majority of Democrats, California is headed toward summer IOUs to pay the bills. The more things change in Sacramento, the more they remain the same. This could be very well be the turning point a Democratic stranglehold of penniless California.
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