I've been on record supporting a special election to get the budget reform California desperately needs - such as scrapping the "two-thirds rule" in the legislature, or helping local governments raise revenue.  But now that a statewide election is set for May 19th, no such measures will be on the ballot.  Instead, the six propositions we will get to vote on are Schwarzenegger gimmicks that would cripple the state's ability to function, throw us further into debt, and roll back a small handful of fiscal victories.  A campaign must start now to urge a "no on everything" vote, repeating the success that progressives had in 2005 by defeating Arnold's special election.  The Governor, however, is a lot savvier this time.  Prop 1B (which deals with school funding) is a naked ploy to keep teachers from opposing Prop 1A (an awful spending cap), and there's a dangerous possibility that organized labor will sit out this whole election.  Democrats are not unified in their opposition, as State Senate President Darrell Steinberg even gave Schwarzenegger cover last week at a press conference when he promoted the "budget reform" package.  Only by exposing this election as another Arnold scam can the state come out winning, helping to map a sane fiscal future for California.

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From today's Beyond Chron.

Arnold's executive order laying off 10,000 state employees - and slashing another 200,000 paychecks to the federal minimum wage - is not just insulting because he's punishing people for the actions of others.  It's that the budget crisis we're in is largely his fault, and the Governor refuses to take responsibility.  Starting with Schwarzenegger's first day in office when he repealed the Vehicle License Fee, Arnold has played one game of fiscal gymnastics after another - leaving us with today's budget deficit of $17 billion.  With right-wing Republicans in the state legislature still playing their usual game of obstructionism, Arnold has shown no leadership of reining them in - and now says that state workers have to suffer.  When Newt Gingrich did this to federal employees in 1995, he paid a heavy political price for it.  Will the press let Arnold off the hook again?

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