7thriv

Outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a last-ditch effort Monday to help close California's budget deficit by proposing deep cuts to social services and prisons, ideas that had been rejected by lawmakers in previous budget negotiations.

The Republican governor on Monday declared a fiscal emergency and called the Legislature into a special session to deal with part of the deficit, which is $25.4 billion over the next 18 months.

He called for spending cuts and other solutions worth $1.9 billion in the current fiscal year, which ends in June, and $7.9 billion more in the next fiscal year, which takes Schwarzenegger's proposal well into the term of Gov.-elect Jerry Brown.

Schwarzenegger was not concerned about overlapping with the incoming Democrat, who takes over Jan. 3.

I think Professor Bainbridge gets this right:

You know the expression about locking the barn door after the horse has bolted? Here's a Star Wars version:

Pulling the fire alarms on Alderaan five minutes after the Death Star shoots.

It's easy to blame Schwarzenegger alone, but he was guided by Republican establishment types like Pete Wilson. Where were these guys during the past three years when the Governator was negotiating "debt & taxes" deals with the legislature?

Democrats at least manage to rally around the cry of "protecting Pat Brown's legacy." Why haven't state Republicans been trying to save Governor Reagan's legacy?