Democrats caught discussing extending budget crisis (California)

[Nambe]

SACRAMENTO (AP)

Meeting behind closed doors - but not privately - a number of Assembly Democrats debated prolonging California's budget crisis to further political goals as their words were broadcast around the Capitol.

Unaware that a microphone was left on during a closed caucus meeting Monday, a coalition of liberal Democrats considered slowing progress on the budget as a means to increase pressure on Republicans.

The conversations of the Democratic Study Group was transmitted to about 500 "squawk boxes" around the Capitol that are available to legislative staff members, lobbyists and reporters so they can listen in remotely to legislative meetings.

Some members of the study group, including Jackie Goldberg, D- Los Angeles, said if the budget crisis was extended, it could improve chances for a ballot initiative that would make it easier for the Democrats to raise taxes by lowering the threshold for passage from two-thirds to 55 percent. ---

Goldberg told one newspaper that her comments were part of a larger discussion about whether it would be better to make deeper cuts this year - as Republicans have proposed. The idea, she said, is give taxpayers a taste of how bad things would be without a tax increase. ---

Ride Don’t Drive It’s Global Cool

[Rose Siding]

1. What other recourse do they have?

Repub states across the country have raised taxes in order to fund programs despite a Bush economy, but in CA the repub minority is blocking any legislative action to correct the budget without slashing programs. Majorities in poll after poll have chosen taxes over a cut in services.

[Muddleoftheroad]

5. Not all of them

Across the river from me, Maryland's GOP gov is taking heat for not raising taxes. From what I read, the GOP is already eyeing him for higher office if he sticks to his guns.

[David Zephyr]

8. True, But That's Not the Issue.

There is no defending this sort of behavior. It is wrong. It could be criminal.

These jerks have really hurt the Democratic Party.

They should not be defended by Democrats. They should pressured to resign and let the Democratic Governor appoint their replacement.

[Mithras61]

17. I'm not so sure they HAVE hurt the Democratic Party...

Consider that they are talki8ng about either giving in and trying to shape a budget that the GOP has been stonewalling for, or they stick to their guns and get a realistic budget through, which would incidentally PROLONG the crisis.

So are they really damaging the Democratic party by saying "We need to do a budget that will take care of the problem" and prolonging the issue?

[Bandit]

2. How incredibly stupid ~ It's no wonder Bush* is in power

:shrug: If we continue to do business with such total lack of regard towards sensitive material we deserve what we get.

[Caution]

3. This is why Nader wins votes

It is shit like this that makes people turn from the democratic party, and you can't blame them. When will our leaders learn they are supposed to represent our interests first and foremost?

[shanti]

6. thank you!

apparently they don't care about the many people whose lives DEPEND upon the budget being signed expediently! :grr:

[David Zephyr]

9. You Are Right!

There is no defending this sort of behavior. It really makes me angry that this was done by Democrats.

Democrats should be even more outraged then Republicans.

[David Zephyr]

7. I Agree With You.

These creeps all deserve to be thrown out of office and even replaced by Republicans for this sort of seedy and criminal behavior.

Jackie Goldberg and Fabian Nunez have done the Democratic Party and the Governor a great disservice. It is impossible to even calculate the damage they have done to the California Democratic Party.

All Democrats should be up in arms and demand they resign and let the Governor replace them now.

I liked Jackie Goldberg a lot...up until now.

This goes far beyond politics.

This budget crisis is not a political toy. It is affecting the lives of millions of Californians...real people.

Screw them!

[ChillEB]

12. I'm gonna reserve judgement til I hear the actual recording...

"If the budget crisis is extended" does not necessarily imply that they were planning on taking an active role in extending it. They could've be using the word, as it IS often used, to mean something more akin to 'protracted'.

I'm going to wait until I hear the recording, unless they are admitting they DID mean what the media is implying that they meant... In which case, this is totally friggin lame of them. Esp. the 'getting caught' part. What idiots.

And before you lay your "How insensitive, don't you know passing the budget is life-and-death" baloney on me, remember that some of the things that the Dem's are fighting to keep funded in the budget REALLY ARE life and death. To the extent that these guys might be looking out for the people of the state in their fighting the GOP's version of the budget, I support their doing so. There are things worth fighting over in life...

[meisje]

4. the dems are just as bad as the repubs

they don't care who suffers, it's just politics!

[dfong63]

23. chillEB and mithras61 are right

let's not rush to judgment on this. we may be victims of severe spin-doctoring on this story.

what, SPECIFICALLY is so terrible about the dems' discussions? everyone knows it's the republicons' intransigeance that is stalling the budget. they're the ones who are calculating the political benefits of delay. what's so wrong with the dems' carefully thinking about whether this REPUBLICON strategy is going to work?

when the only alternative seems to be GIVING IN to republicon blackmail?

[indigo32]

That is really, really awful

considering everything going on in that state. Please... can't we ever think of people first and then worry about partisanship?

[indigo32]

That is really, really awful

considering everything going on in that state. Please... can't we ever think of people first and then worry about partisanship?

[indigo32]

10. That is really, really awful

considering everything going on in that state. Please... can't we ever think of people first and then worry about partisanship?

[tlb]

11. Does anyone think this is really really awful ?

:)

[David__77]

13. NOTHING stupid about this at all!

The choice Democrats have is:

1) Capitulate to GOP anti-people budget, resulting in deaths from poor medical care, worse education and destruction of jobs, or:

2) HOLD OUT, PROLONG the fight for a decent budget.

These progressives were considering the latter option. What's the freakin crime?

[Rose Siding]

15. I don't know

what the crime is, unless it shuts the govt down and holds up paychecks. :shrug: Otherwise, there is just something I'm not getting.

[w4rma]

14. Notice the lack of quotes in the article (the headline is over the top)

except for this one which makes SENSE:

"Since this is going to be a crisis, the crisis could be this year," Goldberg said, according to a transcript made by Republicans. "No one is running (for re-election). And maybe you end up better off than you would have, and maybe you don't. But what you do is show people that you can't get to this without a 55 percent vote."

Remember that the Republicans have been the ones stonewalling on the budget. Republicans there refuse to rais *any* taxes whatsoever to raise the funds needed to balance the budget and make up for the lack of federal funding and make up for the money the Enron syphoned out.

[alaine]

19. "According to a transcript made by the Republicans"???

So those honest, forthright republicans did the public a favor by dutifully writing every thing down word for word. This freaking slays me, and this IS the real difference between the parties. Last week we all saw with our own eyes what happened on C-span, not to mention that there were two different officially recorded timelines, yet the Republicans got up on national tv and lied through their teeth, yet here we have a situation where the only record of the conversation is coming from rethugs who "made" (indeed) a transcripts and what do the dems do? Admit to it? Why didn't they just lie their asses off? Was their a recorder hooked to the mike?

[Democat]

16. What a stupid mistake

Both sides plan strategy, but who the hell let this go out to the public?

The best recourse would probably be to release some bad previous transcripts from the Republicans right away so every article would include some bashing of both sides.

[WilliamPitt]

18. Sounds like Massachusetts Legislative Democrats

On the whole, a dumber pack of weasels cannot be found anywhere.

[Forkboy]

21. LMAO

aint that the truth!

[0rganism]

20. I wonder how that microphone happened to be "left on"

Sure, it could have been a simple stupid oversight, a mistake, and nothing more.

Or there could be another answer as to how a broadcast microphone just happened to be on, more in keeping with the GOP's overall dirty tricks record.

I'm torn between "never assume malice where mere stupidity will suffice" and "in politics, nothing happens by accident."

[Forkboy]

22. Whether the mic was a setup or not

it doesn't excuse the actions taken here.

[TennesseeWalker]

24. Looks like the EVILDOER REPUGS

don't have a lock on wrongdoing. Just what Dems didn't need.

Political considerations aside, I'm sick of stuff like this. I would vote for an HONEST man (or woman), regardless of religion, creed, race, gender,sexual orientation, or party. Leaving people to suffer to gain power....unbecoming of the greatest country in the world...and BOTH sides of our one party system do it!

We need (after the 2004 election)a whole bunch of parties, where you have to have a coalition of reasonable voices to govern ANYTHING. The two party system has shrunk to two factions of the same Ugly World Order, and I'm soooo very tired of it.

When we get rid of Apocalypse, Inc., which is the corporation currently occupying our White House, PLEASE press to get the money and lobbyists out of the White House. Stop negative campaigns and clean up this country. We have only a few decades to make some very hard decisions before the decisions will make themselves for us.

I don't want a world wide depression, and I think that's where we're heading. We have to begin to make RADICAL changes in the way we live....and it won't be any easier if we wait.