You Run Arnold, We Run Jennifer Yellow Dog Blog

Washington's Blog: Not one person has been prosecuted for the 9/11 attacks, although seven and a half years have gone by and many were tortured

The Peking Duck: Is this bad journalism?

Calitics: Arnold Swarzenegger should resign

Towleroad: SF Mayor Gavin Newsom asked California Supreme Court to delay releasing its Prop. 8 ruling

Sadly, No! Another really smart idea to save the GOP

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Asylum, Notes From Underground, Apoliticus, worldslaziestjournalist

Addressing California's 14 billion dollar deficit, Ahnold is a one-trick nightmare.

For everyone living in CA like myself, Governor Schwarzenegger's State of the State earlier this year was reprehensible. You can see it here.

We now have no way out except to face our budget demons. It does not raise taxes, it cuts the increase in spending and it cuts that spending across the board. As governor, I of course see first hand that the consequences of cuts are not just dollars but people. I recently brought leaders and advocates of various communities into my office to tell them about what we face financially. I had to look them in their eyes and tell them. I mean talking about fiscal responsibility sounds so cold when you have a representative for AIDS patients or poor children or the elderly sitting across from you. It's one of the worst things about being governor---yet, fiscal responsibility like compassion is a virtue because it allows the necessary programs in the first place.

Steve Lopez of the LA Times wrote a great piece about the Governor and said that we're basically in the same situation that California was in when the Davis recall was instituted.

Only a year ago, Gov. Schwarzenegger was telling us we were in good shape financially, with no need for a rainy day fund. Now he says the wolf is at the door. He's planning to lock the gates at 48 California state parks and beaches. And give get-out-of-jail-free cards to tens of thousands of prisoners statewide. And slash school budgets.

These and many other draconian horrors have been proposed by the governor who rose to power on three main recall promises: No more gaping budget holes. No more reckless borrowing. No more out-of-control fundraising and caving in to special interests. Is it time for Total Recall: The Sequel?

The Courage Campaign has been trying to raise awareness in California over the latest electoral power grab on the part of Republicans that I blogged about here. You can sign the petition protesting the "Dirty Tricks" initiative here. However, when confronted with whether or not he supported the initiative, Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger dodged by saying he hadn't read the initiative.

Well, that just doesn't fly here in the Golden State. So Calitics' Julia Rosen asked the blogosphere to supply Arnie with a copy of the initiative and 2,148 Courage Campaign members came through:

On August 23, Gov. Schwarzenegger said:

"I haven't looked at the language and I'm not saying I'm against it or I'm for it or anything."

Well, now he has 2,148 opportunities to read the thing and say whether he is for it or against the dirty trick initiative. Thanks to you.

We asked the blogosphere and thousands of Courage Campaign members to send him a copy and boy did you deliver. I had to get my weightlifter friend to help me cary them in to the Governor's office. Mind you it is about 100 degrees in Sacramento today. [..]

Like Rick Jacobs, the Chair of Courage Campaign says:

Thousands of Californians have made one simple request of the governor: please spend five minutes and read the initiative closely. The next time the Governor is asked publicly about this initiative, he will no longer have an excuse to play dumb about this partisan dirty trick.

The Republicans are pushing this dirty trick in an attempt to steal the election and our "post-partisan" governor is claiming ignorance. Has he failed to grasp the lessons of the 2005 election? In California, partisan power grabs are unacceptable and divisive. It is time for him to do the right thing.

Thank you to all who took action. If you have not done so already, please join the Courage Campaign and pledge to defeat this initiative. No matter where you live, you can help us beat back this dirty trick.

As a Californian, I'm happy that we're having more of a say in the nomination process, but I'm afraid that ultimately, this will mean that the candidate with the biggest war-chest at the beginning of the season gets the nomination.

Reuters:

Seeking to give Californians a voice in choosing the next U.S. presidential candidates, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law on Thursday a bill to move the presidential primary election in the nation's most populous state to February 2008.

"Moving up the primary from June to February gives California the influence it deserves in choosing the next presidential candidates," Schwarzenegger said at a news conference to commemorate the bill's signing.

In recent years, California has had little impact in choosing presidential nominees for the Republican and Democratic parties because they have selected early in the primary process and there is no race left by June.

This year, many U.S. states are considering moving their primaries to February 5, 2008, including other big states such as New Jersey, Florida, Missouri, Michigan and Texas.

Don't mess with the nurses! LA Times:

Supporters of Proposition 89, the campaign-finance initiative spearheaded by the California Nurses Assn., have purchased advertising time Wednesday and early Thursday on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to counter the appearance of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

State Treasurer Phil Angelides and his supporters have demanded equal time and sent thousands of e-mails to the late-night show — arguing that federal law requires broadcast entertainment shows to be fair to major candidates. Angelides also asked California affiliates to pull the show. But NBC contends the Schwarzenegger segment should be considered news, and therefore exempt from the rules.

Hollywood liberal elites:

Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg have pledged their support for Mr Schwarzenegger in his bid to be re-elected in November.

RJ:

"California's appointed (as opposed to elected) Republican Secretary of State has recertified Diebold's voting machines, despite a damning report. Schwarzenegger is hiring a "steely" Karl Rove insider turned Dick Cheney capo, along with other national GOP campaign pols, to run his re-election campaign...read on

Jeralyn: "The Supreme Court has denied Stanley "Tookie" Williams request for a stay of execution. He will die at 12:01 am tonight...read on"

Petrelis Files: "Gov. Schwarzenegger has denied clemency to Stanley Tookie Williams and has his five-page statement...read on"

John Cole is against the death penalty, but has a hard time getting behind this case.

Atrios linked to the case of Cory Maye.

Warren Beaty gets the usual republican treatment

The Hollywood couple strode side-by-side to the entrance of an airport hangar where several hundred of the governor's supporters had gathered.A Schwarzenegger aide told the "Bulworth" star he was not on the guest list and did not have the appropriate wristband to get inside...read on

Arnold tried to take a page out of Bush's 2004 campaign book. TMV has more on this story.