GAY FUNDRAISER CONTROVERSY

LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS
They are fiscally conservative, want less government, more personal freedom and they just happen to be gay – they are the Log Cabin Republicans, named in honor of log cabin President Abraham Lincoln. And this Thursday night in Hollywood, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is their keynote speaker in a fundraiser that’s expected to generate close to $100,000 for the Log Cabin Republicans.

CONSERVATIVES REACT
Randy Thomasson, the Sacramento based president of the Campaign for Children and Families is urging the Governor to pull out, telling Capitol Insider, “The Governor needs to cancel this event. He has better things to do than to raise money for the destruction of marriage. (Phil) Angelides has pledged to sign a gay marriage bill into law. Schwarzenegger is raising money from those who want the same thing. This is very confusing to the voters.”

GOVERNOR WILL ATTEND
But it’s not confusing to the Governor’s re-election campaign, which confirms Arnold Schwarzenegger will speak at the event Thursday night. All the money raised goes to the Log Cabin Republicans – not the Governor’s re-election campaign. The Log Cabin Republicans tell Capitol Insider the GOP has a big tent with plenty of room for diversity within the party.

WHITE SMOKE

BIG FIVE STRIKE BUDGET DEAL IN TRIPLE DIGIT HEAT
It seems to happen like clockwork at the Capitol every year – there’s wrangling over the budget until the mercury hits 100 plus in Sacramento, then suddenly everyone chills out to sign a budget deal. On Monday, legislative leaders announced an agreement for spending $131 billion dollars – an agreement that includes no money for health care for the children of undocumented immigrants. Republicans held firm on that issue..but it may not be over yet.

THE DEAL BEHIND THE DEAL
Capitol Insider is hearing the Democrats may still get their way – in a separate bill providing health care for all kids – regardless of immigration status. That bill is likely to come after the budget is signed – and as a separate measure, it doesn’t need a 2/3 vote – so Republicans cannot block it from going to the Gov’s desk. In a Capitol news conference back on June 15th, Arnold Schwarzenegger stated , “You know children need to get all the attention if they are here legally or illegally. Every child should have the right to health care and so on. That’s where I’m coming from.”

PUMP POLITICS
This November, California voters will decide the fate of an initiative that could affect you at the gas pump. The proposition would establish a $4 billion program to reduce oil and gasoline use by 25%. Supporters call it the Clean Alternative Energy Initiative, opponents call it the oil tax. The measure makes “big oil companies pay their fair share” for every barrel of oil they pump out of the ground.

It’s designed to provide production incentives for alternative energy vehicles, but critics charge it would dry up the supply of gasoline. Supporters include the Sierra Club and Phil Angelides, the Democratic nominee for Governor. They say it would reduce California’s dependence on oil and make California more energy independent. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes the measure, calling it a new tax. His campaign communications director Katie Levinson tells Capitol Insider, “The Governor will continue to push oil companies and all energy providers to invest in innovation and alternative energy sources.”

NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS

UP IN SMOKE
Dozens of teenagers from Youth Against Big Tobacco, flanked by a costumed character known as “Mr. Butts”, rallied around the State Capitol this week in support of a new initiative that just qualified for the November ballot. The proposition has no number yet, but it would add a 13-cent tax on each cigarette (that’s $2.60 a pack) to triple the number of tobacco control programs.

TRIPLE DIGIT HEAT
There’s an old saying around the Capitol – there’s no chance of getting the State Assembly and Senate to agree on a budget until it hits triple digits in Sacramento. Well on Thursday the thermometer hit 104 – and there’s still no sign of a new budget. Temperatures are expected to climb to 106 in the Capitol City by the weekend, and while the heat is on, budget talks have cooled off.

NO BUDGET BLUES

FAB FOUR A NO-SHOW IN SACRAMENTO
The Fab Four, as they’re known in Sactown, were supposed to meet at the Capitol on Friday.
No not John, Paul, George and Ringo–but rather Don, Dick, George and Fabian – the four legislative leaders known more for their political clout than their singing.

Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata of Oakland, Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine, Assembly Minority Leader George Plescia of San Diego and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles didn’t harmonize as expected Friday.

One source in the Speaker’s office tells Capitol Insider, “The Republicans and the Gov aren’t on the same page, obviously, about kids health care and some law enforcement and education issues. So we are waiting for them to resolve their differences and come back to us.”

So in the meantime, the rest of us will be singing the No Budget Blues.

EASY RIDER

AD ASSAULT
The barrel chested action figure with black leather jacket and sunglasses riding on a motorcycle (Hint: The Terminator) could be a double for Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it’s not the Gov – just a celluloid imitation you’ll be seeing in the latest TV ad unveiled today by the Phil Angelides campaign.

The Democrats announced in Sacramento on Wednesday they are spending $1 million in TV ads to run across California starting today (June 14). This ad features a Schwarzenegger lookalike riding his chopper backwards while the announcer proclaims, “Backwards – It’s Schwarzenegger who’s taking us backwards, with billion in corporate tax giveaways, cuts to schools. And just like George Bush, Schwarzenegger’s saddled us with billions in debt.”

The ad comes in direct response to the Governor’s ad blasting Phil Angelides for taking California backwards (see Capitol Insider – Ad Wars) and featuring footage of his opponent in rewind mode.

The Schwarzenegger campaign folks are openly questioning if the Dems truly have the money to run TV ads, telling Capitol Insider there was no ad time booked as of noon on Wednesday.

BUDGET BLUES
There’s little chance of getting a budget agreement on time this year, despite California’s constitutional deadline of June 15. The bones of contention: deficit spending and immigration.

Republicans are refusing to fund health care for undocumented immigrants, calling any such proposal a deal breaker. Democrats are insisting on a $1 billion reserve fund, instead of the GOP plan to use that money for paying down the debt.

PENALTY BOX
What’s the penalty for politicians who can’t produce a budget on time? Nothing…that’s right no loss of paychecks, no fines, no penalty at all…which could explain why it’s been been 20 years (1986) since the California legislature actually reached a budget agreement on time.

VOTERS REACT
California voters have taken notice…they hold an overwhelmingly negative view of the legislature. In a 56% to 28% landslide, according to a recent Field Poll Californians disapprove of Check it out in the link below.
Field Poll Online

KINDERGARTEN COP

PRESCHOOL PROTECTORS
Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the 1990 movie Kindergarten Cop and now in a case of life imitating art, he’s positioning himself as the protector of early childhdood education.

On Tuesday the Governor met with parents and teachers at a Sacramento school to promote his $100 million early education program for the state’s neediest children, noting that quality preschool programs can help improve academic performance.

Last week, the voters overwhelmingly rejected Prop 82, the so-called “soak the rich” initiative that would have financed preschool education largely through taxes on California’s most highly paid residents. Now the Governor says, “…the voters rejected Proposition 82 but that does not mean they rejected preschool. We want to do it right, in a fiscally responsible way that will help kids who need it most.”

ANGELIDES CAMP RESPONDS
Bob Mulholland, chief political strategist for the Phil Angelides campaign offered a sharp reaction to the Governor’s press event. Mulholland tells Capitol Insider, “Schwarzenegger from his first month in office double-crossed students, teachers and the education community – and a few months of happy faces at schools won’t change his terrible record.”

As for the Angelides record on education, Mulholland says, “Under Phil Angelides, it’s clear schools will be fully funded as Prop 98 requires. And he will do it by making multimillionaires pay their fair share again.”

TV AD WARS

GOV LAUNCHES NEW TV ADS
If you think you’ve seen your last political ad for a while, think again.
The Schwarzenegger team unveiled new TV spots on Friday – two in Spanish, two in English.

One of the ads goes right for the jugular showing pictures of Phil Angelides walking backwards, while the announcer says, “Would you drive backwards? Walk backwards? Then why take California backwards to a time we never want to see again.”

Voters may be turned off by negative ads, but you can expect plenty more in the 152 days (and counting) before the big election on November 7th.

DEMS RESPOND
The Democrats have yet to air any TV ads for Phil Angelides, but they are far from silent. Chief Strategist Bob Mulholland, visited Schwarzenegger’s campaign headquarters in Sacramento – he never made it inside – but he did meet with reporters to respond to the Gov’s new TV spots. “I learned in Vietnam, when someone’s shooting at you, you shoot back. And we’re not gonna be standing around like some Democrat on the East Coast,” Mulholland said in an pointed dig at John Kerry.

Then Mulholland leveled his sights on the Governor, “Schwarzenegger is gonna be sweating 24/7 for the next five months. I think you’ll see a very aggressive Democratic campaign.” In other words, if they’re throwing mud, we’ll be throwing it right back.

Whew…makes you want to take a shower!

Why Voters Stayed Home

DEMOCRACY INACTION
California set some new record lows on Tuesday – not for temperature, but for turnout…just 29% cast their ballots, according to Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, who tells Capitol Insider, “If this holds it would be the lowest turnout we’ve had in a statewide primary since 1920.”

Why? Voter fatigue was a factor, with 5 state elections in the past 5 years. Negative ads were a turnoff too. But here’s another factor: the fastest growing political party in California is no party at all – that’s right – folks who mark “decline to state” as their party affiliation now comprise more than 18% of all registered voters.

Many of them mistakenly believe they are banned from voting in a primary. So let’s set the record straight. “Decline to state” voters can in fact, participate in party primaries as Democrats, Republicans or Independents, whichever ballot they request.

The exception to the rule is the Green Party, which allows only Greenies to vote. Some states, Oregon for example, allow voters to cast their votes entirely by mail. California could be ready to do they same thing by 2008, says McPherson. In the meantime, 4 out of every 10 California voters do so by absentee ballot and the numbers are growing every year.

ARNOLD’S PRIMARY COLORS
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had no real challengers in the Republican primary, but he does have new colors for the campaign. Gone is the red and blue color scheme of “Join Arnold”, which has now been replaced by vibrant orange and green posters that proclaim, “Schwarzenegger: Protector of the California Dream”.

Schwarzenegger likes the new colors, telling reporters on election night that green signifies his commitment to a strong, robust economy and protecting the environment at the same time. Capitol Insider hears from a well placed source within the campaign, The Gov intends to spend $75 million in a comprehensive get out the vote effort this fall, but key Republicans say they expect to be outspent by the Democrats.

PHIL’S GREATEST FANS
You’ll see them at nearly every campaign stop hugging, holding hands and flanking Phil Angelides – we’re talking about his family. Phil’s wife Julie is an avid campaigner, along with his oldest daughter Megan, who served three years in the Peace Corps as a volunteer in the African nation of Senegal.

When Phil told reporters he was having a good week, he didn’t just mean winning the Democratic nomination. The State Treasurer was referring to two school graduations – his middle daughter Christina graduated from Harvard on Thursday. Youngest daughter Arianna just graduated as well from a local Sacramento high school and plans to attend college in the fall.

VOTER TURNOUT

ADS A TURNOFF FOR TURNOUT
Political candidates are spending millions of dollars to capture your vote, but more than six out of every ten registered voters are likely to stay home and ignore Tuesday’s primary election. Secretary of State Bruce McPherson estimates just 38% of registered voters will actually cast a ballot.

Why the apathy? Capitol Insider hears many voters hate the negative political ads and mudslinging, so they’ll punish all the candidates by not voting at all.

YOUR LOSS IS MY GAIN
A low voter turnout is likely to benefit State Treasurer Phil Angelides in his race for Governor against State Controller and Democratic rival Steve Westly. Why? Phil’s forces include labor unions and an official endorsement from the California Democratic Party. The theory is Angelides partisans are very likely to get their people out to the polls on Tuesday…while it remains to be seen if Westly’s warriors will turn out in large numbers for the primary election.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS
More than 4 out of every 10 votes on Tuesday will likely be cast by mail, via absentee ballots. That’s the word from the Secretary of State’s office, which reports nearly 4 million absentee ballots out there. Of those, nearly 1 million have already been turned in to local county election officials.

BORDER POLITICS

Just one day after the California National Guard’s top commander expressed concerns about deploying troops to the border with Mexico, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on Tuesday June 1st that he’s doing just that. The Governor says he’s worried about terrorists sneaking across the border from Mexico, so he’s agreed to send 1000 California National Guard troops to support the U.S. Border Patrol starting as early as July 15th.

The Governor says all his concerns were answered by federal authorities who promised full reimbursement for all expenses. In a break with President Bush, the Governor says his plan includes a firm exit date of December 31, 2008.

Democrats are already taking shots at the Governor about the decision. Rival Steve Westly says, “California’s governor should be willing to stand up to President Bush, especially when he’s playing politics with out troops. The Bush-Schwarzenegger militarization plan isn’t a real solution; it’s a political ploy”. Rival Phil Angelides said the Governor “has added yet another burden to our already strained Naional Guard.” You can expect more verbal jousting in the days ahead….

Meanwhile military recruiters we talked to say they’re getting more phone calls from people interested in joining the National Guard. And seven hundred trained troops have already volunteered for the mission.

SEXUAL PREDATORS BEWARE: Some Bay Area folks are leading the way in protecting families from Internet predators and sexual offenders who prey on children. Marc Klaas, the Bay Area dad whose 12-year-old daughter Polly was killed by a predator, was at the Capitol on Thursday June 1st. Marc is supporting two get tough measures, including one that would place satellite tracking devices on convicted high risk sex offenders.

The State Senate voted unanimously to approve Jackie Speier’s (D – Hillsborough) bill and also Elaine Alquist’s
(D – San Jose)legislation that extends prison time for child rape and child porn and increases penalties for predators who use the Internet to pursue young children.

Marc Klaas was joined by Cindy and Mark Sconce of Sacramento. Cindy was fighting back tears as she told Capitol Insider, “I’m not a lobbyist. I’m not a politician. What I am is the parent of a murdered child.” Cindy’s 12 year old daughter Courtney was also abducted and killed by a predator.

Marc Klaas told Capitol Insider, “It’s too late for Polly, there’s no question about that. It’s too late for the other parents that were here today. But if we know that the work we’re doing is helping to prevent other children from meeting our kids tragic fate, then we feel good about the job we’re doing.”

The two bills now head to the State Assembly, where they are said to have strong support. If approved, it’ll be up to the Governor to decide their fate.