Word: gop
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...thirds rule to pass a budget means that fixing the yawning $42 billion gap in California's $143 billion budget requires three Republicans in both the Assembly and the state senate to join with Democrats. Because the California GOP is deeply conservative, opposes taxes on principle and holds sway in home districts gerrymandered sharply to the right, Republican moderates feel as if they are dead men walking, politically. Republican incumbents who break ranks are ferociously opposed in the primaries. And if a renegade chooses to run statewide, raising funds is as easy as a bullfrog's finding water...
...homebound, poor, mentally ill, those on welfare, those in emergency rooms, etc. Either way, without a tax hike, the wheels come off the bus and California's government - and life as many people experience it in the Golden State - grinds to a halt. On Wednesday afternoon, Schwarzenegger spoke to GOP intransigence, saying, "If you think you can do this budget without any increase in revenues, then you have a big math problem...
Then on Feb. 9, another potential candidate emerged. Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman jolted the potential GOP primary lineup by forming her own gubernatorial exploratory committee. Already equipped with a powerful roster of statewide co-chairs and political endorsements - and a history of big-time fundraising - Whitman and her team looked anything but exploratory. Whitman, 52, was a national co-chair and money magnet for the McCain/Palin ticket in 2008. In a statement, she said, "California faces challenges unlike any other time in its history - a weak and faltering economy, massive job losses and an exploding state budget deficit. California...
...heralded by some liberals as a change in policy. The Huffington Post ran an article headlined: "Democrats, Minority Groups Relieved That Gregg Won't Oversee Census." Those reports, in turn, disturbed conservative activists who immediately condemned the White House "power grab." By Thursday, when Gregg bowed out, the GOP had launched a coordinated assault on the "politicization of the census." The White House was forced to issue a written clarification, noting that "this administration has not proposed removing the Census from the Department of Commerce...
...based on census counts - a state could gain or lose seats based on its population, and shifts within a state determine plans for redrawing political boundaries. The redistricting that took place in Texas at Tom DeLay's urging following the 2000 census - which swung six congressional seats to the GOP - is just one example of how dramatically political fortunes can shift based on the use of those crucial numbers...