Good news for California today - we're a lot closer to dumping Davis!

[MagicMtnDan]

Judge refuses to delay recall vote
NBC, MSNBC and news services
A federal judge refused Wednesday to delay the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, rejecting arguments that punch-card voting machines used in at least six counties would not accurately tally the votes.
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE Stephen Wilson said he would not rule against the will of the people by delaying the vote until March 2.
Ramona Ripston, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which represented two Southern California activist groups, said the ACLU would "almost certainly" appeal the decision.
Attorneys for the ACLU had asked Wilson to put off the vote so the counties of Los Angeles, Mendocino, Santa Clara, San Diego, Sacramento and Solano could replace punch-card voting machines with modern touch screens or written ballots.
The old machines are being eliminated to avoid problems like the ones that caused the hanging-chad controversy during the 2000 Florida presidential vote. But punch-card machines will still be used in the six counties for the Oct. 7 recall.
Ripston said that meant minority voters might not be represented because their ballots could be rejected. "We are sad to think that Judge Wilson will let that happen," she said.
But the state's attorney argued that it was premature to speculate what might happen with the punch-card machines and that delaying the election would be a disservice to voters.
The ruling was the latest in a series of legal battles that have all allowed the vote to recall Gov. Gray Davis to go forward.
Another case is under way in San Jose, where a federal judge said last week that he may delay the election because of evidence that Monterey County did not pre-clear parts of the election process with the federal government, as required under the Voting Rights Act.
The Justice Department, however, said Tuesday that it would accept the Oct. 7 election date.
SCHWARZENEGGER REVEALS PLANS
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, sought Wednesday to solidify his status as the Republican front-runner in the bid to oust Davis, hosting an economic summit and unveiling a new television ad.
Schwarzenegger announced proposals for reviving California's economy after the summit, telling reporters that he would call the Legislature back into session to reform the court system to lessen burdens on business. He also promised to veto any budget that did not reform the state's worker's compensation system.
"When I came to California 35 years ago, this was a place of great dreams," Schwarzenegger said, denouncing the state's $38 billion budget deficit as "reprehensible."
"I believe in all my heart that we can bring that optimism back," he said.
Schwarzenegger did not explain how he would raise the revenue to close the budget gap, saying he would appoint an independent panel to examine the state's books to find out what was behind the deficit.
"These problems I just mentioned were not created in just two weeks, nor will they be solved in two weeks," he said.
Schwarzenegger promised that "I will take action," but at the same time, he vowed not to raise taxes or to cut education costs, ruling out two of the most commonly proposed remedies.
"Sacramento has overspent, overtaxed and overregulated our businesses," he said.
FIRST AD HITS AIRWAVES
In a 60-second ad his campaign began airing Wednesday, Schwarzenegger pledges to restore fiscal responsibility and take power from special interests.
"We, the people, are doing our job, working hard, raising our families and paying taxes," Schwarzenegger says in the ad. "But the politicians are not doing their job."
The ad and the summit, headed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett and former Secretary of State George Shultz, are intended to establish Schwarzenegger's conservative credentials.
His biggest rivals among Republicans -- businessman Peter Ueberroth, state Sen. Tom McClintock and last year's gubernatorial nominee, Bill Simon -- have started attacking the rookie candidate's past statements on key social issues, and his support for abortion rights, gay rights and limited gun control have received wider scrutiny.
A recent poll indicated Schwarzenegger and the top Democrat in the race, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, were running nearly even, despite the actor's money and fame and the excitement generated by his candidacy.
CHALLENGERS STEP IT UP
McClintock said the events of the last week had strengthened his will to remain in the race. Contributions to his campaign have surged since Buffett's remark, he added.
"I think what happened last week shocked a lot of people into realizing that a familiar name is not enough," McClintock said Tuesday.
Ueberroth, the former commissioner of Major League Baseball who will begin campaigning this week, is taking a different tack: wooing voters across party lines by reminding them of his skillful management of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Tuesday, he announced his opposition to a Republican-backed initiative passed in 1994 that denied public services to illegal immigrants.
Ueberroth said Wednesday at a news conference that he would cut state spending across the board
by 5 percent and bring in $6 billion through a one-time tax amnesty in which people who failed to pay past taxes would get a chance to settle their accounts without penalties.
"I am a businessman. I'm a leader and a problem-solver," Ueberroth said. "I've had some successes, and I've had some failures. Fortunately, I've had more successes than failures, and I pay a lot of taxes," he said.
"What am I not? I am not a politician. I'm not good on television, and I can't give you answers in sound bites," he said.
All of this poses a quandary for Schwarzenegger's team, which must address the party's conservative base while not alienating mainstream voters who are key to victory in California.
Davis, meanwhile, went on the offensive, vowing to fight a "right-wing power grab" by Republicans.
Davis acknowledged in an address at the University of California-Los Angeles that he was slow to act on the state's energy crisis and expressed his own disappointment with the state budget in the speech. But he also sought to place the state's troubles in the perspective of a U.S. economy that had "tanked," and he pointed to his funding of schools and health care.
"The Republicans behind the recall say they want you to vote me out because of past mistakes," he said. "But they don't give a rip about past mistakes -- they want power for the future, and with so many candidates, they think they can get it with the support of a tiny fraction of California voters."
Davis is the first California governor to face a recall election. If it is successful, he would be only the second governor in the nation to be removed from office.
"This recall is bigger than California," Davis said. "What's happening here is part of an ongoing national effort by Republicans to steal elections they cannot win."
BUSTAMANTE WEIGHS IN
Bustamante, the most prominent Democrat on the recall ballot, released his own plan Tuesday to turn around the economy, further complicating things for Davis, who had sought to keep other Democrats off the ballot so he could focus on defeating the recall.
Bustamante's plan would impose most of the pain on the state's wealthy and its businesses.
"The folks at the top have to pay their fair share," Bustamante said in Sacramento. "The folks at the bottom have to pay something, and the people being squeezed in the middle need some relief from the car tax and college fees."
Bustamante has urged Californians to vote against the recall but to choose him in case the governor is ousted.
Bustamante's economic plan would raise income taxes on the wealthiest Californians to 11 percent, increase taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, and assess commercial property values more frequently for tax purposes.
source: MSNBC

[MagicMtnDan]

Did you see how Davis is still in denial fighting the recall instead of running for re-election?! Hello Gray? Start packing, you're outta there!
Make sure you read what each candidate says in this article. Pay close attention to the statement from Bust-you-monthly, the Democrats'candidate:
BUSTAMANTE WEIGHS IN
Bustamante, the most prominent Democrat on the recall ballot, released his own plan Tuesday to turn around the economy, further complicating things for Davis, who had sought to keep other Democrats off the ballot so he could focus on defeating the recall.
Bustamante's plan would impose most of the pain on the state's wealthy and its businesses.
"The folks at the top have to pay their fair share," Bustamante said in Sacramento. "The folks at the bottom have to pay something, and the people being squeezed in the middle need some relief from the car tax and college fees."
Bustamante has urged Californians to vote against the recall but to choose him in case the governor is ousted.
Bustamante's economic plan would raise income taxes on the wealthiest Californians to 11 percent, increase taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, and assess commercial property values more frequently for tax purposes.

[Irishluck]

I am glad about the judges decision. Bustamante if elected won't do much either. I heard about his tax plan and wonder how the hell that is going to help businesses in Kalifornia.

[Havasu Cig]

According to Bustamante if your car is worth more than 20k you are "at the top". He plans on raising car taxes for those worth more than 20k

[BajaMike]

Some reporters overheard Bustamante talking in Spanish at a restraunt about how California should be "Norte California"....a part of Mexico.
Wouldn't that be progress.
He sounds like a real winner!
pig_flyi
Mike

[CA Stu]

Anarchy Burger (Hold the government)
CA Stu

[Irishluck]

Havasu Cig:
According to Bustamante if your car is worth more than 20k you are "at the top". He plans on raising car taxes for those worth more than 20k No surprise there, I don't get it California is already in trouble financialy with what this dipshit has done up in Sacramento and now Bustamante want's to raise taxes to the "rich" and comerical properties. If elected he'll just be another stupid Democrap that drives busineses out of this state. Sone I and my future wife will follow.

[HighRoller]

Excuse me while I blow Cruz out of the water....
"The folks at the top have to pay their fair share," Bustamante said in Sacramento. "The folks at the bottom have to pay something, and the people being squeezed in the middle need some relief from the car tax and college fees." IRS statistics are as follows:
Top 5% of wage earners earn 35.3% of all the money and pay 56.47% of all taxes paid.
Top 10% earn 46.01%of wages and pay 67.33% of all the taxes.
Top 50% earn 87.01% of all the wages and pay 96.01% of all the taxes.
That means the lowest 50% pay only 3.91%of all taxes collected.Now tell me again how the upper classes aren't paying their"fair share"??????

[Rexone]

What I see likely to happen here. (and don't like what I'm seein).
Mr Boost(yourtaxes)amonte is the only dem. running that's got any amount of poll %. Like it or not he's gonna get alot of votes from the dems just because.
Arnold, Ueberroth, and a few others are the republicans getting the bulk of the vote. Problem is there's too many of them. The votes gonna get so divided none will have a chance of winning against Boost(yourtaxes)amonte. The republicans need to pick one guy and go with it whether it be Arnold, Ueberroth, McClintock, Simon, whoever. Otherwise no matter how good any of them are they ain't gonna win it just from the delution factor. They're all gonna spend a bunch of money one-upping each other and miss the train to Sacramento.
Anyone see this coming out there?

[Dave C]

Here’s a really ugly statistic. In 2000, 44% of California revenues came from 10,000 individual’s capital gains taxes.
Talk about a lack of correct planning. Didn’t they understand that it was only temporary They figured that gravy train would last forever.
One word, Negligence.