Centrists Stand Alone In California Budget Squabble

With the effort to recall Gov. Davis looking ever more likely to find its way to the ballot, the politics surrounding the passage of the state's budget have gotten increasingly heated. Partisanship appears to have commandeered negotiations for a resolution and a perfect political storm appears on the State's horizon. Sen. Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) has already threatened all Republican members of the Legislature that their political careers would be over should they vote for a tax increase to help bridge a record state deficit. In this interview with MIR, Assemblyman Keith Richman (R-Northridge) addresses what is needed to pass a responsible budget this year and why standing in the ideological center of the Legislature has become lonely and politically risky.

Thanks to Larry Segal