California Rises (god help us?)

[Lunar]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16788.html

Forget Illinois: California is poised to be the top dog in Obama-era Washington.

With roughly a half-dozen Cabinet and key administrative appointees and a powerhouse congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, California is shaping up to be the new Texas, the alpha state whose cultural and policymaking influence was inescapable through most of the last eight years.

President-elect Barack Obama’s energy secretary-designate is Steven Chu, the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Hilda L. Solis, a Los Angeles-area Democratic congresswoman, was named last week as Obama’s choice for secretary of labor. The Council of Economic Advisers will be chaired by University of California-Berkeley professor Christina Romer; Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley will head the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, and Phil Schiliro, a longtime top aide to Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), will serve as Obama’s chief liaison to Congress.

While California's share of key administration positions has been on par with other big Democratic-leaning states Illinois and New York, when its unrivaled congressional clout is factored in, the state looms as a dominant force in a Democratic-controlled Washington.

“California will have substantial influence in the administration partly because of those selected for posts in government and partly because of the speaker and our committee chairmen,” said Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the chairwoman of California’s Democratic congressional delegation. “And there’s certainly people in Silicon Valley who haven’t been hired, but are wired-in, like [CEOs] Eric Schmidt over at Google and John Thompson at Symantec.”

“California has always been the ATM to the nation in terms of political fundraising,” said Lofgren. “We’re policy leaders now.”

Led by House Speaker Pelosi, the state's 34 members constitute the largest bloc in the Democratic Caucus. Highly gerrymandered congressional districts ensure little turnover within the delegation, which means it’s filled with senior members, four of whom chair committees — Education and Labor, Foreign Affairs, Energy and Commerce, and Veterans Affairs. Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland is the incoming chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. [Lunar's note, Lee is Berkeley's congresswoman]

In the Senate, California Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer — each serving her third term — both chair important committees.

Though the state increasingly tilts Democratic, it also has clout on the other side of the aisle: Four Californians rank as the top Republicans on House committees, and fast-rising Rep. Kevin McCarthy was recently selected as the House GOP’s chief deputy whip.

By contrast, while New York and Illinois both have a senior senator in a top Democratic leadership position, they will be joined next year by rookie senators who will rank at the bottom in a chamber that runs on seniority. More than a third of the Illinois and New York congressional delegations have turned over since 2004, which helps explain why no one from Obama’s home state will chair a House committee in the 111th Congress.

“There are a bunch of constituencies that are rising,” said Bruce Cain, director of the University of California-Berkeley’s Washington Center in D.C. “But if you add in the congressional component with Nancy Pelosi and the power of the California members in the Senate and House there’s a really strong California presence.”

The state’s rising fortunes recall a time just a few years ago when President George W. Bush, then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay and the largest Republican delegation in the House burned a Texas brand on beltway Washington.

“There’s a similarity to where Texas was and to California is now,” said McCarthy, who represents a Bakersfield-based district. “California has filled that void.”

The state was plugged in during the administration of its former governor, Ronald Reagan, and boasted significant influence in the Clinton administration and subsequently within the Republican congressional majorities. But with California having emerged as a blue state citadel in an era where the White House and both chambers of Congress are under Democratic control, the stars are aligned for the Golden State as never before.

Perhaps as important, some of the most critical issues confronting the nation — namely on energy and the environment — are areas where California has been a trailblazing presence.

With Waxman as the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, key parts of the Obama agenda on climate change and health care will come under the purview of a man who has spent the last 40 years in the California Assembly and the U.S. House.

“I really do think the Barack Obama agenda is something that has been heavily California-driven, particularly the green environment and green technology stuff where California has been a leader out of necessity because of the environmental issues we confront,” said Cain. “We were once regarded as kind of out there and too soft and too green. All that is now transformed dramatically.”

 

[Holmes]

Yay California!

[Matt Damon™]

Based on california's extreme fiscal problems, horrible top-down social engineering and tolerance of illegals coming in this bodes very poorly for the Obama administration.

[Lunar]

Well, Christie Romer is not responsible for CA's fiscal policies.  She's an economic centrist and a strong, strong free trade advocate (like most economists).

If you look at the actual appointments, to things like environmentalism or labor policy, these are things that California does well at, generally

[Matt Damon™]

I'll concede that but am still unsure that Obama can or even wants to to help out the 88% of his population besides his core.

[Lunar]

I'll concede that but am still unsure that Obama can or even wants to to help out the 88% of his population besides his core.

Obama only wants to help out Black people (~13%)?

[Matt Damon™]

Pretty much. If he was a candidate/politician for all americans and not just his base he'd have dropped wright, made his wife no make... unwise public statements, not pick an anti-gay preacher for the invocation(blacks DID go 70/30 for prop 8 ) etc.

[Lunar]

uh ok.  You can rant about the blacks I guess but this isn't really the place for it.

[Sam Spade]

Well, Christie Romer is not responsible for CA's fiscal policies.  She's an economic centrist and a strong, strong free trade advocate (like most economists).

If you look at the actual appointments, to things like environmentalism or labor policy, these are things that California does well at, generally

California's environmentalism and her labor policies are two of the things that have generally what have led her into the present mess she's in right now (the other two being profligate spending and massive influxes of poor immigrants living off the dole).

[Lunar]

Well, Christie Romer is not responsible for CA's fiscal policies.  She's an economic centrist and a strong, strong free trade advocate (like most economists).

If you look at the actual appointments, to things like environmentalism or labor policy, these are things that California does well at, generally

California's environmentalism and her labor policies are two of the things that have generally what have led her into the present mess she's in right now (the other two being profligate spending and massive influxes of poor immigrants living off the dole).

Well, regarding labor policies I only implied that California is relatively progressive compared to the expected alternative: some Midwestern labor firebrand.

And we’re talking about an expert on alternative energy and global warming, the head of the EPA is from New Jersey.

[Psychic Octopus]

Yay for my Over-the-top crazy lunatic soon to be overpopulated Actor electing state!

California Population 2050: 60 million

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Based on california's extreme fiscal problems, horrible top-down social engineering and tolerance of illegals coming in this bodes very poorly for the Obama administration.

The fiscal problems are because of various voter Propositions: ones that spend money without allocating revenues, and the anti-tax Prop. 13. Also, the fact that a 2/3rds majority is needed to pass a budget doesn't help.

[Lunar]

Based on california's extreme fiscal problems, horrible top-down social engineering and tolerance of illegals coming in this bodes very poorly for the Obama administration.

The fiscal problems are because of various voter Propositions: ones that spend money without allocating revenues, and the anti-tax Prop. 13. Also, the fact that a 2/3rds majority is needed to pass a budget doesn't help.

Also due to a proposition (as you know).

Indeed, isn't it hilarious how incompetent the proposition system is?  California is possibly THE best counter-argument to direct democracy of any kind except recalls.

Fixed percentage-based allocations, extreme gridlocks on revenue-raising, and so much more.

[memphis]

It's time California has more clout. It's an enormous state that produces everything from our agriculture, to our movies, to our computers. It has some of the best schools in the country, and its liberalism and partisanship is commonly overestimated by those who have only been to San Francisco and Los Angeles.

[Lunar]

Indeed, this thread also notes how, because of insane gerrymandering, California Republicans are also climbing up on the seniority ladder

[Хahar 🤔]

Direct democracy is the most evil thing ever invented. The CAGOP doesn't help.

[Lunar]

Direct democracy is the most evil thing ever invented. The CAGOP doesn't help.

You and I agree

The people are too stupid to decide whether laws supported by various interest groups (environmental, animal rights, homophobe) are legitimate.  Like, the proposition that passed most strongly was THE worst proposition, logically, on the ballot.  Letting chickens expand their wings and rotate is all well and good, but it needs to be done on a federal or a multi-state or multi-national level.  Doing it in one locality, a heavy agriculture locality at that, simply forces agriculture out of the state and into Mexico or neighboring states.  And you know what?  The chickens in Mexican agribusiness farms are probably treated worse than currently in CA.  Net loss for our economy and animal rights.

And of course the makers of Prop 13 should be tried and executed for treason.

[Хahar 🤔]

I like the way they do it out East much better. The legislatures there actually do something, rather than being thrall to the capricious electorate. The only things that should be passable by a simple popular majority are bond measures (and they should also require passage by both houses). Amendments should require a two-thirds majority in both houses and a two-thirds popular majority.

While we're talking about changes we'd like to see, I like the way Georgia does elections (two-round primary and two-round general election). I especially like the two-round primary, although I can understand why it hasn't caught on in jurisdictions with two parties.

[Matt Damon™]

California's idea of recalling bad governors is good but propositions FAIL.