Senate GOP Caucus Signs Off On Budget Deal...And Ackerman Will Stays As Leader

Jon Fleischman has a report over at FlashReport.org on the Senate GOP Caucus sign-off on the state budget, which has passed out of the Senate:

Well just a few minutes ago, on a breakdown that mirrored the leadership vote to retain Dick Ackerman as leader last year, Senate Republicans voted 8-7 to allow Ackerman (along with Maldonado) to go up on the budget.

The moving parts that allowed this to come about was a CEQA fix that includes not only development with a nexus to the transportation bonds but also to water bonds.  I understand there may have been some tightening up of the nature of blue-line cuts being made by the Governor.

You can read the whole thing here.

Comments

[Ackerman Sold Out]

Why? He held on for so long. Why sell out now?

[Go Dick Go!]

This is what leadership is all about. Dick made them dance to his tune!

[McClintock on Bad Budget]

From McClintock's release this afternoon:

"Budget developments moved so fast and were so uncertain over the past 24 hours that there was no opportunity to offer a clear picture of the situation or suggest what people could do to weigh in. Yesterday rumors of a “deal” circulated but were denied by the Republican leadership. This afternoon, with very little notice, a bare majority of the Senate Republican caucus decided that further negotiations were unlikely to produce any additional progress. Abel Maldonado and Richard Ackerman ultimately combined with the Democrats and voted out this budget. I am afraid that this action places California on a collision course with another Gray Davis-sized fiscal crisis within the next two years."

[Bladerunner]

It will be interesting to see how Fleischman will spin Ackerman's decision given Mclintock's denouncement.

I think they Caucus only had Ackerman and Maldanado vote for it and no others because they did not want to allow Correa to be able to vote against the budget.

[d'Anconia]

BR:

While I can understand your reasoning, I think you're wrong on this one. I hardly think any other Reep was dying to vote for this budget.

[NeoCon]

Ackerman sold out

[Long-time Politico]

I suspect that Senator Ackerman got all that he could under the circumstances. Even the Spartans under Leonidas could not hold out forever. The difference here, I suspect, is that the Republican delegation does not have abs like Gerard Butler.