Liveblogging the California State of the State Speech

Posted on January 15, 2009
Filed Under Public Policy |

This should actually be called the State of Disrepair of the State speech.

Schwarzenegger is being introduced by Karen Bass, Speaker of the Assembly, by saying that the Governor described their negotiations as “we’re all in this together” and left it at that. Darrell Steinberg, President Pro Tem of the State Senate, is not talking about bridges and dikes to prevent the flood of despair… moves on to Lt. Gov. Garamendi, who never misses an opportunity to remind everyone that he would like to be governor too.

Schwarzenegger is up now, frown and all. Thank you and sunshine blowing ensue. He’s going on about a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and thank you to sundry other people.

C’mon, let’s just get to the budget and save the applause… nobody deserves it right now.

He’s sucking up to the Pres. Elect, Schwarzenegger is already angling to get Federal money.

The state faces insolvency in weeks, is in 3rd special session of the legislature, and people are asking if California is governable, Schwarzenegger says. “I will not give the usual state of the state because California is in a state of emergency”.

It looks like the Governor is going to devote the entire state of the state to the budget and skip all the other stuff that is usually talked about.

“Conan’s sword could not have cleaved our political system in two more than the two parties have.”

Schwarzenegger is right about something, people don’t expect great things from government, they expect the basics like public safety and utility infrastructure, and they expect financial management.

He is now drawing the connection between the halt of infrastructure projects across the state and rising unemployment.

Now he is saying that when the budget crisis is solved that he will send a big list of plans and priorities that include economic issues, healthcare, and environment issues.

He is proposing that the legislature and governor lose their salaries and expenses for eveyr day the budget is late. No applause, lot’s of frowns.

He jumps over to the wildfires of last year. He says we had 2,000 wild fires last year and each one was put out because “we have the best trained firefighters who act selflessly” but I have to wonder what the heck he is trying to say… and then he is done. State of the state is over, 10 minutes in length.

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