Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Wednesday; Special Wisconsin State of Mind Edition

Be careful. Don't fall off.

 If there is anyone left out there that believes Wisconsin Gov. Walker's Anti-Union legislation actually has anything to do with balancing the state budget, then I would invite you to climb back on the turnip truck you just fell off of.

This is union busting on a scale not seen in decades. Republicans in Wisconsin, and in several other Midwest states are working (under the direction and through the generous funding of the Koch Brothers) to dismantle the historic and hard fought for rights of workers in both the public and private sector. From astro-turf tea-party groups to posing as SEIU workers to shutting down internet access to a pro-worker web site, this is the corporate puppet GOP at it's worst.

The irony of it all is that Walker is about to cost Wisconsin tens of millions if this bonehead piece of legislation is ever passed. What Walker should be focusing on, if he wasn't a bought and paid for Koch Brothers lackey, is seeking restitution from the criminals on Wall Street that crippled the housing market, the fund managers that placed pension funds in terrible investments, and rescinding the millions in tax breaks he just gave to his corporate buddies. To attack the people that actually work for a living is kicking the hornet's nest and motivates tens of thousands of people to surround the state capitol.  Like I said before, this battle is not going away anytime soon, if anything, it will spread. Witness recent actions in Indiana and Ohio. And all this just since the weekend! My take is that the GOP is over-reaching and seriously miscalculating yet again. From denying women access to reproductive health, to the current round of union busting, the extreme radicals on the right are running and ruining what used to be the Republican Party.

BTW, guess who shut down the unions in 1933?

And where are the jobs the GOP promised they would deliver?

Sunday Re-Education Camp

 Did the Koch Brothers create the astroturf Tea Party?

-Film director James Cameron of "Titanic" and "Avatar" fame pledges $1 million to fight the Koch Bros/Valero Oil backed Prop 23.  Support for Prop 23 is in a freefall with a recent Field Poll showing 45% opposition to the ill conceived measure with only 34% support. Last week, the "Yes On 23" campaign went dark, with no television ads statewide as financial resources continue to dry up.

-Jerry Brown picks up yet another endorsement. This one from The Daily News;

"The next governor of California will inherit a state mired in debt, with a budget already billions of dollars in the red, public infrastructure literally crumbling, a poisonous business climate, schools the shame of the nation and a populace tired of the finger-pointing and lack of leadership from Sacramento. 

That's why Californians must use cold calculation and not gut feeling when they vote for the state's top leader in the Nov. 2 election. The foremost criteria must be which of the top two candidates can work within the dysfunction of Sacramento to set the state back on the path of solvency and growth - and do so quickly. Under that criteria, the only choice is Jerry Brown."-Daily News

-With just a bit over two weeks until election day, the pace of the name-calling gets fast and furious; Senator John McCain describes Barbara Boxer as "bitterly partisan and anti-defense". Meanwhile, Megan McCain calls Christine O'Donnell "A Nutjob".

-Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina shows off her empty suit on Fox News Sunday.

-Gov Jan Brewer of Arizona just can't get a break. Last week, she lost an effort to halt lawsuits filed by civil rights groups challenging the constitutionality of SB1070.

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Friday

Which way to the Mexican buffet?


Rut-Roh! Fresh from getting a pass from the Justice Department for his pink panties treatment of prisoners, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio may have gone all Rizzo on us and misspent $80 million dollars of taxpayer money pegged for jail operations on lavish trips abroad, hotel upgrades, and huge restaurant tabs!
Where's that partisan outrage?

-Meg Whitman has stopped spending money long enough to follow tightwad Jerry Brown's lead in finally announcing her opposition to Proposition 23, the Big Oil/Koch Bros backed bill that would put the brakes on AB32. She's against Prop 23....sort of....as long as she can suspend implementation of AB32 until all the bad guys can find a legal loophole to get around it.

Speaking of the Tea Party Puppetmasters, Senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina finds herself in a cozy relationship with the Koch siblings after they sponsored a fundraiser for her in Washington yesterday to help raise funds from the many special interest lobbyists that are looking for a friendly doormat should she win in November.

LA County Supes are stepping up and doing what the state should have done some time ago. Foam containers for food and drinks are being banned at "most county facilities, including restaurants, catering trucks, hospitals, golf courses and concessions" After a trial period, an expansion of the ban will be considered. Plastic Bags next, we hope?

Happy 90th Birthday wishes to Mickey Rooney!

Your turn.