Ridley-Thomas: $75,000 Prop 46 Pay to Play?

No, we didn't get rid of pay to play when James Hahn left office.

Proposition 46 is a measure to, among other things, increase the state's cap on medical malpractice awards. Backed by consumer groups, large attorney firms, some unions, politicians such as Senator Barbara Boxer and activists such as Candace Lightner, founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and Erin "They're boobs, Ed" Brockovich, the proposal seeks to address a number of issues and allegedly outdated laws and regulations around medical malpractice.

Not surprisingly, hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, the Republican party, the California Chamber of Commerce, Stuart Waldman's Valley Industry and Commerce Association and several other unions are opposed to the measure.

However, the latest kerfuffle around the measure concerns our old friend, County Supervisor, Mark Ridley- Thomas. The Sacramento Bee is reporting that proponents of the measure say that following a $75,000 donation by the No on 46 committee to Ridley-Thomas' PAC, the African American Voter Registration, Education and Participation Project, the Supervisor scheduled a vote for the County Board of Supervisors to vote to oppose 46.

Pay to play at work again? What would Betty Pleasant say?

Right, Wrong and/or "Mean-Spirited" on Immigration?

The Sacramento Bee sent out a PM Alert email last night entitled "'Mean-spirited bills will accomplish nothing." I immediately thought "Okay, that's code language. What are we blaming Republicans for this time?" since we rarely see "mean-spirited" as an adjective before Democrats or Democratic bills. My guess was something related to immigration and sure enough, I was right; it's the last line in their editorial today. I'll let you decide for yourself whether the Assembly bills are "mean-spirited," the right approach or don't go far enough. I was just having a Lakoff/Luntz moment.

Governor, president get immigration right

Editorial
The Sacramento Bee
Saturday, March 29, 2008

Say this for President Bush: He understands the roots of illegal immigration in the United States. As he has said, citizenship lines are "too long, and our current limits on legal immigration are too low." He tried to work with Congress to increase the number of green cards that can lead to citizenship.

Congress, alas, failed to enact reforms, so illegal immigration continues to be driven by perpetual backlogs and unrealistically low quotas. Not surprisingly, many families and employers take matters into their own hands, evading the law due to a lack of legal options.

But instead of pressing the president and Congress to create a workable national immigration system, Republicans in the state Legislature are promoting bills that would have California take it upon itself to punish employers seeking workers and foreigners seeking U.S. residence.

Here's a sample of the proposed craziness: Revoke business licenses for employers who hire undocumented workers (Assembly Bill 2421); make illegal immigration a trigger for the governor to declare a state of emergency (Assembly Bill 2812); forbid Los Angeles and San Francisco from declaring themselves "sanctuary cities" (Assembly Bill 2420); forbid local governments from providing services to undocumented residents (Assembly Bill 3X20). And don't forget to punish children: Support repeal of birthright citizenship in the Constitution (Assembly Bill 44); forbid California high school graduates from paying in-state college tuition if their parents entered the state illegally (Assembly Bill 1758).

Fortunately, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't playing that game. He said Wednesday, "There is, you know, always a time like this where you start pointing the finger at various different elements. … I can guarantee you, I have been now four years in office in Sacramento. I don't think that illegal immigration has created the mess that we are in."

If legislators want to reduce illegal immigration, they should press Congress to reform the nation's legal immigration system. Their mean- spirited bills will accomplish nothing.

(emphasis added)