Offleash

I am wondering how (or if) Schwarzenegger's endorsement of McCain will affect the upcoming budget battles in the state. If the GOP concludes that California is competitive in the upcoming Presidential race, then national politics may swamp some of the political manuevering that would otherwise occur. For example, I can't see the governor using the threat of big budget cuts to bring in a 'reality-based' plan of revenue enhancement if McCain is the Republican nominee and if it is determined that he could (unlike recent, previous Republican nominees) actually win CA's electoral votes --- the supposition that the budget is the first gambit in a game to look at the tax system in CA has been widely mentioned for example by George Skelton in the LA Times. In a scenario where McCain is the nominee and CA is in play, I don't see the governor having as much room to manuever on the budget as he might otherwise have.

Just another uncertainty.

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Please consider attending the budget forum scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 5 during University Hour in Markstein 106. It's short notice but I've been told that it is likely that there will be some new information --- given that the university expects to receive some information about its 08-09 possible budget allocation on Monday.

I hope all of you will stay on this developing story and keep asking questions and making the needs of students clear.

Thanks.