Schwarzenegger Is Out

Looks like Arnold's falling poll numbers have caught up with him. The unpopularity of the budget meltdown. The unpopularity with repubs because of his policies. The unpopularity with dems because, well, he's a repub. This has all led up to having no real option but to quit. That is what the Sacremento Bee is reporting.  He won't beat Feinstein or Boxer for senate. He won't get reelected as the gobernator. 

Does that mean he's done. No. I remember the ballot initiatives several years ago that crashed and burned and yet he came back to win a second term.

Quote of the Day

PoliticalWire had a good find.

"The Republicans are like an arsonist who complains that the fire department is wasting water... Unless and until they do offer an alternative, they really have no right to whine about the president. For now at least, GOP stands for Got 0 Plans."

This comes from Paul Begala at CNN.

Specter To Vote No on EFCA

Senator Arlen Specter of Pa has decided to vote against cloture of the Employee Free Choice Act. This means it probably won't get to be voted on. Basically, killing the bill. (I am tired of journalists writing that it won't get "passed". This is wrong. What the repubs are doing now is filibustering anything they can't win. Which means no one gets to vote on it. 60 votes is needed to "end debate" and not "pass" a bill.)

What does this mean for Arlen? Well, it looks like he has chosen to run as a repub in 2010 and not independent. Why? I have no idea. He already has a strong primary challenger. He also had a gurantee from the labor unions to back his candidacy. (which are strong in Pa.)

At the end of the day. Arlen Specter's history of supporting unions just went out the window. I am afraid he might have secured an end to his career. 

Discouraging News For Education

I hate to pick on states with repub majorities but this is one reason why I, a teacher, don't live in these states.

It turns out that school districts in red states with  already deep cuts don't anticipate the stimulus money. Even with the language in the law expressly saying that school districts in the red get this money, the superintendents aren't holding their breath. From CQ Politics

"The economic stimulus package (PL 111-5) included a $53.6 billion state fiscal stabilization fund intended to be used to shore up the budgets of local school districts. But some Republican governors have rejected the funds outright, prompting concerns that even governors who accept the money might divert it to other uses."

This really chaps my ass. To divert money away from education when it was written in for poorer districts. For a governor, dem or repub, to take money away from students because they have some political agenda is infuriating. 

There is also a nastier side of it. Govs might give them the money now, because of the law and then take away other money later. 

"But even educators in states with governors who are taking stabilization funds say they’re worried that funding may never make it down to the school district level, or that states will make education budget cuts in the future knowing that districts have received the federal money." (emphasis mine.)

Sick!

The Obamas Like Fisting?

Well, if Fox reports it then it must be true.



This comes to us from a die hard Bellar's Politics Fan. Too F-ing funny.

Bobby Jindal's Mistake

Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's govenor/rising GOP star, mocked the stimulus bill for many things. One of which was an increase in the volcano monitoring in Alaska. Well, look what happened today. A volcano in Alaska erupted spewing a pyroclastic cloud (super heated ash/lava) over the state. Endagering crops/health/wildlife.

What might have helped better see this coming? Maybe an improved volcanic warning. While the money was not cut it shows a history of GOP tactics and how they affect us. What the GOP does to effectiveness is nit pick on items. Stomp their feet and hold their breath in front of the cameras about things like this. Then, when they get their way, real people suffer. 

This is why we can't really take the GOP seriously. They don't legislate. They whine. 

Over at TPM, they have a much longer breakdown.

Obama On 60 Minutes