FROM SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislative leaders are close to agreement on a landmark red-ink reduction package. But to see how close, you'd have to look inside Schwarzenegger's head.
And I don't know anyone in Sacramento who knows how to do that.
When he vowed to veto the $18-billion package of tax hikes and spending cuts that Democrats passed in both houses Thursday, what was that all about?
Was he merely trying to squeeze Democrats for more on his holiday wish list?
Or did he really not want any part of this Democratic scheme, considering it too politically controversial and legally risky?
Was he seizing an opportunity to kiss up to estranged Republicans, who had sent him a letter requesting his veto? Does he just enjoy showboating? Hearing his own voice berating legislators and calling for special sessions?
That's his style. He tries to pressure the Legislature. But the bombast has had diminishing impact, particularly on Republicans. He loves to flee Sacramento for photo-ops. And on Friday, he was in Fresno -- again -- when Democratic leaders were in Sacramento prepared to negotiate.
"He seems to think that we need to be here all the time," Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) told Capitol reporters. "He needs to be here and join us."
And he needs to negotiate directly with Bass and/or Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) -- face to face, not over the phone or via e-mail, and definitely not through some staffer.
A little rapport with Republican legislators would help, too. Schwarzenegger couldn't deliver any of their votes for his belated tax increase proposals last summer.
When I first heard the governor denouncing the Democrats' legislation last week, it sounded like a peace offering to the GOP. Then I quickly discarded the notion. He has never shown much sign of caring what Republican lawmakers think.
So maybe he was figuring that the package wasn't worth the trouble, given its opposition from the political right. Groups are threatening to sue -- challenging the tax hikes' passage on a simple majority vote, rather than two-thirds -- and to mount a ballot referendum repealing the levy increases.
California is one of the few states that require a two-thirds legislative vote for a tax increase. But Democrats devised an innovative way to get around the requirement and circumvent Republicans. That is, if it's legal. A court would decide.
