Budget fight assures mutual destruction

SACRAMENTO — In California's Capitol, they're verging on political nuclear war. The ultimate weapons are cranked and aimed.

The old Cold War acronym MAD comes to mind: mutually assured destruction.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity continues to plummet. Only 38% of voters approve of his job performance and 52% disapprove, the nonpartisan Field Poll reported Tuesday.

But esteem for the Legislature is absolutely pathetic. It's at a record low, based on 25 years of Field polling: 15% approval; 73% disapproval.

The public is paying attention: 82% of voters think it's a "very serious problem" that the governor and Legislature are "taking so long to reach an agreement" on the budget. It's now 80 days late.

So you'd think the last thing these politicians would want is to keep budget-brawling -- showcasing ineptitude and stiffing private suppliers, community colleges, nursing homes and healthcare centers for the poor, many of them struggling to keep their doors open. The state can't pay them until a budget is signed.

The Legislature wised up a week ago, recognizing reality:

* Schwarzenegger arguably is the weakest California governor since at least the ancient era before World War II. His relationship with fellow Republicans in the Legislature is abysmal. He couldn't generate any GOP support for his last budget proposal, which relied on a one-cent sales tax increase for three years.

* This Legislature is the most polarized -- the most budget-gridlocked -- since, well, probably ever. Republicans flat out won't raise taxes, at least easily identifiable taxes such as income and sales. Democrats have cut as deeply as they're going to into education and social services.

Given that intractable situation, as I recently wrote, the most responsible move was to act irresponsibly because they were incapable of passing an honestly balanced budget.

So early Tuesday morning legislators passed a bipartisan "get-out-of-town," $106-billion general fund budget with accounting gimmicks, assorted borrowing and camouflaged tax hikes that Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) admitted was "ugly."

And a few hours later the governor declared war on the Legislature, announcing he would veto the budget because it "punishes taxpayers, pushes the problem into next year and includes fake budget reform."

That wouldn't be merely unprecedented -- apparently no California governor ever has vetoed an entire budget -- it would be a sign of desperation and failure.