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Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are locked in an increasingly bitter battle for the Democratic nomination for president. Meanwhile, Republican John McCain has enough delegates to be anointed the presumptive Republican nominee.

Last week was particularly bad for Hillary, who scrambled to come up with some excuse for fabricating her wartime heroics as first lady. Obama still is trying to dig out of the flap over his pastor’s fiery (and many call racists) rants. And then there’s that little political corruption trials that is going on in Illinois involving Obama’s political backer and friend. So what caption would you write for this cartoon?
 

Thought I'd share the latest list from the Sacramento Bee:

Superdelegates for Clinton: 28

• U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein

• U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer

• Rep. and DNC member Maxine Waters

• Rep. and DNC member Joe Baca

• Rep. Doris Matsui

• Rep. Mike Thompson

• Rep. Lynn Woolsey

• Rep. Dennis Cardoza

• Rep. Jane Harman

• Rep. Grace Napolitano

• Rep. Laura Richardson

• Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard

• Rep. Brad Sherman

• Rep. Hilda Solis

• Rep. Ellen Tauscher

• Rep. Diane Watson

• Rep. Loretta Sanchez

• DNC member Alice Huffman

• DNC member Alicia Wang

• DNC member Rosalind Wyman

• DNC member Kamil Hasan

• DNC member Mona Pasquil

• DNC member Mirian Saez

• DNC member Maria Echaveste

• DNC member Rachel Binah

• DNC member Christopher Stampolis

• DNC member Gary Shay

• Former DNC chair Chuck Manatt

Superdelegates for Obama: 12

• Rep. Anna Eshoo

• Rep. Xavier Becerra

• Rep. Barbara Lee

• Rep. Adam Schiff

• Rep. George Miller

• Rep. Zoe Lofgren

• Rep. Linda Sanchez

• DNC member Eric Garcetti

• DNC member Norma Torres

• DNC member Jeremy Bernard

• DNC member Mary Ellen Early

• DNC member Steven Alari

Undecided superdelegates: 25

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

• Rep. Jerry McNerney

• Rep. Pete Stark

• Rep. Mike Honda

• Rep. Sam Farr

• Rep. Jim Costa

• Rep. Lois Capps

• Rep. Howard Berman

• Rep. Henry Waxman

• Rep. Bob Filner

• Rep. Susan Davis

• DNC state chair Art Torres

• DNC vice chair Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker

• DNC member Edward Espinoza

• DNC member Inola Henry

• DNC member Aleita Huguenin

• DNC member Carole Midgen

• DNC member Bob Mulholland

• DNC member Christine Pelosi

• DNC member John Perez

• DNC member Robert Rankin

• DNC member Crystal Strait

• DNC member Keith Umemoto

• DNC member Vernon Watkins

• DNC member Steve Ybarra

Note: One other superdelegate will come from the April 8 special election to fill the 12th congressional district seat vacated by the death of Rep. Tom Lantos. The favorite, former state lawmaker Jackie Speier, is a Clinton supporter.

Source: State Democratic Party

From CBS news:

Democratic Party chief Howard Dean said in an interview with CBS News' The Early Show that he wants all Democratic superdelegates to make their choice before July 1.

This is the most specific Dean has been in his effort to prod the party to decide between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton before the Democratic National Convention in late August.

Dean also spoke about the divisive Democratic race for the party's nomination.

Get the whole story and watch the video here.

Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio knows how to say "thanks" to his staff.

Rubio's most recent campaign reports reveal a $1,902.70 expenditure at Mama Tosca's for a meeting.

Rubio said he took his staff and their spouses out to a Christmas-time dinner to thank them for a good year and hard work.

They enjoyed a four course, pre-set menu and a couple bottles of wine at the swank west-side watering hole, Rubio said.

Now that's a nice thank you.

James Burger

County government reporter

From the Fresno Bee's political notebook comes this story:

Gilmore outraises Florez for South Valley Assembly seat, which poses this question: "But are donors fired up for Gilmore, or more excited at the prospects of taking down a Florez?"

Is the Democratic race for the nomination so divisive that the losing candidate's voters would rather support John McCain than get behind their party's winning candidate?

For a large number of Democrat voters this appears to be the case, according to a new poll released today.

Read the story and see the numbers here.

A press release from Rep. Kevin McCarthy's office:

Congressman McCarthy Releases Fiscal Year 2009

District Funding Requests To Enhance Accountability
 
WASHINGTON –To help fix a broken system of Washington spending and not just let the old business-as-usual ways continue, Congressman McCarthy is again disclosing his district funding requests to be considered in this year’s appropriation bills. This supports his effort to increase transparency and accountability, and also encourages more Members of Congress to do the same so the public can view each request.
 
 “I am working for reform to make Congress more accountable,” said McCarthy. “It is Congress’s job to listen and act, and the people are rightly calling for Congress to fix a broken Washington spending system that wastes more and more taxpayer money for unworthy projects. That is why I am once again releasing all my funding requests and will post them on my website for the public to view. This year, I only requested funding for defense projects in our district. I am proud of these funding requests that serve to strengthen our national security. I have also self-imposed additional safeguards to ensure our tax dollars are spent smarter and more responsibly. I encourage my Congressional colleagues to do the same.”
 
Below is a list of Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s district funding requests for all 12 government funding bills. For the 2009 fiscal year, Congressman McCarthy limited his requests to only military and defense related projects in the 22nd District. In addition, earlier this year, Congressman McCarthy also supported a one-year moratorium for Members making district funding requests so the House of Representatives can revamp and reform the current broken funding process. Since the House has failed to impose a moratorium, Congressman McCarthy adopted new self-imposed rules of only requesting defense-related funding, and will adopt all the House Republican Conference’s reforms – (1) no more airdropping earmarks into funding bills behind closed doors without transparency and debate, (2) no more distributing money through “front organizations” that just distribute money and don’t manage the project, (3) requiring funded projects to have a plan in place for exactly how the money will be spent, (4) placing these spending plans in the Congressional Record, (5) requiring matching funds for funding private entities, and (6) no more funding “monuments to me.”
 
This fiscal year, Congressman McCarthy’s 8 national defense and military-related project funding requests totaled $38,428,000. The district funding requests invest in programs that affect Edwards Air Force Base, the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division at China Lake, and California National Guard Base Camp San Luis Obispo to improve our nation’s weapons technologies through research, testing, and evaluation and to improve the quality of life for those proudly serving at our installations.  Finally, McCarthy joined other colleagues in expressing their support for funding (in many cases, continued funding) of existing Federal programs, such as: the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which reimburses states like California for the costs of incarcerating criminal illegal aliens; the Army Corps of Engineers’ Dam Safety and Seepage/Stability Correction program, which funds dam safety and security projects like those needed on Isabella Dam; the Valley Fever Vaccine Research Grant program, which would fund competitive grants to help develop a vaccine to combat against Valley Fever that effects many southwestern states; the Space Transportation Infrastructure matching grant program, which would help support spaceports like the one in Mojave; the Joint Cotton Pests Account, which would continue the successful eradication of certain cotton pests harming America’s cotton industry; the USDA Rural Water Grants and Loan Program, which would provide investment assistance for clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in rural areas; and the Readiness and Environment Protection Initiative, which would continue to fund our military to partner with state and local governments and conservation groups to establish buffer zones to protect military testing and training areas around the country.
 
REQUESTS BENEFITING THE 22ND DISTRICT AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA:
 
FY 2009 Requests in Defense
 
·       McCarthy requested $2,400,000 for the Flow Path Analysis Tool to assist our Navy in constructing more efficient engine design.
·       McCarthy requested $5,500,000, for a total of $14,690,000 (including the $9,190,000 in the President’s Budget), for Solid Boost Propulsion Technology to further research and development of ballistic systems.
·       McCarthy requested $3,000,000, for a total of $7,500,000 (including the $4,500,000 in the President’s Budget), for Hydrocarbon Boost Technology to help develop new liquid booster technology.
·       McCarthy requested $5,100,000 for the Next Generation Electronic Warfare Simulator to prepare and train for emerging electronic warfare threats.
·       McCarthy requested $2,801,000 for the Airspace Safety Enhancement Project to increase communications in the R-2508 Airspace.
·       McCarthy requested $6,000,000 for the Micro-munitions Interface for Tactical Unmanned Systems for the integration of micro-munitions for operation with tactical class air and ground unmanned systems.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
 
·       McCarthy requested $6,000,000 to finish funding Phase IV to complete the final phase of replacing Edwards Air Force Base’s main runway, which is used for defense activities and as a landing site for NASA shuttle missions.
·       McCarthy requested $7,627,000 to replace the Organizational Maintenance Shop at Camp San Luis Obispo to support maintenance activities on vehicles assigned to units at the installation.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies
 
None.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
 
None.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Energy and Water Development
 
None.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Financial Services and General Government
 
None
 
FY 2009 Requests in Homeland Security
 
None.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
 
None.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
 
None.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Legislative Branch
 
None.
 
FY 2009 Requests in State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies
 
None.
 
FY 2009 Requests in Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
 
None.
 
Click on the following links to view Congressman McCarthy’s other efforts to make Washington spending more accountable and transparent:


·       Disclosed all funding requests on his website (one of a handful of Members to do so last year): http://www.kevinmccarthy.ho...
 
·       Fought for rules allowing greater transparency in funding: http://www.kevinmccarthy.ho...


·       Signed a petition to apply transparency rules to all bills: http://www.kevinmccarthy.ho...
 

 

The bill we told you about last week that would give special parking privileges to pregnant women has died, according to the Sacramento Bee. Here's the story:

Lawmakers killed a proposal Monday to qualify women for "temporarily disabled" parking placards in the final three months of pregnancy and the first two months after birth.

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, said he hoped to provide a "transition period" for women struggling with birth-related problems.

"For that brief five-month period, let's give them some consideration," DeVore said.

Assembly Bill 1940 died in the Assembly Transportation Committee despite an amendment by DeVore to bar the placards from being used beside meters or where parking fees are charged.

Needing eight votes for passage, AB 1940 received one yes vote and one no vote. Twelve committee members took no position.

"Most women, not all women, in pregnancy should be physically active," said Shannon Smith-Crowley of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' California chapter.

The Department of Motor Vehicles said pregnant women already can obtain disabled placards if their doctors diagnose major mobility problems.

"Pregnancy is not itself a disability and, secondly, we are creating an issue for the disability community without offering a solution," said Charlotte Newhart of California NOW and the American Association of University Women.

DeVore said his bill would assist women who are not necessarily disabled but are having a particularly painful day, or have swollen feet, or have given birth and find themselves struggling to switch their newborn from a car seat to a stroller in a parking lot with cars jetting by.

"This is practical logistics," he said of AB 1940. "It goes way beyond a strict definition of medical necessity."

Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, cast the only yes vote. "I just think it does no harm to give women who need it, when they need it, the ability to do it," she said.

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See if you can guess whom Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was talking about this morning when he told The Californian editorial board, "He can't help himself."

It was state Sen. Dean Florez of Shafter, who last week called Schwarzenegger's tour around the state talking about the state budget crisis "the simple-minded budget tour," according to the Associated Press.

The AP reported Florez, who attended Schwarzenegger's stop in Fresno: "took exception to Schwarzenegger blaming the budget shortfall on the Legislature spending too much when the state was flush with revenue. State spending has increased more than 30 percent since Schwarzenegger took office, largely from tax windfalls and increased borrowing."

It quoted Florez as saying: "'He was saying if they had put that money away, we wouldn't have this problem. But I wanted to say, 'You were governor then. It's not like you just walked in.'"

Editorial Page Editor Dianne Hardisty today asked the guv about Florez's salvo.

"He can't help himself," Schwarzenegger said. "He has always been like that and he will always be like that."

FYI, Florez expanded on his comments in an e-mail to Hardisty today:

"The gov is proposing a 10 percent across the board cut because he is too chicken to tell us what his priorities are and wants us to do it. Have you ever heard of a business that cuts every part of their business 10 percent? Advertising is cut 10 percent, personnel is cut 10 percent, health care is 10 percent.  Give me a break, it doesn¹t happen. In these situations you sit down and make choices. How can you say that each function of state government is worth the same? It¹s a chicken way out ­ but the governor doesn¹t want to talk about this during his tour, right?  Simple-minded."

— Government editor Christine Bedell
 

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Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a gun-control case ~ District of Columbia, v. Heller ~ that arose from a lawsuit filed by Washington, D.C., resident Dick Heller, a 65-year-old security guard prevented by law from bringing his work-issued handgun home with him to protect himself in what he considers a dangerous area.

For more than 30 years, the District of Columbia has had the nation's strictest gun-control law -- a ban on having handguns at home for self-defense.

The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to that law from those who say it violates the 2nd Amendment's right to keep and bear arms.

The case has drawn wide attention because the court may decide for the first time whether gun rights are truly protected by the Constitution. It could open restrictions and regulations of weapons throughout the country to judicial review.

In past decisions, the court has turned away gun rights claims and upheld lower court decisions that treated the 2nd Amendment as protecting only a state's right to maintain a "well-regulated militia."

What caption would you write for this cartoon?
 

According to a new poll, the divisive Democratic race bodes well for the Republican hopes of holding on to the White House come November.

Among Obama supporters, 20 percent said they would vote for McCain should Clinton win the Democratic nomination, while 19 percent of Clinton supporters said they would do the same should Obama triumph.

Here's the full story.

OK, so far this qualifies as my favorite story of the week, from the Sacramento Bee:

"Give birth, get a parking pass?

"California lawmakers are considering granting special parking privileges to women in the final three months of pregnancy and the first two months after birth.

"The legislation would apply to more than a half-million women who give birth every year in California.

Here's the full story:  www.sacbee.com/111/story/799215.html

So what do you think? Should women in their last trimester and then two months after giving birth get the equivalent of a handicapped parking placard?

A U.S. Supreme Court decision about California elections forced Washington to change its primary system. Now the payback could come.

The Supreme Court rebuffed challenges by both parties to allow the Top Two primary to proceed in Washington. (Curiously, the 7-2 decision was authored by Thomas and Scalia dissented, which is at odds with the typical pattern on the court.)

Under Top Two, when the primary is held, voters can vote for anyone on the ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general.

That would mean bitterly contested primaries — like, say, the 2006 Assembly race won by Jean Fuller — would be bitterly contested general election campaigns.

“I think it could sweep the nation, and will probably start in the West, probably by way of initiative in Oregon and California, out here where reforms have been so popular in the past century,” Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed told AP's David Ammons.

Washington had the blanket primary — where voters can vote for anyone, and the top vote-getter from each party advances to the general — until California picked it up, the California parties sued, and the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the parties. After some lawsuits and initiatives, Washington was stuck with an open primary, which party officials loved and voters and elected officials loathed. Now the state can go to the top-two, making the primary less a nominating process and more a winnowing election.

-- James Geluso, former Washington state resident

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Text of Obama’~.doc

A powerful speech about equality and race. Did the speech Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama deliver in Pennsylvania today move the campaign beyond race? Will it quell the furor over the controversial and divisive remarks made by Obama’s long-time pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? Will it hurt or help Obama’s chance to win the Democratic nomination and win the White House in November? You be the judge. The text of Obama’s speech is attached to this posting.

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The weekly magazine National Journal on Saturday profiled the House of Representatives’ Republican freshman class — and paid particular attention to Bakersfield’s own Kevin McCarthy.
The article’s author, Reid Wilson, wrote that the 13 GOP freshmen who began serving in January 2007 represent the smallest Republican frosh class in history, even smaller than the class that followed the devastating Watergate scandal.
But McCarthy, he wrote, has been singled out by his colleagues as “the one among them destined for larger assignments.” And several Republican aides suggested the Bakersfield Republican is “the GOP freshman to watch.”
Have you been watching? How’s Kevin doing so far?

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This month marks the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. In early April, Gen. David Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, will present their progress report on the war and the rebuilding of Iraq. The White House has said that their April 8-9 testimony to Congress will shape possible future reductions of US forces in Iraq.

Public opinion polls show that most Americans want to withdraw swiftly from Iraq, which clouds prospects for Bush's fellow Republicans in the November 2008 elections that will decide control of the White House and U.S. Congress.

What would be your caption for this cartoon?
 

L.A. TImes columnist today praised a reform package by our own state Sen. Roy Ashburn:

SACRAMENTO — A Republican state senator proposed political reform legislation Wednesday that hasn't got a snowball's chance in a Sacramento summer. And that's too bad, because it could cure some serious ills.

Full column by George Skelton: www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-cap13mar13, 1,4708341.column

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What’s with these guys in high powered, highly visible political posts who engage in risky sexual behavior – and get caught? And what’s with their wives who “stand by their men” – propped up at their husbands’ confessional press conferences?

Sure the politicians and their staffs want the wives to stand there and look supportive. But neither the wife, nor the husband looks the better for it.

This uncomfortable scene was played out yesterday as New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, discussed his ties to a high-priced prostitution ring. The law-and-order prosecutor who came into office vowing to clean up government is expected to resign. He also may be prosecuted for crimes.

In 2004, the Democrat governor of a neighboring state, New Jersey, admitted to having an adulterous affair with another man. Yep, his wife stood by his side during the press conference. They have since divorced, Jim McGreevey resigned as governor and he reportedly is thinking about becoming an Episcopal priest.

With his wife at his side, Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho held a press conference last summer to explain his guilty plea to disorderly conduct. Craig was arrested in June in a restroom stall at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport during a broad sweep targeting men soliciting sex. An undercover officer said Craig tapped his feet and swiped his hand under a stall divider in a way that signaled he wanted sex. Craig insists his actions were misconstrued and he is not gay. He said he pleaded guilty and paid a fine hoping to resolve the matter quietly.

And, of course, no one can forget the finger-shaking former President Bill Clinton, who denied having sex with that woman – Monica Lewinsky. Talk about getting his wife out there on the limb with him.

There are many more examples. Why do they do it? Why do politicians create these career-ending messes? Why do their wives show up at press conferences when they get caught?
 

Dianne Hardisty

Editorial Page Editor

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Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are still slugging it out in state primaries and caucuses to be their party's presidential nominee. Likely neither will have sufficient delegates by this summer's convention. Republican John McCain, on the other hand, has sufficient delegates and will be his party's nominee. He can watch gleefully as the Democrats muddy each other. What would your caption be for the accompanying cartoon. What is McCain saying? What art Obama and Clinton saying?

California lawmakers have filed their annual reports (this for 2007) of outside income, gifts and travel expenses covered by outside entities. The Sacramento Bee was kind enough to put everybody's — including Kern's legislators' — online.

Below is a story the Bee did and links to everybody's reports.

Find anything interesting? I haven't gone through them but will soon.

—Christine Bedell, government editor

Here's the story: www.sacbee.com/111/story/773058.html

Here's where you'll find the reports: www.sacbee.com/disclosures/

Jim Lopez planned to hold his campaign kickoff for the Republican nomination to the 20th District U.S. Congress at the Liberty Bell in downtown Bakersfield Monday morning.

But nobody came.

Well, actually, a few people did come.

When I showed up at 10 a.m. (the scheduled time of the conference) Lopez and one supporter were waiting near the front doors of Kern County Superior Court.

I took a seat on a nearby bench to wait for everyone to arrive.

A few minutes later another Lopez supporter showed up. Then former candidate for Bakersfield City Council Ernest Morse showed.

But that was it.

The four men chatted for a bit, wondering where the television cameras and radio reporters were.

When nobody had shown up 10 minutes after the scheduled start of the press conference, the four decided to call off the event.

They bid farewell and Lopez jay-walked across Truxtun Avenue to his big white Toyota extended-cab truck parked in front of the Bank of America and drove off.

Lopez is running unopposed for the Republican nomination in June. He will face off against incumbant Congressman Jim Costa in November.

In the e-mail announcing the press conference, Lopez had this to say about his candidacy:

"I seek this nomination to bring principled and stable leadership to Congress from this district."

James Burger

Californian staff writer

Hanford Democrat Joe Eustermann told The Californian today that he's not going to file to run for 30th District Assembly after all.

That means Fran Florez apparently has no opponent in the primary, just Republican Danny Gilmore in the general in November.

Eustermann said he considered running because Florez is not fiscally conservative like most Democrats in the Central Valley. He said he might run for the seat in some future election.

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Put this in the category of rubbing salt in the wounds. State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has been in hot pursuit of Fresno State University administrators – particularly the university’s president, President John Welty -- after women faculty members successfully sued the university for discrimination and were awarded millions of dollars in damages.

Florez announced Friday he has named Diane Milutinovich, Fresno State’s former associate athletic director, the 16th Senate District’s Woman of the Year “for her many contributions to women’s athletics and her unwavering flight for gender equity in higher education.” She will be honored next week in Sacramento.

Milutinovich retired from Fresno State after 27 years as a coach and athletics administrator. She blamed her advocacy for gender equity for her removal from the athletics department, spurring her lawsuit charging gender discrimination. Hers was one of several cases involving similar allegations and resulting in multi-million dollar awards.

Lindy Vivas, a former Fresno State volleyball coach successfully sued the university and was awarded $4.62 million for discrimination. And more recently, a jury awarded former Fresno State basketball coach Stacey Johnson-Klein $19.1 million in a unanimous gender discrimination verdict against the school, A judge reduced the amount to $6.62 million.

Fresno State is appealing the judgments in the Vivas and Johnson-Klein cases. Last year, the university agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle Milutinovich’s discrimination lawsuit.
 
Florez contends the university’s appeals are a waste of taxpayers’ money and has called for the Fresno State president’s firing.
 

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Those of you who thought a Sacramento “reunion” of former (some fired) 30th District staffers was a slam on termed-out Assemblywoman Nicole Parra had it wrong. Parra is actually planning and paying for the March 27 roast at Simon’s, a Capitol watering hole.

Parra called The Californian with that information today after articles and columns appeared in the Capitol Weekly in Sacramento and The Californian reporting Parra staffers were being invited to a send-off party. An e-mail sent by former staffer Vanessa Lugo inviting folks promised a ceremonial “I was fired by Parra” pin.

Calling Parra “a trooper,” Lugo told The Californian Parra knew about the party and was expected to attend.

Parra now explains that the party was her idea, she is helping Lugo plan it and she is paying for it. Already 50 people have said they will attend. The guest list might swell to twice that number. Parra said she expects to pay $3,000 to $4,000 to host the event as thanks to those who have worked  with her during her three terms in the Assembly.

E-mail Lugo at vinnica79@hotmail.com if you want to attend.

DIANNE HARDISTY
Editorial Page Editor

Just when we were ready to call it a Florez-Gilmore showdown, Joe Eustermann brings his herd of cows to the fight 30th District Assembly race.

Eustermann hasn't filed, but he has a Web site, and it has cows on it. Also, a not-very-specific bio and a contributions form. And a nice color scheme.

He has until tomorrow to put his paperwork where his cows are. We'll see if he's got the beef.

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Hillary Clinton captured the popular vote in three out of four states – including the “biggies,” Ohio and Texas – in this week’s primary elections. She’s the “comeback kid.” What would you write as the caption for this editorial cartoon?
 

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SWEET! A blog note in Capitol Weekly announced Bakersfield’s very own Republican Assemblywoman Jean Fuller had won $45,000 for her $500 bet in a Capitol pool on who would be the next Democratic Assembly speaker. BUMMER! It was a joke.

No bet. No pool. Just apparently a joke played by a blogger for the Sacramento insider journal. Fuller’s Sacramento staff hustled to figure out what was going on. They were told the blogger picked Fuller for the joke because she seemed to have a good sense of humor.

When The Californian called Fuller to ask her about her “winnings,” she said as soon as she learned lawmakers had to place a $500 bet to get into the pool, she knew it was a joke. Legislators are way too cheap for that. They need their money to keep running for office.

Fuller said she would not have entered the pool because she is too cheap and too unlucky. Besides, she supports the selection of Karen Bass to replace Fabian Nunez as speaker. But there were a lot of good candidates. Betting on one would have been divisive, she said.
 

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PARRA-FLOREZ FEUD.doc

At first it appeared to be a mean-spirited joke. A small item in the Feb. 28 Capitol Weekly, a Sacramento insider journal:

“Some former staffers of Nicole Parra ... are planning a reunion. Let’s hope they’ve booked a big room. The invite went out to chiefs of staff 1-6, legislative directors 1-9, schedulers 2-14 and many other veterans of the Parra Experience for a celebratory dinner. The first 100 to RSVP get a ceremonial ‘I was fired by Parra’ pin.”

Parra is Kern County’s 30th District assemblywoman. She is  termed-out — forced from office by a 1990 voter-passed initiative that  limits Assembly members to six years. It appeared former staff members — some of whom she fired — were putting their boot to her butt as she left office.

The celebration is being held at Simon’s, a Sacramento watering hole, on March 27. The invitation was sent out by e-mail by former staffer Vanessa Lugo, who followed Parra to Sacramento from Bakersfield after working on her first campaign. Lugo now works for 58th District  Assemblyman Charles Calderon.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” said an invited former staffer, who admitted she wanted to go, but feared Parra might find out and be angry. She called back the next day to report, “Nicole Parra is well aware of the event and even is expected to attend.”

No duh. The Capitol Weekly mention caused a Sacramento belly laugh that would be hard not to hear. And, Parra’s current chief of staff, Derek Chernow, was invited.

The shindig for Parra also inspired an exchange in Capitol Weekly’s “Ask Big Daddy,” a tongue-in-cheek “advice” column for legislative staffers. The column begins: “I’m an Assembly staff member who has taken my vacation days to help Nicole Parra win elections, without her thanks. How am I supposed to feel about Parra practically endorsing the Republican candidate?”

The reference is to Parra’s recent refusal to endorse Shafter City Councilwoman Fran Florez, the likely Democrat candidate to run for Parra’s 30th District seat.

While she stopped short of endorsing the likely Republican candidate, Danny Gilmore, in media interviews, she has gushed all over the retired CHP officer — a man she defeated two years ago.

For those who have been living on the moon all these many years, Parra and Fran Florez’s son, Sen. Dean Florez of Shafter, have reinvented the definition of “family feud.”

Check out Capitol Weekly’s Feb. 28 “Ask Big Daddy” column for the staffer spoof on www.capitolweekly.net. An attachment to this blog contains two excellent columns by The Californian's retired Sacramento bureau chief, Vic Pollard, explaining the Parra-Florez feud.

When I called Pollard this week, he acknowledged Parra’s send-off party was unusual. “I’ve heard of farewells for beloved people, but never a reunion of people who have been fired.”

“She had a reputation for blowing up and throwing temper tantrums in public,” Pollard recalled. “But she was far from being one of the most notorious bosses.” He hung that title on the likes of hot-tempered former lawmaker and ousted Democrat Secretary of State Kevin Shelley.

A former staffer and invited guest who quit Parra to take another job observed: “There aren’t a lot of gold watches among Capitol people. Parra had a tolerance level with a clock time limit. Some didn’t last very long. She went through four chiefs of staff in the first year and a half.”

Lugo, who describes the evening as a roast, said she expects a large crowd, including Parra. “Nicole’s a trooper.”

Contending most people left Parra’s staff for better jobs, Lugo said she and others wanted to give her a good send-off.

“In most cases — mine included — she helped people out. She gave people a lot of opportunities,” Lugo said, noting former staffers are “scattered around the Capitol in really good jobs.”

Want to attend Parra’s roast? E-mail Lugo at: vinnica79@hotmail.com. If you hurry, you might even get a “I was fired by Parra” pin.

Dianne Hardisty, editorial page editor

The photo accompanying this post was taken during a 2003 appearance by Gov. Schwarzenegger in Bakersfield. State Sen. Dean Florez, left, and Assemblywoman Nicole Parra share an exchange. What could they possibly be saying? Post your guess on this blog.
 

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Actor Tom Hanks toured the Capitol Wednesday night and told reporters: “I wish the election was being held tomorrow. I’m bored!”

Here's the full story.

I imagine a lot of people are feeling the same way despite the excitement generated by the Obama-Clinton showdown.

Do you wish we could fast forward to November?

— Andrew Mockett

Talk about deja vu all over again. There's been another big night of voting and I'm still not sure what it means — or if it means anything, given the little change in Obama's delegate lead. What do you guys think?

And are you glad the drama continues, possibly all the way to the convention? Are the Democrats shooting themselves in the foot? Are we more likely to get President John McCain as a result?

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Barack Obama certainly wasn't lobbed softball questions Monday by the press corps.

Check out the questions and his answers — followed by his hasty retreat — in this story from The Washington Post.