Welcome to your Friday open thread. I received my first mailer from the Republican running for the RD-24 open seat, Abe Jones. It featured a picture of Abe Jones with Bill Oberle and Oberle’s endorsement was prominently featured. There was very little information other than that. I grade it a B.
Isn’t this interesting – California’s Prop 8 may end with a whimper rather than a bang. The California Supreme Court ruled that the governor and the AG can not be forced to defend Prop 8 in court. That may leave no one with standing to do the appeal.
The California Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown have no legal obligation to defend Proposition 8. The 2008 voter-approved measure banning same sex marriage was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge on Aug. 3.
Analysts call Wednesday’s ruling a major setback for Prop. 8 supporters.
“There is a decent chance that Prop. 8 will be wiped out and that same sex marriages will be declared legal in California,” says Royal Oakes, partner at the Los Angeles-based law firm Barger and Wolen.
…
But legal scholars said the court has made the right decision.
“Both the Governor and the Attorney General were convinced by the merits of Judge Walker’s comprehensive factual findings and legal conclusions,” says Joan Hollinger, professor of law at the UC Berkeley School of Law. “And,” she adds, “as is their prerogative under our state law, they have decided not to appeal his ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. They are both discharging their obligations under California law and do not want to waste public resources on defending a proposition they and their lawyers believe has been appropriately found to violate the federal Constitution.”
The article states that California could allow a private lawyer argue the case before the Circuit Court. Before we start patting Arnold Schwartzenegger on the back too much, he twice vetoed a same sex marriage bill that came from the legislature. But I’m glad they’re not going to waste money on a losing case.
I think we’re all hearing stories about how some weak-kneed Democrats are talking about extending the Bush tax cuts for the rich. The rich are so put upon! Yet another poll shows support for letting the cuts expire (it seems Americans aren’t fooled by “tax cuts pay for themselves”):
A new Gallup poll shows the majority of Americans favor letting the Bush era tax cuts to expire for the wealthy. While 37% support keeping the tax cuts for all Americans, 44% want them extended only for those making less than $250,000 and 15% think they should expire for all taxpayers.
If you do the math, 59% favor letting some or all of the cuts expire. I guess that’s the price for the deficit peacocks. If you convince people deficits matter, they actually believe that.