It’s a disaster for California and for the Republican Party. Abel Maldonado’s decision to switch sides for his own interest leaves California’s Republican voters in the dust. What’s the point of voting for  Republicans when they’ll vote like Democrats?

Before his aye vote Maldonado invoked Abraham Lincoln as a President who made hard decisions, I guess 100 years is long enough for people to forget who Lincoln really was and to start confusing him with Obama. There is no question, the hard vote on this budget was a no vote, where legislators would have to balance our budget and keep our state running with the money we have. The easy vote was using hard working Californians as the Legislature’s personal ATM machine, and screwing our state into the ground while making friends with the union tools that hold majority power.

My search for the aliens that abducted Arnold and replaced him with Gray Davis #2 is on hold while the CA legislature battles over the huge tax-and-spend budget proposed by the Big 5 (Gov., 2 Dems, and 2 Repubs.) If you need more proof that the guy they call Arnold Schwarzenegger is no longer a Republican, check this out:

From The SacBee’s Capitol Alert:

In his press conference this afternoon, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took issue with new GOP Senate leader Dennis Hollingsworth’s stance that the budget could be balanced without new or higher taxes.

“Anyone that runs around, I think, and says that this can be done without raising taxes, I think has not really looked at it carefully to understand this budget or has a math problem and has to get back, as I said, and take Math 101,” Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger said he hadn’t spoken to Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, since his selection as leader last night. Hollingsworth told Capitol Alert this morning that he opposed new taxes to balance the budget.

“I just don’t think it’s necessary. … Why is it that everybody else has to tighten their belt and state government is able to go back and, in effect, take money out of people’s pockets in order to try to fix that problem,” Hollingsworth had said.

The governor also threw cold water on Hollingsworth’s idea to reopen budget talks with the legislative leaders, though Schwarzenegger said he remained open to tweaking the package to secure the last vote needed for passage. [Read More]

From the Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Diary E-mail:

It’s Getting Sweaty in Sacramento

Day Five of the California Hostage Crisis grinds on with state legislators no closer to approving a $42 billion plan to close the state’s budget deficit with a mixture of spending trims and higher taxes.

The tax hikes have the support of every Democrat in the legislature, but three Republican votes in the Assembly and three in the Senate are needed to meet the requirement that the budget pass with a two-thirds vote. In the Senate, only two Republican votes have been secured. One of them is Dave Cogdill of Modesto, who was unceremoniously dumped late last night as his party’s leader. Republican senators were unhappy with Mr. Cogdill’s role in negotiating the tax hikes, and replaced him with Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, a fierce opponent of higher taxes. Mr. Hollingsworth is likely to try to renegotiate the budget deal.

But Democrats have locked down the State Senate and are preventing members from leaving until they agree to the current plan. Their rhetoric has become increasingly apocalyptic. “We are in a highly unusual and frightening position, and actually close to panic time,” warned Sen. Elaine Alquist of Santa Clara, who noted that layoff notices to 10,000 state workers were going out this week.

Republicans so far are unmoved. Senator George Runner applauded the fact that the debate under lockdown conditions was now attracting public notice. “It goes to the core of probably why we got involved in elected office,” he said in a floor speech. “Californians aren’t under-taxed. They’re taxed at some of the highest rates in the nation.” He was echoed by Senator Tony Strickland, who said it was time the legislature stopped “treating the taxpayers across California like a personal ATM.”

For now, legislators are being treated to a version of indoor camping, with sleeping bags and cots littering the legislative chamber’s floor. Democrats are privately acknowledging that if GOP intransigence continues, they may pass the tax hikes by a simple majority vote and take their chances that a court won’t find the resulting budget unconstitutional.

– John Fund

Sign up for WSJ’s Political Diary.

According to TDR sources, and confirmed by Chuck DeVore via Twitter, Senator George Runner (SD-17) will be the new GOP Leader for the next 45 days, replacing Senator Dave Cogdill.

The shake-up happend moments ago, during a two hour (as of now 11:55pm) Republican caucus. Cogdill has been siding with the democrats on the budget vote and angered many of his collegues. George Runner has been a strong voice against the Big 5 tax and spend budget in the Senate.

Developing… (It’s late so hopefully this is right, because it won’t be fixed till the morning. )

UPDATE: (Probably the last one of the night). The LA Times picked up the story (but without Runner’s name in it) so it looks like Cogdill is out… Not too shocking since he tried to resign on Saturday, his collegues have not been happy with him.

So are negotiations over, or will they have to start again? We’ll see…

UPDATE: (So, that wasn’t the last one.) Steingberg just congratulated Dennis Hollingsworth… He may be the new leader and not George Runner…

UPDATE: Dennis Hollingsworth (SD-36) is the new CA Senate Minority Leader, confirmed at Calitics. Congratulations Senator Hollingsworth!

Statement from former Minority Leader Dave Cogdill (SD-14) on the leadership change.

Editorial from tomorrow morning’s Wall Street Journal:

If you thought Washington’s stimulus debate was depressing, take a look at the long-running budget spectacle in California. The Golden State’s deficit has reached $42 billion, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening to furlough 20,000 state workers (go ahead, make our day), and as we went to press yesterday Democrats who control the legislature had blocked lawmakers from leaving until they finally get a deal.

t’s sad to watch. The Golden State — which a decade ago was the booming technology capital of the world — has been done in by two decades of chronic overspending, overregulating and a hyperprogressive tax code that exaggerates the impact on state revenues of economic boom and bust. Total state expenditures have grown to $145 billion in 2008 from $104 billion in 2003 and California now has the worst credit rating in the nation — worse even than Louisiana’s. It also has the nation’s fourth highest unemployment rate of 9.3% (after Michigan, Rhode Island and South Carolina) and the second highest home foreclosure rate (after Nevada).

Roughly 1.4 million more nonimmigrant Americans have left California than entered over the last decade, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council. California is suffering more than most states from the housing bust, but its politicians also showed less spending restraint during the boom. [Read More - really]

From The Wall Street Journal Political Diary (subscription required):

Purified by Fire

Today marks Day Four of the Budget Hostage Crisis in California’s State Legislature. Faced with a $42 billion deficit, leaders in the State Senate failed for three days in a row to muster the necessary two-thirds vote to pass a plan of budget trimming and massive tax increases. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat, sent members home last night but warned it might be the last time for a while. “I will not allow anyone to go home, to resume their life, to have any kind of resumption of normal business” until a deal is passed today, he warned. “Bring a toothbrush, bring whatever necessities you need to bring.”Republicans were adamant that a vote to pass the tax increases wouldn’t come from their caucus. Senator Dennis Hollingsworth said Mr. Steinberg’s threats only hardened his opposition to what he called a runaway spending machine. “You’re not going to go back to people’s pocketbooks to fuel that spending,” he said.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supports the deal despite almost unanimous opposition from his fellow Republicans, announced plans to lay off 20,000 state workers today. Should he and Democratic leaders fail to convince enough Republicans to vote for tax increases, there is even speculation that Mr. Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass will push a package of higher revenues through the legislature and to the governor’s desk by a straight majority vote. “A simple majority vote will ultimately be declared unconstitutional by the courts, but that’s something they’ll worry about later,” says Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

The battle lines in California between the two parties have rarely been clearer. While Republicans run the risk of being blamed for cutbacks in vital services, they have also energized their base by insisting on strict budget reforms aimed at finally ending a disastrous cycle of overspending followed by budget meltdowns. It’s only been six years since California’s last boom-and-bust spending crisis, which led to the recall of Democratic Governor Gray Davis and his replacement by Mr. Schwarzenegger.

John Fund is an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal.

Gov. Schwarzenegger is expected to begin laying off state employees, and implementing measures to stop spending money that the state doesn’t have.

We thank the Republican Senators that have held together against a $14 billion tax-hike, and continue to push for fiscal responsibility and real economic recovery. Make sure to call your Republican State Senators, thank them, and ask them to vote no on new taxes.

The CA Senate and Assembly adjourned tonight and will reconvene tomorrow morning at 10 am.

Thank you to Republican Senators that have held strong against the $14 billion tax hike for another day. Keep it up.

From SacBee:

With budget negotiations still hung up in the Senate, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to send 20,000 layoff warnings to state workers Tuesday morning.

Schwarzenegger will instruct his Department of Personnel Administration to give agencies lists of people affected — those with the least seniority among the approximately 100,000 state workers employed at General Fund units. [Read More]

Good riddance, that’s around $20 million the unions won’t have to screw the state.

Via Assemblyman Chuck DeVore:

CA State Senate has pushed floor session to 4pm now, 3rd delay today. Signals that they don’t yet have votes for taxes.

UPDATE from Chuck DeVore:

CA State Senate will reconvene at 6pm – the 4th delay today. Assembly preparing to adjourn for the day.

Assembly will be reconvening at 8pm tonight. Looks like their having a hard time nailing down that last vote… keep it up guys. Sen. Maldonado, the previously expected 27th vote, released his wishlist after a morning meeting with President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.

Maldonado’s list includes: Open primaries for State legislature, a law cutting pay for legislators if a budget is passed late, a law cancelling pay and per diem raises for legislators during a budget deficit, and he wants to remove the pork spending from the budget.

After holding the CA Senate hostage for two days, President Pro Tem Darrel Steingberg popped his top:

“I wish to God, that you could deviate, just a little bit, from your principles” and do what I want, because I want it NOWWW!!

Cooky dems, income is for individuals.