This could be fun

Oct. 28, 2012

By John Seiler

It looks like Proposition 30 is going down to defeat. So what I’m looking forward to is Gov. Jerry Brown going into a meltdown when his pet prop loses. He could rail against the outside interests, Grover Norquist, John & Ken, the Tea Party — and anybody else his free-associating mind brings up.

Then he’s going to have to take on his “troops,” as he calls them — the unions — over the trigger cuts in spending that are supposed to go into effect.

Also interesting will be if the Democrats get a 2/3 supermajority in each house of the Legislature. Then they could raise taxes ad infinitum, without any Republican support. Or enough “moderate” Republicans might be elected to do the same thing, although on a more limited scale.

Brown pledged in his 2010 campaign not to raise taxes without a “vote of the people.” But if the Legislature passes a tax increase, would he veto it?

If so, the Legislature then could override the veto with a 2/3 vote. This rarely happens in California, but it is possible.

It also could play out that Brown says, softly, that he’s against a tax increase — wink win, nudge nudge. The Legislature passes it any way. He vetoes it. Then the Legislature overrides his veto with only minor protests by him.

Wink wink, nudge nudge.