Big Daddy,Hey, what about pay cuts for lawmakers?–Carly in Mountain View

Absolutely not. No way. Never. Not a penny. Bad idea. Go away.

As Jack Germond of Gannett once said, never cheapen the beat. I don’t often quote reporters – you wouldn’t, either, if you knew them like I do – but I think Germond

Dear Big Daddy,How come you were never a best-selling author?–Earle in Escondido

It wasn’t easy. I wrote bills, letters, screeds, proclamations and op-eds, but books escaped me. I was the subject of books, of course, but that’s not the same.

But I know where this question is coming from: Steve Poizner wrote a book on

Dear Big Daddy,Should Jerry, Meg and Steve do a threesome in the primary?–Orville in Orinda  Dear Orville,If we’re talking about debates, definitely not.

Debates are confusing and uninformative and boring, not because of the candidates – even a wooden Dan Lungren can be thrilling on stage – but because of the reporters, who keep

Dear Big Daddy,I heard you’re not on Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 list of movers and shakers. What gives?–Wes in Scotia

Dear Wes,It’s an outrage, I agree. I contacted the paper and got absolutely nowhere.

You can never trust a journalist: You never know what they’re up to, and this list was a perfect example.

Dear Big Daddy,I know you don’t watch much TV, but what do you think of the anti-Jerry Brown ad by the California Chamber of Commerce?–Inquisitive in Inverness

Dear Inquisitive,Sam Rayburn and I often have lunch together, and when someone mentions the chamber of commerce – any chamber of commerce – I think of him.

Dear Big Daddy,I don’t begrudge anybody grabbing a day off, but why do Capitol staffers take Cesar Chavez Day off on Monday and state employees do the same thing on Wednesday? –Perplexed in Portola

Dear Perplexed,Because this is California government, that’s why. The state can’t seem to do anything right, and apparently that extends to

Dear Big Daddy,What do you think of politics, money and the governor’s race this year?–Jim in Encinitas

Dear Jim,I know money is the mother’s milk of politics – everybody has a favorite cliché, and this is mine – but Meg Whitman has taken it to a new level. Move over Norton Simon, Al Checchi, Jane

Hey Big Daddy,Is Jerry Brown in trouble? Byron in Burlingame….Dear Byron,Is he in trouble? I guess that depends on whether you want him to win or simply be entertaining.

Of course he’s in trouble, big trouble.

He’s a respectable fund-raiser, labor probably will go to the mat for him, he can bob and weave

Dear Big Daddy,What’s your take on the GOP convention?–Pete in the Capay ValleyHey Pete,The best part of any convention – even a GOP convention – happens after midnight and before sunrise, the hours of drinking and romance. Ahh!

The rest is visible and scripted and obvious, and it all happens on the convention floor or

Hey, Big Daddy,Looks like we’ve got Big Papi, a new Assembly speaker who matches you in girth and maybe in smarts. He’s also gay. Are you jealous? Happy? –Tod in Visalia

Dear Tod,Yes to both. Happy because we finally have a speaker who looks like a speaker – sorry, Curt – and jealous because he’s