A group of millionaires called “Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength” is demanding that Congress approve tax hikes on the wealthy. What do you think: Is this a message that will resonate in California as Gov. Brown crafts a new revenue package?

I suppose the millionaires in that group will be accused of engaging in class

Brown’s public pension plan cuts existing benefits and sets up a “hybrid” system to include a 401(k) component. Is the love affair between labor and Brown over, this time for good?

The love affair may be waning, but they remain friends with benefits.  Gov. Brown is not above flirting, granting labor a sweet nothing by

Pull the plug on high-speed rail or go ahead with the project?  What’s your take?

Mass transit projects have rarely lived up to their billing, our political leaders should concentrate on other ways to create jobs.  But politics will get in the way and the issue will be with us for decades.

We have to

Jerry Brown is presenting his proposed overhaul of public pensions this week. So what’s wrong with public pensions and what should Brown do to fix them?

“Airtime” purchases defy intellectual gravity; that practice should be grounded immediately. Spiking should be outlawed; there should be no state pensions in excess of $100,000 (indexed for inflation); and

Is the Occupy movement the real deal? If so, what impact will it have on next year’s elections in California or nationwide?

Maybe they’ll nominate William Jennings Bryan for president and resurrect the Free Silver movement. But it is the real deal as far as facing the crushing truth that banks are more powerful than

“Jerry Brown has finished his cycle of bill signings and vetoes for the year. How would you characterize him – conservative, moderate, liberal, or something else entirely?”

Jerry Brown has been, is, and always will be “something else entirely.”

I would characterize him as a Jesuit.  He examines each issue independently and angers both parties. 

“Organized labor gets Brown elected governor and Brown smacks them in the face (vetoes of child-care unionizing, card check, etc). Disloyalty or good politics?”

We’ll see whether it’s good politics or not next year, when Brown will need labor to step up to the plate with tens of millions of dollars if he’s to run

California was solidly Obama country in 2008. What about next year, given the deep unemployment, the still-weakening economy, the voters’ unhappiness with government and disenchantment from the left with Obama?

All true, but way too soon to tell.  Libs have no place to go.  Depends on who the Republican nominee is and what the issues

“Are Capitol Republicans out-of-step with Republicans out there in the real world? The latest Field Poll suggests exactly that — at least on whether ballot initiatives should all be pushed to November. What do you think?”

Well, I don’t understand what world Republicans are living in, either under the Dome, or out in the cities

The Kinde Durkee scandal is spreading. A number of politicos have lost campaign funds, and there may be more. What impact, if any, will this case have on elections next year?

Because there are contribution limits at both the federal and state levels, much of the stolen money cannot be replaced. Donors who have already