As Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for raising taxes to solve our budget mess, a voice in the woods is calling for spending cuts rather than tapping into California's already highly taxed income. From the Sacremento Bee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democrats who dominate the California legislature agree the state needs to raise taxes to help stave off billions in budgetary red ink. But the governor faces a roadblock in his own party, Republican Assemblyman Mike Villines.

Mr. Villines (pronounced Vuh-LINES) is leader of the state Assembly's Republican caucus, which, with just 32 of the legislature's 80 members, has little power to set the agenda. Political observers here like to joke that the Republican caucus, along with its counterpart in the Democratic-led state Senate, holds real sway only two times a year -- when the state's budget is being set and during the legislative softball game.

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