There hasn't been much of a post-mortem among politicos about the May 19 election -- partially because the state's fiscal crisis hasn't allowed time for pondering, but also because it's seemed pretty darn clear: the voters thought the budget deficit measures stunk.

Nonetheless, a couple of interesting points have come up in the past 24 hours... today from the state's preeminent pollsters and yesterday in my interview with Governor Schwarzenegger.
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Party over, oops, out of time! So tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999. -- Prince

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested dusting off the script of a movie he wasn't in today, Back To The Future, in telling reporters that the state budget should match its anemic revenues -- now about where they were a decade ago.
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And now, the least surprising news of the political year: the special election called by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to help solve the state's budget dilemma was a bust.

The voters have spoken. And their very loud answer on the five budget-related ballot measures with real impact: no.

There's a risk in playing crime scene investigator before the smoke has fully cleared. Still, it's hard to deny some of the more obvious reasons for Tuesday's train wreck, things that most everyone in California politics has been talking about for weeks...
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On this day before the big special election, there's a pretty noticeable quiet around the state Capitol, as California's budget needs will soon (and somewhat) be in the hands of the voters.

Until then, a few odds and ends related to the six proposition extravaganza are worth a mention...
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The revised budget, two of them actually, from Governor Schwarzenegger suggests a grim pathway out of another multi-billion dollar budget hole.

The question now: will the hole be almost another 50% deeper come Wednesday, after the voters weigh in? For that answer, we'll have to wait.
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You're angry. You want to punish the politicians. And so... if you're like your fellow Californian who's been polled in recent weeks... you're going to cast a vote for Proposition 1F with glee. Off with their heads, er, pay raises!

Prop 1F was the focus of this morning's final look at the May 19 special election on The California Report.

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Late word this evening that will get everyone's attention: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has informed legislative leaders that if three of the six budget-related ballot measures fail next Tuesday, the state faces a $21.3 billion deficit between now and next July.

In a letter to the four legislators this afternoon, Schwarzenegger actually offered two new assessments from his budget team of what lies in store for California: a $15.4 billion shortfall if Propositions 1C, 1D, and 1E pass, and the aforementioned $21.3 billion if they fail.
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It's one of the maxims of California politics: what the voters do, often only the voters can undo.

And that's the real story of Proposition 1D and Proposition 1E, both which were placed on the ballot by the Legislature in hopes of funneling more money into the state's beleaguered general fund. Of course, they also would mean money taken from programs voters endorsed in 1998 and 2004.

Our radio report on the measures aired this morning on The California Report.

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Add this morning's new report from the Legislative Analyst's Office to the growing chorus of warning signs about the fiscal year that lies ahead for California.

The LAO believes that the weakened economy, the shaky budget, and the defeat of the budget-related ballot measures could force state government to seek as much as $23 billion in short-term borrowing from investors in the budget year that begins on July 1.

And now, the kicker: that might be impossible to pull off.
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It wasn't specifics that reporters learned today in a wide-ranging chat with the leader of the state Senate, but rather a map for the budget debate that lies ahead -- regardless of what happens in the May 19 special election.

Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's main message was this: if the budget-related ballot measures pass, the remaining deficit is likely manageable. If they don't, it won't be pretty.

"Is it a scare tactic?," said the Democratic leader. "No, it's reality. The numbers are the numbers."
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