Come one, come all! Everyone into the pool for the LIVEBLOG!
(I'm assuming that the front-pagers aren't planning their own live coverage on the front page for a Gubernatorial debate in one measly little state -- but if they do start a front-page liveblog then I pledge to delete this one. In the spirit of the recent Republican PR effort, of course, I plan to break that pledge almost immediately.)
So come on, those of you watching here on ABC-7 in the LA Basin -- and name your own station if you're elsewhere in the Golden State or can get it through another source on the Intertubes -- and let's watch Meg Whitman's face as her $119 million personal contribution so far swiiiiiiirrrrrrlllls down the drain!
I'll be taking notes up here and trying to import up the best of the comments. If I don't choose yours, that's because I have no taste or understanding -- or maybe am just a bit overwhelmed.
And by the way -- Seen This Yet? Heh!
UPDATE: Streaming HERE!
Here we go! Meg wants purchasing power, but Californians won't let her Buy It Now!
Q1: does late budget mean CA is ungovernable? How stop gridlock.
A1: How to fix budget? First put CA back to work! (Yah, let's wait to pass a budget until then?) Streamline size of govt, use Silicon Valley approach.
Q1A: But what would you do to pass a budget?
A1A: Start sooner, 2-year cycle.
Q2: Same to Brown.
A2: Budget is example of how screwed up things are. Have to reset salaries, start right after election, will bring people together the week after the election. Need a transparent process. Will say he'll cut 15-20%. I've done 8 budgets, almost all on time. Have will power and expertise. Still a lot of fat.
Q3: Meg, have a rebuttal?
A3: He'll bring public employee unions to collect IOUs. He'll pay them off. I'll cut employee pensions and welfare.
Q4: Jerry?
A4: She's too rich and is getting tax breaks.
OK, TOO HARD TO DO THAT
Second question: death penalty. [UPDATE (since I left this out before): Brown: haven't favored it, but I'll respect the people's will. Meg: "Faster, Pussycat, Kill! Kill!"]
Third question: job creation. New buzzwords: "factory tax," "startup tax." Not sure what these mean, but it will not be what we expect.
"We need to be more like Texas!" (PLONK)
"Won't that kill local government?"
"What's that?"
Brown: "we need to address poverty, build green jobs, protect AB 32."
Whitman: "What's poverty?"
Brown: We can hire people to retrofit buildings like I did in the 70s.
Whitman: Green jobs are puny! We must lower taxes so we can't do it! Texas is much better than us. They eliminate regulations. Let's not talk about their oil severance tax.
Question 4 -- attacking Brown because he'll collect a pension.
Brown: elect me and I won't collect it for years! He pushed pension reform. Talks about how he raised issue in 1982, abuses came later, fought abuses at local level.
Q 4B -- Meg, you've never dealt with unions, how will you do it!
Meg: I will crush them and here the lamentations of their women! And raise retirement ages.
But Meg, how will you handle the unions?
Meg: Three ways: (1) Negotiation, (2) Ballot initiatives, (3) Oops, forgot #3. [Author's note: hey, how do you do a ballot initiative that says "we're going to break our legal contracts with workers" when the state can't declare bankruptcy?]
Jerry: She's been raising $25K, 50K, from people who want to eliminate capital gains tax. I'll be as tough as necessary with unions.
Q5: Does your failure to vote mean that you are a political dunce?
Meg: I'm not proud of it, so I will evade the question. Lots! I've raised lots of money from myself because people agree with me.
Q5B: Jerry, you kept running for President last time. How do we know you will focus on your job?
Jerry: Age. If I were younger, you know I would. [Audience laughs. Note: some re-edits here.] I won't be closing down the bars in Sacramento this time around. Plus, now I'm married.
[Transfered and edited from below: Brown sends out psychic message to viewers: "I'm not running for President. Take a look at Ms. Moneybags, though, who is excreting so much overweening ambition from every pore that it's making my eyes water. Hoover, Nixon, Reagan, ... Whitman? Yikes."]
Jerry continued: Oh, and by the way, Meg is saying just what Arnold Schwarzenegger did when he ran.
Meg (off-camera) (dies a little.)
Meg: I remember all my lies from my campaign commercials! He created a deficit and the state lost jobs.
Jerry: I created that damn surplus! No one is tougher with a buck than me!
Q6: Jerry will you turn back all of the cuts to higher education?
Jerry: Not all at once, with this deficit, but I'll do what I can, by living within our means. I won't give tax breaks to the wealthy.
Meg: funding cuts break my heart. I want to put $1 billion into the UC system by destroying the rest of the state government. We must destroy people on welfare and drive them into Texas.
Q: But will you reverse the fee hikes?
Meg: I'll ask the chancellors what they want to do with the money.
Q7: Meg, you've been lying, so why should voters trust you?
Meg: I stand by my lies!
(Author's note: I cannot wait for Brown's response.)
Meg: Umm, let's talk more about pensions, so we can break the legal contracts we made with workers.
Jerry: She's LYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!
Jerry: By the way, the problems with Oakland schools weren't my responsibility. I created charter schools.
Meg, what do you think about Jerry noting that you're a liar?
Meg: Other parts of it were true! Prop 13! He didn't take responsibility for his own failures. Professional politicians aren't accountable. You can hold me accountable. (Author: How if not now, Ms. Megabucks?)
Jerry: yeah, I opposed Prop 13. But Howard Jarvis voted for me because I was so good.
Q8: Immigration. Jerry, do you favor path to legalization?
Jerry: Yeah, like Bush and Kennedy. Can't just deport everyone. Need to secure borders. But it's a federal issue. We do fingerprint people and deport those here illegally. Let's deport lawbreakers, not everyone. Workplace inspections are good, but that's federal.
Meg, is there anything good about immigration?
Meg: We need to secure the borders. Need better fences. Hold employers accountable. Eliminate sanctuary cities. But I favor a temporary guest worker program, because I'm counting on the Central Valley vote! I have been fair -- I opposed prop 187 and the Arizona law. My plan is better. [UPDATE: This answer sounds different in Spanish.]
Q: Wait, CA is broke, how do you pay for employer inspections?
Meg: We just enforce the law. I will ignore your question.
Q9: Meg, address the criticism that you're trying to buy the election.
Meg: I'm up against those powerful unions. Californians are smart, they know that little old me is just trying to get out my message. So I've invested my own money to be independent, so I can go to Sacramento and break things.
Q: Yo, I also asked you about campaign finance laws.
Meg: That's not a priority; first we need to boil the ocean.
Q: Jerry, how will you be independent of the union influence?
Jerry: No one has taken a more no-nonsense approach than me. I vetoed excessive pay raises of state employees twice. Unions have some problems, but what about businesses? We lost $11 trillion, $1 trillion in California, because they made fraud easier. But I have to say that people who have embarked on public service as a calling are important. I'll stop excess, but we also saw this Whitman movie when it starred Schwarzenegger. Oh, and the Chamber of Commerce has a slush fund for ads against me -- so have Meg tell them to disclose their donors who are spending millions.
Meg: He can't distance himself from unions. He won't steal their pensions like I will. I have a laugh line here about having him negotiate with unions is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank. Why is no one laughing? Heads will roll! I want more technology! What was the question?
Jerry: I've stood up to unions where appropriate. By the way, she doesn't want to revise pensions with police and fire personnel, who get 25% of the pension money, so clearly she is willing to back down when convenient.
Q10: What about water?
Jerry: I support anything that promotes efficiency and conservation. I tried for a peripheral canal, but voters rejected it. Principle is: when you benefit directly from water, you have to pay the taxpayer. Habitat protection should be paid by public. Need to work for groundwater preservation, need safe drinking water because people are being poisoned. That's my program.
Meg: Turning backs on water is turning back on jobs. I like the water bond. Yes, there was pork, but in the real world you sometimes have to compromise with nasty people, i.e. my base. We have a humanitarian crisis. We need more conservation, but I want to talk about the water bond.
MEG FINAL STATEMENT: We need to change the direction of the state. Einstein said that the definition of insanity is spending $119 million on a futile attempt to impose your iron will on the state. I believe in the power of many, if we work together, we'll do something. Also.
JERRY: This is not an easy job; I had to think hard about running. It's harder than private business. I was mayor of a tough city, and I walked the streets rather than getting driven past people. I have know-how and experience. I have better values, not sucking up to the rich. We need to invest in people, schools. My vision, unlike hers, is that we should not suspend AB 32, we should be the global leader in green jobs.
(whew! sorry I didn't get time to include your comments, I'll look forward to reading them now!)
UPDATE:
Miss it? Want to relive it? Here's your link! (h/t to mrsgoo!)