"California is shaping up to be the new Texas, the alpha state...."

[DeepModem Mom]

Politico: Pelosi power: California rises
By CHARLES MAHTESIAN | 12/22/08


California is shaping up to be the new Texas, the alpha state whose cultural and policymaking influence was inescapable through most of the last eight years.
(AP)

Forget Illinois: California is poised to be the top dog in Obama-era Washington.

With roughly a half-dozen Cabinet and key administrative appointees and a powerhouse congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, California is shaping up to be the new Texas, the alpha state whose cultural and policymaking influence was inescapable through most of the last eight years.

President-elect Barack Obama’s energy secretary-designate is Steven Chu, the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Hilda L. Solis, a Los Angeles-area Democratic congresswoman, was named last week as Obama’s choice for secretary of labor. The Council of Economic Advisers will be chaired by University of California-Berkeley professor Christina Romer; Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley will head the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, and Phil Schiliro, a longtime top aide to Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), will serve as Obama’s chief liaison to Congress.

While California's share of key administration positions has been on par with other big Democratic-leaning states Illinois and New York, when its unrivaled congressional clout is factored in, the state looms as a dominant force in a Democratic-controlled Washington.

“California will have substantial influence in the administration partly because of those selected for posts in government and partly because of the speaker and our committee chairmen,” said Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the chairwoman of California’s Democratic congressional delegation. “And there’s certainly people in Silicon Valley who haven’t been hired, but are wired-in, like (CEOs) Eric Schmidt over at Google and John Thompson at Symantec.”

“California has always been the ATM to the nation in terms of political fundraising,” said Lofgren. “We’re policy leaders now.”

Led by House Speaker Pelosi, the state's 34 members constitute the largest bloc in the Democratic Caucus. Highly gerrymandered congressional districts ensure little turnover within the delegation, which means it’s filled with senior members, four of whom chair committees — Education and Labor, Foreign Affairs, Energy and Commerce, and Veterans Affairs. Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland is the incoming chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. In the Senate, California Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer — each serving her third term — both chair important committees....

***

(W)ith California having emerged as a blue state citadel in an era where the White House and both chambers of Congress are under Democratic control, the stars are aligned for the Golden State as never before. Perhaps as important, some of the most critical issues confronting the nation — namely on energy and the environment — are areas where California has been a trailblazing presence....

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16788.html

[villager]

1. Welcome, America, to our statewide bankruptcy and implosion!

oh, it's fun times in California right now...

[cabluedem]

2. Oh yeah! Come on down to CA: just bring your money with you. We broke here. nt

[Betsy Ross]

3. And we are trying to lead the nation with the highest

unemployment rate. We still have a way to go, but we are working on it.

[elifino]

4. California is the last place I would look for logical solutions

to the problems facing our nation.

[diane in sf]

5. You can take that back--our energy policies are the best in the US, we use half the power

per capita, of most states. And we never voted Bush into office.

Now having said that I will also add there's nothing we couldn't improve upon.

[The Hope Mobile]

7. Starting with our governor. That was one of "our" biggest

bonehead moves ever. Other than that, California's progressive thought has always led the country, now it will just be more obvious. I wouldn't live anywhere else in this country . . . and I won't even drive through Texas. I know plenty of good people there but overall there is some serious backward thinking going on.

[MindPilot]

6. You didn't see 60 Minutes last night?