Shorter Coward Arnold

You guys figure that out budget thing, I've got yacht parties to attend:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger brushed aside criticism of his latest budget plan Thursday and said lawmakers now bear responsibility for resolving the state's $15.2 billion budget deficit.

The Republican governor, speaking with The Bee's editorial board, lamented he had "negotiated with myself" for the last five months because legislative leaders did not meet with him to discuss the budget.

"The reality of it is that the ball is in their court," Schwarzenegger said. "The more they scream, the deeper they bury themselves. Because in the end, they have to meet somewhere in the middle to get this budget done."

Hey, Arnold did all he could, right? He threw out some ideas to massively cut social service programs and raid lottery funds to borrow against the state's future. Isn't that ENOUGH? I mean, the guy hasn't been on the cover of a magazine or at a Laker game in WEEKS! Let him be. These yacht parties don't happen every day.

It is funny that Schwarzenegger is firmly in the middle of a Republican civil war.

"I said, 'Look, if you guys are so worried about it, I'll say it,'" Schwarzenegger said about the need to consider taxing more services. "And of course I'll get beaten up and Republicans will say this is a signal, this is a code word that means you want to raise taxes. What do I care? Let them say that. They're always going to complain anyway that I want to raise taxes."

There were hundreds of students at the Capitol yesterday protesting the education cuts that remain in the May Revise. The Yacht Party is on the wrong side of history. Arnold's also on the wrong side - unwilling to actually fix the budget out of fear, and willing to mortgage the future (and threaten taxes as a way to get his way on mortgaging the future).