Nothing New From California's Yacht Party

On the first day of the legislative session there was an irrational burst of optimism that the roadblocks put forward by the Yacht Party on the budget and taxation would somehow be hurdled. It's true that Democrats have three more seats in the Assembly (though currently one less in the Senate, pending the filling of Mark Ridley-Thomas' vacant seat), lowering the amount of Yacht Party members they'd have to bring aboard for any solution. But the idea that these new Republicans represent any kind of fresh thinking or newfound moderation is a fantasy.

Though Democrats picked up an aggregate of three seats in the Assembly, Niello said, they still need at least three Republicans to cross over and vote for any legislation that requires a two-thirds vote, such as a state budget.

Because the GOP caucus is united around opposition to any new taxes and wanting to see reforms such as a state spending cap and improving the state's regulatory environment on businesses, Niello said, Democrats will have to give to get any of those crossover votes.

"We're still solid, still firm on the things that are priorities," Niello said.

Newly sworn-in Assemblyman Dan Logue (R-Linda) sounded a similar note.

"We've got to create wealth, and we've got to grow our way out of trouble, not tax our way out of trouble," Logue said. "Raising taxes will drive more jobs to Nevada."

Some of this could be bravado, and there are a couple legislators who were in close races - Steve Knight in AD-36, Bill Berryhill in AD-36, Tony Strickland in SD-19 - who would, in theory, do well to part ways with ideology and compromise to enhance their chances in the next election. But this would contradict the Iron Law of Institutions - "the people who control institutions care first and foremost about their power within the institution rather than the power of the institution itself." Republicans who give in on the budget will be primaried and feel far more fear from that internal challenge than from the opposition.

The only way to counteract this is to make the challenge from without more vital than the challenge from within, and to make the power inside the institution line up with the power of the institution. It means getting 2/3 and making anyone who rejects the will of the people pay. SEIU has the right idea with their new ad campaign about the budget, playing off of Obama's popularity in the state, and John Burton's curt response to Yacht Party efforts to roll back labor and environmental regulations as payment for a budget solution - "The Republicans are full of crap" - ought to be said a bit more often, maybe in less colorful language, to make clear who is causing this crisis.

I'm not sure any of it will be enough, though. The Yacht Party is still the Yacht Party.