Dem governors plot cautious path
 
Election Day 2010 will not go down as a great day for Democrats. But almost lost amidst the staggering GOP landslide — including a gain of 10 governorships — were significant Democratic gubernatorial victories in states like California, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maryland. Now those governors, old and new, are looking ahead with a cautious eye at a landscape fraught with historic challenges.
 
Without question, the biggest of those challenges remains the sluggish economy. All four of the states mentioned above face large budget gaps, led by California, which Legislative Analyst Office director Mac Taylor last week estimated at over $25 billion. It won't get better any time soon, either: Taylor said California will face annual budget shortfalls reaching $20 billion each year through 2015-16. 
 
Gov.-elect Jerry Brown (D) was briefed on California's fiscal mess prior to the LAO's report, saying the situation was "as bad as you could imagine." 
 
The fixes will not come easy. Although voters approved a ballot measure (Prop. 25) that allows lawmakers to pass a budget with a simple majority vote, those very same voters endorsed another measure (Prop.26) that requires tax and fee hikes to receive two-thirds Legislative approval. Another measure (Prop 22) bars lawmakers from taking transportation and local government funds to put toward filling General Fund budget holes. Republican lawmakers have also indicated they will resist any attempt to raise taxes. 
 
Taylor noted that those realities leave lawmakers in a position that is "going to be much, much more difficult than last year." Taylor further asserted that all possible remedies for fixing the state's structural deficit - including tax hikes - must be on the table "if we're going to have a chance of closing this in a realistic way." 
 
That adds up to an instant headache for Brown, who avoided offering specifics for fixing the state's chronic budget problems during his campaign, but vowed repeatedly that he would only support tax increases if they are approved by voters. Brown indicated he would likely call a special election next March if he and lawmakers can't reach a consensus on closing the budget gap. He was on vacation last week when the LAO report was released, but a spokesperson said he was aware of the new budget numbers and would be "diving deep" into the process immediately upon his return. 
 
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) also avoided specifics during his successful re-election campaign, speaking in mostly abstract terms of "moving Maryland forward" and preparing for the "new economy," a concept that includes more government efficiency, clean energy, better access to schools and programs to reduce pollution. He was also careful about making expensive promises, focusing instead on closing the state's looming $1.6 billion budget gap. 
 
But O'Malley is also sure to face strong pressure from key supporters who expect him to stand up for their core agendas. That will likely include a push from health advocates for increasing the state alcohol tax to fund anti-substance abuse programs and other health care initiatives, and public employee unions looking to avoid more rounds of state worker furloughs. Education advocates also expect him to find a way to maintain K-12 funding for the state's No. 1 ranked public school system, amidst dramatic reductions in school construction funding. 
 
For recently re-elected Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), the next four years have already started on a good foot if for no other reason than he has developed a more collegial relationship with lawmakers. During the early days of his administration, Patrick openly feuded with then-legislative leaders House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi (D) and Senate President Robert Travaglini (D), both of whom are long gone. Patrick says he has a much friendlier relationship with current House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D) and Senate President Therese Murray (D). 
 
Patrick also acknowledges that he was overly sensitive to criticism when he first came onto the job, making it tough to manage the push and pull of the office. He says he now "knows how the office works" and that his idealism has become tempered with pragmatism and realism. 
 
But Patrick has also not abandoned his mostly progressive agenda. He too has been noticeably devoid of specifics about the future, but he has broadly indicated his desire to focus on job creation through growing the Bay State's alternative-energy industry and aligning the missions of community colleges with workforce needs in their regions. He also wants to address rising health care costs by moving toward a "global payment" system. One thing he won't spend a lot of time or political capital on, he says, is growing the state's casino gambling industry. 
 
"I still think a limited expansion of gaming, in the destination-resort setting, is good for Massachusetts," Patrick said. "But I've got some other stuff I want to move on." 
 
Connecticut Gov.-elect Tom Malloy (D) could conceivably have his own intra-party troubles to deal with as he becomes the Constitution State's first Democratic governor in 20 years. Malloy is considered to be a moderate, particularly on fiscal issues, and has been vocal in his belief the state should adopt generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the formulation of its new two-year budget. Doing so, he says, would present voters with an honest picture of the state's fiscal condition, which currently includes a $3.4 billion budget gap. 
 
But adopting the GAAP may also not endear him to the Democrat-dominated Legisalture, which would have to forgo the looser accounting system that has masked the seriousness of the state's financial problems. Malloy also plans to reduce the number of state agencies, and thus the number of state workers. He also is expected to address increases in the costs of state employee benefits and the retiree pension obligations critics call unsustainable, all tough calls given how much of his campaign support came from labor unions. 
 
Regardless of the political and fiscal scars of the enduring economic downturn and a bitter and bruising election, O'Malley says he and other governors are trying to remain optimistic that better times will eventually return. 
 
"The mission is the same," O'Malley said prior to the election's windup. "What I hope will be different is the waters are less stormy and the winds of an economic comeback are in our sails." (WASHINGTON POST, HARTFORD COURANT, THE DAY [DOVER], BOSTON GLOBE, PRESS-ENTERPRISE [RIVERSIDE], SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, SACRAMENTO BEE)

GOP gains overwhelming redistricting advantage
 
Republican victories in statehouse and governors' races across the country on Election Day will give the party control over the vast majority of state governments and, consequently, next year's legislative redistricting process. Republicans will now control both chambers in the three states where the legislature adopts redistricting plans: Florida, Michigan and North Carolina (although Florida's plan has to be approved by the state supreme court). And of the 31 states where both the legislature and the governor have a say in the process, the GOP will control both the statehouse and the governor's mansion in 13, while the Democrats will control both branches of the government in only seven. Ten of the other states will be split between the two parties, with control of Oregon's Legislature still undecided.

STATES MAY REIN IN HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL: Republicans swept to power in the U.S. House last Tuesday on promises of rolling back President Obama's health care overhaul. But it may be state legislatures, rather than Congress, that determine the fate of the new law. 
 
With Democrats still in control of the U.S. Senate and Obama in the White House, House Republicans aren't likely to be able to change much from Washington. But in the states, where Republicans won control last week of at least 11 governors' offices and an equal number of state legislatures, on top of the 14 they already led, the GOP will be in a position to pressure the White House to scale back its health care reform plans. 
 
"While there are some important decisions still to be made in Washington, the real action is out in the states," said Alan Weil, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. 
 
That action includes Minnesota's and Rhode Island's rejection of bills to create insurance exchanges in accordance with the health care law and the multistate challenge to the law on the constitutional grounds that the federal government can't force Americans to buy insurance. The GOP governors-elect of Kansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Wyoming have indicated they intend to join the 21 states that are already part of that suit. 
 
Some health care experts working with states, however, say even the most critical GOP officials are likely to implement the law. Even states that are challenging it in court, including Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada and Virginia, have created task forces to implement the health care reforms. 
 
"If I had been a member of Congress, I would have voted against the law," said James Donelon, Louisiana's Insurance Commissioner. "But it's the law, and we will comply with it until and unless the courts or Congress change it." 
 
Another incentive for Republican officials is that the health care law authorizes federal officials to operate insurance exchanges in any states that choose not to create their own. 
 
"Having the federal government march in" isn't an appealing prospect for many state leaders, said Timothy Jost, a professor of health law at Washington & Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. 
 
Still, analysts predict many states are likely to try to slow down the major expansion of the Medicaid program mandated by the law, despite the fact that the federal government will provide most of the new funding it requires, because it will be difficult for them to shoulder any cost increase in the program. 
 
"This recession was so big and broad and wide that it will have repercussions for a decade or more," said Ray Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association. 
 
States may also resist efforts to expand state regulation of insurance premiums, one of the main goals of the health care law. Bills aimed at doing so were recently rejected in California and Pennsylvania. 
 
Some states may petition the Obama administration to delay new regulations requiring insurance companies to spend more on their customers' medical care as well. Maine has made such a request, fearing the requirement will force insurers to flee the state and leave consumers with fewer choices. (LOS ANGELES TIMES) 
 
BUDGETS IN BRIEF: CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said last week that he intends to call a special session for Dec. 6 to address the state's $6.1 billion current-year deficit. That news came a day after the state's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office said the state is facing a $25.4 billion deficit through 2012, twice what legislative leaders had previously predicted (SACRAMENTO BEE). • MARYLAND lawmakers will face a $1.6 billion budget shortfall when they return to Annapolis next year. Analysts attribute the deficit to the rising costs of Medicaid and other state-funded assistance programs, which have outpaced an uptick in revenue (BALTIMORE SUN). • ARKANSAS Gov. Mike Beebe (D) will ask lawmakers to cut an additional one-half percent from the state sales tax on groceries next year, a spokesman said last week. Since taking office in 2007, the Legislature has cut the grocery tax from 6 percent to 2 percent at the governor's behest (ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU [LITTLE ROCK]). • The Obama's administration officially informed OHIO Gov.-elect John Kasich (R) that if the state doesn't use $400 million in federal stimulus money allocated for a high-speed passenger rail system, it can't use the money for anything else. Kasich had sought permission to repurpose the $400 million for highway infrastructure or freight rail improvements (COLUMBUS DISPATCH). • Having expanded their majority in the KANSAS House last week from 76-49 to 92-33, Republicans may attempt to repeal the sales tax approved by a bi-partisan coalition comprised mostly of Democrats last session. Rep. Owen Donohoe (R) said he was contacting his fellow Republican House members to gauge their thoughts on the subject (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD).

RED WAVE SKIRTS MA: After Scott Brown rode the tea party wave earlier this year to claim the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts that had been held by the Democrats since 1953, the state's Republicans hoped the upset was a sign their longstanding status as the decided minority party might be about to change. But the surge in Republican voting that swept the GOP into power in over a dozen previously Democratic states last week — including nearby Maine and New Hampshire — missed the Bay State almost entirely. 
 
The GOP does look to have picked up 17 seats in the state's House. But that will only give the Party a total of 32 seats in the 160-member chamber. And along with giving up a seat in the Senate, the Republicans also lost every statewide elective office, including that of attorney general, to incumbent Martha Coakley, the Democrat whom Scott Brown embarrassed in January. 
 
Democrats attribute their success in part to the fact that they learned from the Brown-Coakley Senate race, waging an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign that appears to have been rewarded by high turnout rates in Democratic strongholds like Boston. Another factor, they said, was the relatively decent condition of the state's economy. 
 
"When people started really looking at Massachusetts as a state, they realized that we're doing better than most of the rest of the country," said Sen. Karen Spilka (D). 
 
There were other states, however, where Democrats worked equally hard and had the benefit of an okay economy, but still suffered a shellacking. Some Republicans seem to believe Scott Brown's victory was an anomaly, which resulted from an unlikely confluence of forces, including an influx of national money and attention, due to the historic significance of the Kennedy seat and the absence of any other major election elsewhere in the country at the time. 
 
"In order for a Republican to win in Massachusetts in any office, everything has to go just about perfectly," said Jim McKenna, who lost to Coakley in the attorney general race by a wide margin. 
 
But other Republicans in the state saw the silver lining. 
 
"Statewide, everyone was pretty dejected," said Jim Lang, who worked on a number of state GOP campaigns. "But the feeling is that we're ready to reconstruct now. We have an organization now that kind of didn't exist before Scott Brown." (STATELINE.ORG) 
 
FEWER FEMALE STATE LEGISLATORS NEXT YEAR: This election year was not a banner one for women in state legislative office. As a result of the Nov. 2 elections, fewer women will be serving as legislators next year: 23.3 percent of the 7,382 total nationwide, down from the current 24.5 percent, according to recent studies by Rutgers University and the National Conference of State Legislatures. The number of women among Kansas' 165 lawmakers, for instance, will drop from 50 to 46. 
 
Missouri, however, was one state that bucked the national trend. The number of women in that state's 197-member Legislature will increase by two next year, from 44 to 46. 
 
Missouri Sen. Jolie Justus (D) said it was too early to know why her state's number held steady but, in her view, more women are needed, not less. 
 
"I'm just a firm believer if you don't have a seat at the table you're probably on the menu. That goes for any group," she said. "You need to have a statehouse that reflects the population of the state." 
 
Kansas Rep. Pat Colloton, a Leawood Republican, had no explanation for the decline of women in her state either. 
 
"There certainly does seem to be an increased number of women coming forward nationally," she said. "But I just can't explain why it's dropped in the statehouse." (COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE) 
 
POLITICS IN BRIEF: GOP lawmakers in TEXAS flexed their new muscle last week, showcasing an agenda on the first day to file legislation for next year's session that included creating an Arizona-type immigration law, further restricting abortion, allowing guns on campus and requiring voters to present ID at the polls. Although the issues must contend with lawmakers' biggest task beginning Jan. 11, the budget, the lineup has a good chance of passing with Republican supermajorities in both the House and Senate (DALLAS MORNING NEWS). • Fresh off its success in the Nov. 2 elections, the GEORGIA House Republican caucus elected a new majority leader last week, Rep. Larry O'Neal, and grew by another member when Democratic Rep. Alan Powell switched parties. The chamber's GOP caucus now stands at 109 members, the most ever (ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION). • Official results in two key races that were too close to call on election night will allow IOWA Democrats to retain control of the state Senate next year. Election results certified last Tuesday gave Democrat Tod Bowman a 71-vote win and Republican Mark Chelgren a 12-vote win, giving Senate Democrats a slim 26-24 majority (DES MOINES REGISTER). • Rumors have been swirling around Santa Fe that Rep. Joe Cervantes (D) is about to challenge NEW MEXICO House Speaker Ben Luj~n (D) for his job, possibly with the help of Republicans, who gained eight seats in the chamber in last week's election, reducing their minority gap to 37-33. Luj~n's leadership position was weakened in last June's primary, when an unknown, underfunded political newcomer, Carl Trujillo, lost to the veteran politician by less than 90 votes (SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN). • Tea party supporters and gun rights advocates are aggressively lobbying for TENNESSEE Rep. Glen Casada (R) in his emerging contest with the more moderate Rep. Beth Harwell (R) for the House speakership. Conservative activists said Casada has taken firmer stands on issues like guns in parks and state taxes than the more moderate Harwell (TENNESSEAN [NASHVILLE]). • Democratic PENNSYLVANIA House Speaker Keith McCall has called his chamber into special session this week to vote on an unfinished pension reform bill. The lame duck session will be the last chance for Democrats to pass the legislation before newly elected Republicans take over both the Legislature and the governor's office (STATELINE.ORG). • OREGON Democrats appear to have held on to a two-seat (16-14) majority over Republicans in the state Senate, with a pair of still pending races looking to have been split between the two parties. The House will be divided between the parties 30-30 (OREGONIAN [PORTLAND]).

PARNELL OVERHAULS PIPELINE TEAM: One day after winning election to a full term of his own, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) asked for resignations from all 14 state commissioners, saying he was looking for fresh leadership. The purge didn't stop there, either. Deputy commissioners and division directors who work under them were also asked to submit their resignations by last Friday. 
 
The shakeup has immediate ramifications for the multibillion-dollar North Slope gas project launched by Parnell's predecessor, former Gov. Sarah Palin (R), who resigned midway through her only term in office. Three of the half dozen officials who resigned last week, including state Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin and Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin, were top members of the 19-person gas pipeline team. Irwin's deputy commissioner, Marty Rutherford, who led the team, resigned earlier in the week. He was considered a key architect of the state's Alaska Gasline Inducement Act policy.  
 
Observers interpreted the speed of Parnell's request as a signal that he is shifting course on the Last Frontier's gas pipeline and petroleum tax policies. He said he wants new leaders on the pipeline project to help push it to "the next level" by working with lawmakers to hammer out a policy for taxing the oil the project is expected to produce. The current taxation policy — a "progressivity" formula that pushes tax rates higher as oil prices rise — has drawn sharp criticism from industry leaders like Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips and BP, who argue that the rate is so high it discourages new investment and has contributed to a broad decline in oil and gas activity in the state. They say they won't commit to the project until they are certain how they will be taxed. 
 
Parnell said he will name all of his new commissioners and deputy commissioners by Dec. 6, when he begins his new four-year term. (ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS, ALASKA JOURNAL OF COMMERCE [ANCHORAGE]) 
 
NM GOV SAYS NO TO AZ IMMIGRATION LAW: New Mexico Gov.-elect Susana Martinez (R) said last week that she does not support immigration legislation similar to Arizona's controversial SB 1070 in her state. That measure, currently undergoing a legal challenge, requires police to determine a suspect's immigration status if the person is stopped and there is a "reasonable suspicion" the person is in the USA illegally. 
 
Martinez said she will seek to repeal current state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain a driver's license.  
 
"Around 80 percent of people in New Mexico don't want the people who are here illegally to have a driver's license. They want to ensure that those who get licenses are from the United States," Martinez told the Spanish language broadcast network Univision.  
 
Lawmakers in more than two dozen states are expected to introduce bills similar to AZ SB 1070 this coming session. Portions of the law have been blocked by a federal court. The state is appealing that decision. (USA TODAY) 
 
CHRISTIE DRAWS FIRE OVER HOTEL STAYS: A U.S. Justice Department report released last week indicated that former federal prosecutor and current New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was one of five U.S. attorneys that routinely overcharged taxpayers for hotel stays. The report noted five attorneys that "exhibited a noteworthy pattern of exceeding the government rate and whose travel documentation provided insufficient, inaccurate or no justification for the higher lodging rates." Although Christie was not directly identified as one of the five, the travel patterns of an official called "U.S. Attorney C," who was also identified as the one "who most often exceeded the government rate without adequate justification" in terms of percentage of travel, match public records about Christie. Those records were released by former Gov. Jon Corzine (D), who lost to Christie in 2009.  
 
The report says Christie regularly stayed in hotels costing approximately $450 per night, although the acceptable government rate is only $233 nightly. Christie got around the limitation by using a loophole that allows for staying in higher priced accommodations if there are rooms at the government rate are not available. However, the report said Christie often stayed at the higher priced hotels not because government-rate hotels were not available, but because he personally deemed them unacceptable. In all, the report accused Christie of overcharging taxpayers by approximately $2,100.  
 
The report also noted that Christie often used expensive car services in lieu of taxicabs when traveling to and from his hotel and the airport. (NEW YORK TIMES) 
 
GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (R) rejected WISCONSIN Gov.-elect Scott Walker's (R) request that $810 million in federal funds currently marked for high speed rail projects be committed to other transportation infrastructure projects. LaHood said those funds would be given instead to other states to support their high speed rail plans. LaHood gave the same answer to OHIO Gov.-elect John Kasich (R), who has said he also plans to kill a federally-subsidized rail project in the Buckeye State (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL). • NEW YORK Gov. David Paterson (D) released the draft of a plan to cut the Empire State's greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. The plan, which is now in a 90-day public commentary period, calls for doubling the state's sources of renewable energy by 2030. It would also establish strict efficiency standards for all buildings, shift private transportation toward electric vehicles and support the creation of jobs in research on energy technology and in clean energy industries (NEW YORK TIMES). • VIRGINIA Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) hired a consulting company to find new options for the Old Dominion to privatize the liquor business and to provide an independent accounting of what such a change could mean for the state's budget. McDonnell proposed a plan in early September, but lawmakers and others vested in the current system balked (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH).

BUSINESS: The MICHIGAN Liquor Control Commission bars the sale of more than 55 energy drinks that contain caffeine or other stimulants and alcohol. The ban, the first of its kind in the nation, reverses an earlier decision to allow the drinks. Officials, who said the safety of the drinks has not been determined, gave manufacturers of the beverages 30 days to remove them from store shelves. At least one of the drink makers has said it will seek to overturn the ban in court (DETROIT FREE PRESS). • Citing a recent spate of illnesses associated with caffeinated alcohol drinks, the WASHINGTON State Liquor Control Board makes the Evergreen State the second to bar the sale of energy drinks that contain alcohol. The ban takes effect Nov. 18 and is valid for 120 days. State lawmakers are expected to pursue a permanent ban in the coming legislative session (COLUMBIAN [VANCOUVER]). • Back in MICHIGAN, lawmakers approve HB 6224, legislation that will allow Wolverine State retailers, bars and restaurants to sell alcohol on Sundays starting at 7:00 am. Current law prohibits Sunday liquor sales before noon. The measure goes to Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), who has said she will sign it (DETROIT FREE PRESS). • The NEW JERSEY Senate Labor Committee endorses SB 1791, which would bar employers from running credit checks on most current or potential employees. The measure, which would allow checks on workers that handle money or other financial matters, is now with the full Senate (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]). • Still in NEW JERSEY, an Assembly panel endorses AB 2612/SB 1866, legislation that would allow the construction of casinos with as few as 200 rooms. Current state law requires new casinos to have a minimum of 500 rooms. The bill moves to the full Assembly (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]). • Also in NEW JERSEY, the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee approves AB 3433, which would prohibit terms and conditions in a consumer contract that require the dispute to be resolved in a venue, forum or jurisdiction outside the Garden State. The Committee also approves AB 3434, which adds factors a court can consider in determining if an arbitration agreement has terms that are "unconscionable." Finally, the Committee endorses AB 3435, which regulates arbitration organizations. All three bills now go before the full Assembly (NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM) 
 
CRIME & PUNISHMENT: A CALIFORNIA court rules that a law barring registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or play area is unconstitutional. The judge said the law force offenders to either become homeless or go to jail. State officials plan to appeal the ruling (LOS ANGELES TIMES). • The INDIANA Court of Appeals rules that Hoosier State police officers are constitutionally authorized to open and search a locked glove box inside a vehicle without a warrant following a traffic stop if they believe their safety could be in danger. The court's decision came in the case of a traffic stop on a person who was then identified as a suspect in a homicide (NORTHWEST INDIANA TIMES [MUNSTER]).  
 
EDUCATION: The IOWA Supreme Court rules that release forms signed by parents waiving personal injury claims as a condition of their child's participation in school field trips violate public policy and are unenforceable. The court said "protecting children must trump any competing interest" to nullify a child's personal injury claim (QUAD CITY TIMES [DAVENPORT]).  
 
ENVIRONMENT: The federal Environmental Protection Agency issues guidelines regulating carbon dioxide emissions from large industrial facilities that give states wide latitude to determine on a case-by-case basis the "best available" pollution control technology that industrial facilities could use. The nation's largest emitters of greenhouse gases have until Jan. 2, 2011 to show state regulators how they plan to curb such emissions when they build new facilities or make major changes in existing facilities (LOS ANGELES TIMES).  
 
HEALTH & SCIENCE: The NEW JERSEY Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee and Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizen Committee each endorse proposals (ACR 15 and SCR 130) to reject rules for the state's new medical marijuana program released by the Department of Health and Senior Services last month. Lawmakers in both chambers said the rules are more restrictive than the law was intended to be. The measures now go before their respective full chambers (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER). • The federal Centers for Disease Control releases a report that estimates 49.9 million Americans are not covered by health insurance, the highest total in U.S. history. The CDC said that total is a 4 million person increase since 2008 (USA TODAY).  
 
SOCIAL POLICY: A federal judge issues a temporary restraining order to block a new voter-approved amendment to the OKLAHOMA constitution that would prohibit state courts from considering international or Islamic law when deciding cases. Voters endorsed a ballot measure (Question 755) on Election Day. The judge's ruling came in response to a suit filed by a Muslim man who says the law stigmatizes his religion. The judge set another hearing for Nov. 22 (ASSOCIATED PRESS).

OUT AT THE PLATE: In Massachusetts, the best rides these days sport a special Boston Red Sox vanity license plate. The coolest of the cool have an ultra low number, preferably a single digit. So preferable, in fact, that Hollywood heartthrob and rabid Red Sox fan Ben Affleck dropped $50,000 a few years back for the coveted RS 1 plate. But when it comes to actually getting the plate you want, Big Ben would have saved a few bucks if he had just been related to former Rep. Karyn Polito, who carried the bill that authorized the plates. As the Boston Globe reports, an amazing 68 of the first 100 highly sought plates went to Polito's family, friends and campaign donors. Polito deflected the issue during her recent campaign for Treasurer, in which she vowed to end the "culture of corruption" on Beacon Hill. Alas, her opponent noted the irony for her. Polito lost. 
 
AN HONEST MAN: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a movie career out of playing tough guys who don't take guff from anyone. But in real life, "the Governator" knows who's boss. As the Sacramento Bee reports, during a recent visit to the Tonight Show, Schwarzenegger deferred when asked by host Jay Leno who he voted for on Nov. 2, saying that was a private matter that was "between myself and the person Maria tells me to vote for." That of course would be First Lady Maria Shriver. Husbands everywhere nodded right along.  
 
GOVERNOR MICROBREW: Nobody was happier to see former Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper win the Colorado governorship than the folks at Denver's Wynkoop Brewery Company, which Hickenlooper co-founded back in 1998. To celebrate, the brewery is crafting a beer in the Gov.-elect's honor. As the Denver Post reports, names under consideration have so far been mostly mundane: "Hickenlager" and "Hickenweizen." But Post reporter Tim Hoover has a few more clever offerings of his own, including: "Run-out-the-clock Bock," "Goodbye Ritter Bitter," "I'm an Out-cider," "Sanctuary City Stout" and "Light-on-specifics Lager." What, no "Ale-ing Economy?" Right. We won't quit our day jobs.  
 
BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A LINE? Former President George W. Bush has a new book out. As with all tomes of the sort, it has plenty of filtered memories, deflections and reflections. One regards the now notorious "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" kudos Bush bestowed upon then-FEMA chief Mike Brown in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. As the Montgomery Advertiser reports, Bush now says he got that line directly from Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, who had privately lauded Brown to the president. Bush said he wanted to give his embattled FEMA chief a boost and had no idea it would become "an infamous entry into the political lexicon." Unfortunately for Bush, that is exactly what happened, earning criticism that endures to this day. While Bush weathered the bad press without publicly throwing Riley under the bus, aides say he often good-naturedly reminded the governor that "I was only repeating what you said."  
 
I AM NOT A CANDIDATE: It's hard to fathom given that one election just wrapped up, but a lot of folks are already full steam ahead on the 2012 election cycle. First and foremost are Republicans seeking the right to challenge President Barack Obama. Given the hype generated in years past by the success of candidate Obama's books, it should be no surprise that several presidential wannabes are following suit this year. Case in point, potential 2012 candidates Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have new books out extolling their own wonderfulness. As the Advocate of Baton Rouge notes, Jindal barely even mentions the state he governs, focusing instead on how he would fix the federal government. Ditto for Perry. But hey, both promise they are not running for president! No word if they added a wink and a "You betcha!"