California in the Bathtub

Radical 'conservative' activist Grover Norquist is infamous for a widely-quoted comment that he wanted to shrink government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

Just in case you were wondering what that might look like:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Chances of a quick resolution to California's budget stalemate appeared to fade Wednesday after Senate Republican holdouts ousted their leader in a midnight coup and promised to resist tax increases that GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says are needed to close a $42 billion deficit.

The Democrat-controlled Legislature appears to need just one more GOP vote in the Senate to reach the two-thirds majority it needs to get the budget to the governor's desk, but that vote may prove impossible to get.

''We don't want to see taxes increased, increasing the tax burden on Californians,'' Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, said Wednesday, hours after he replaced Modesto Sen. Dave Cogdill as Senate minority leader.

The proposal that has been before lawmakers since late last week would use spending cuts, borrowing and $14.4 billion in tax increases to close a projected $42 billion budget deficit through June 2010. As tax revenue has plunged, refund checks to taxpayers have been delayed, payments to state vendors have stopped and the state's credit rating has deteriorated to the worst in the nation, preventing borrowing.

With full support from Democrats, the bill needs three GOP votes in each house to pass. But many Republicans in the Legislature have signed a pledge against raising taxes and have decided to stick to it, even though they have not come up with a plan to close the entire deficit with cuts.