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Davis Tries to Rally Support for Budget Sounding what has become a theme of his efforts to sell his budget solution, Davis again challenged Republicans to abandon their opposition to tax increases. "Give us ideas to help break the impasse and move this toward a plan that allows the state to go forward," Davis said to applause during the 90-minute meeting, broadcast live in the Sacramento area. "That doesn't mean you abandon your principles. It means you recognize why you were hired. You were hired by the people of this state to do your best to get a two-thirds vote to pass the budget." Davis and five other panelists faced questioning from Jennings and the audience. The event was the latest in a flurry of appearances by Davis to sell his solutions for the state fiscal crisis. In recent days, Davis has lobbied newspaper editorial boards and held news conferences intended to build public support for his proposed solution to the state's projected $38.2-billion budget shortfall. Aides have fanned out across the state to deliver similar messages, hoping that constituents will be persuaded and will help them put pressure on the Legislature to act. At the town hall meeting, which was organized by ABC News and its Sacramento affiliate, the Democratic governor talked about how his budget would protect public education. The broad range of audience questions and positions voiced by Davis and state Sen. Rico Oller (R-San Andreas) framed the competing perspectives at play in the debate. One questioner after another made a case for funding a state service that was important to him or her: community colleges, health care, public schools, programs for the disabled, care for crime victims. Oller staked out the Republican legislative position in unyielding terms: no new taxes under any circumstances. And, responding to a plea against certain cuts, he warned: "I don't think there are a lot of oxes that aren't gored when this is all done." Oller later added: "There is no inherent virtue in compromise unless it achieves a quality result, and we are not achieving a quality result at the Capitol." Political opponents of Davis marched outside the historic Guild Theater in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood, demanding the governor's removal from office for allegedly mismanaging state finances. To the discomfort of Davis aides, Jennings began by asking the governor about the recall drive. The shouted chants of recall supporters were faintly audible to some in the audience: "Corrupt! Dishonest! Dump Davis now!" But, reflecting the seemingly slow pace of the recall campaign's attempt to gather nearly 900,000 signatures by September to put the issue to a statewide vote, the massive anti-Davis rally promised by recall supporters attracted dozens, not hundreds. Other protesters included people dependent on state services who marched back and forth outside the theater, chanting: "No more cuts!" Davis just won reelection in November and the constitution prevents him from seeking a third term as governor. Still, there is a campaign quality to his recent events, aides concede, and the aim is to win votes — in the Legislature. "It's an attempt to drum up support for the budget and get people outside the Capitol to put some pressure on the Legislature to get the job done," said Steven Maviglio, Davis' press secretary.
The ultimate success of Davis' efforts remains in question. Even senior Davis aides acknowledge that the governor's ability to pressure lawmakers is limited by his unpopularity and lack of political capital. And Republicans
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