Mike Villines, the Assembly GOP leader from of Clovis, got some national publicity today from the Wall Street Journal.

In a story titled "Top California GOP Legislator Holds the Line on Taxes," Villines is portrayed as "the most influential Republican legislator" in California.

The story highlights Villines's well-known distaste for new taxes and his opposition to major parts of Gov. Schwarzenegger's plan to close the state's gaping budget hole.

"I tell my members, 'We're the only line holding back taxes,'" Villines says in the article. "If we fall, the floodgates will open."

Republicans have long come under fire from Democrats for opposing taxes but not offering real solutions in their place.

In the WSJ story, Karen Bass, the Democratic Speaker of the lower house says of Villines:

"He is a very respectful, pleasant man. We disagree, but we are not disagreeable."

Earlier this year, Villines earned praise from the Journal's conservative editorial page for his opposition to governor's tax proposal. Since then, the state's finances have deteriorated, forcing lawmakers back to Sacramento for an unusual mid-year budget session.

Villines and Dave Cogdill, the Modesto Republican who leads the GOP in the state Senate, will probably find it harder to resist tax hikes this time around. Already, at least one of their members, Sen. Bob Margett, R-Arcadia, has suggested he might be willing to vote for new taxes.