My good friend Fresno Mayor Alan Autry takes me to task nearby for having the audacity of asking and answering the question: Is Arnold Schwarzenegger a worse Governor than Gray Davis. Alan goes as far as accusing me of drinking the "kool - aid".

In politics, being a "kool aid" drinker is defined simply as this: defending the indefensible for the sake of Party affiliation. Of course, anyone that knows me knows that I am a leading critic of my own Party, and in fact it is Mayor Autry drinking the Arnold "kool - aid". Arnold's record since 2005 is indefensible.

So you know, Autry accuses me of voting for tax increases such as Measure Z and C. I did not vote for Measure Z, a new local tax to fund our Zoo. In fact, our Lincoln Club opposed that tax. I dd support Measure C, an EXTENSION of a sales tax passed two decades ago to fund local transportation projects. The extension of that tax made sense, as the half completed highways all over our local area bear out.

Autry really doesn't respond to my opinion piece. He cites Arnold's accomplishments of cutting the car tax and reforming WC, as I do, but this was four years ago, in 2004. In fact, since 2005, the Governor has allowed the State's deficit to balloon, he has pissed off his Republican allies in the legislature by ignoring their legislative plans, and in fact, IGNORED his down ticket running mates in 2006 while running up a landslide victory against a weak opponent.

He now has no allies in the Legislature, on either side.

Mayor Autry doesn't refute anything in my piece critical of Arnold. He just points out that the Governor has had good intentions. How courageous! I stand by every word of my critical piece and my conclusion that Arnold is no better than Gray.

Mayor, it is you defending the indefensible, not me. The "kool aid" never got to me sir.