Rep. Darrell Issa fired a shot across the GOP bow Friday night at state Sen. Abel Maldonado, who cast the deciding vote in favor of a budget deal raising taxes.
Starting out by lampooning the Obama administration for appointing Democrats with tax problems to administrative posts, Issa poked fun at Maldonado in a speech at the opening dinner for the California Republican Party's three-day spring convention in Sacramento.
"Do you think Abel will have to pay those taxes now that he is an honorary Democrat?" Issa said. "He is going to go back to private life and discover that yes he does."
Maldonado said in his Senate floor speech that he expected to face "dire consequences" over his vote. But he said he didn't want to see his state's fiscal health "destroyed by partisan stubbornness."
A state party committee Saturday is to consider a resolution to formally censure Maldonado and five other GOP lawmakers who voted for the budget.
Issa, a leader in the party's conservative wing, on Friday endorsed moderate Meg Whitman for government, ending speculation he may galvanize party hard-liners for a gubernatorial run.
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