he continuing summer budget showdown is nothing new under the Capitol dome in Sacramento. What is new, however, is the ability of politicians and citizens alike to express their ideas and make their cases through the blogosphere.

Last year, the blogs were utilized in unprecedented ways, with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle touting the party line on respective spending plans. Democratic leaders and advisors even suggested that the stalemate that lasted into August was due to Senate Republicans paying too much attention to the conservative blogosphere.

As of press time and this publication’s dateline, the budget is already 18 days past the first day of the fiscal year.

For better or worse, the blogs on both sides appear ready for another long fight this year. Conservative blogs have bemoaned proposals for increased taxes and spending; liberal Web sites have accused the legislative Republicans and Gov. Schwarzenegger of shortchanging important programs.

Political wonk and capital staffer Craig DeLuz, editor of the “Red County Sacramento” blog (www.redcounty.com/sac), has regularly attacked the Democratic budget proposals.

“Their proposal represented the same old ‘tax the rich’ class warfare and yet another dramatic tax increase on the highest taxed employers in the country,” he wrote.

Not surprisingly, “The California Majority Report” (www.camajorityreport.com), authored by several Democratic staffers and consultants, had a different opinion.

“The plan rejects the governor’s deep cuts in education and health care and includes $9.7 billion in new revenue, which is $2.7 billion more in new revenue than what the governor proposed,” read the blog. “The Conference Committee budget is a balanced approach. It closes tax loopholes and rolls back tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy and cracks down on tax cheats.”

Despite the seemingly complex nature of the budget, debate on the blogs has not been limited to those persons with direct involvement. “Dr. Tax in Sacramento” was startled on his blog (drtaxsacto.blogspot.com) when he discovered that despite the budget deficit, the number of persons working for the state increased during the last fiscal year.

“Can you think of any other enterprise where they face a shortfall in double digits where the number of employees would increase almost six percent?” he asked. “Neither can I.”

Once again, however, a liberal blog has a response arguing that there is not a spending problem but a revenue problem.

“The fact is that if we are to finally end 30 years of budget crisis, we have to find new revenues. The notion that any new taxes cripple economic growth is absurd—both California and the federal government hiked taxes between 1990 and 1993 and it didn’t prevent the 1990s economic boom,” wrote “Robert in Monterrey” on the “Calitics” blog (www.calitics.com).

As this year’s budget season begins to heat up with the weather, the blogs are once again taking over the helm of the dispute. Just as was the case last year, the key to what kind of budget is passed – and how long it takes – may be in the hands of the new media, as citizens use blogs to communicate to their lawmakers and the policymakers respond in the same form.