Midnight moves

Republicans in Sacramento have little in the way of power, and so they're lashing out like cornered animals during these tense budget negotiations.

The Los Angeles Times reports that shortly after midnight this morning, Senate Republicans tossed out leader Dave Cogdill of Modesto and chose anti-taxman Dennis Hollingsworth of Murrieta to lead the caucus. It's too early to tell whether this dooms the messy budget proposal to close a $42 billion deficit - or even helps it.

The Senate had essentially locked itself in chambers yesterday to get the budget passes, which led to this little tidbit:

The frenetic day had begun with legislators carting sleeping bags, pillows and suitcases to work. Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) brought a bottle of cologne.