Kaloogian: Declare Defeat and Call Off the Lawyers!

Former State Rep. and uber-Republican Howard Kaloogian has published an op-ed that excoriates California legislators and regulators and that gives a tip 'o the hat to the Supreme Court for its recent decision which basically exonerated energy producers from any wrongdoing in the California energy crisis.

Kaloogian argues that the Deregulation bill was fatally flawed and that regulators only made it worse by creating a system that was easily played to advantage by power producers. He now calls for a formal cease fire:

"The Supreme Court has sent a message. California citizens have the right to expect even better: Stop the war on energy producers. Declare victory and go home. Re-deploy California's private army of $700 an hour lawyers who have frittered away tens of millions of dollars in pursuit of this now hopeless legal endeavor."

In the fifth paragraph, Kaloogian admits to (as an Assemblyman) having voted for the bill he now pillories (a kind of John Kerry-esque, "I voted for it before I voted against it" mea culpa), which, when combined with his history of hardball politics, should add some amount of context to this piece.

Energy crisis message is loud and clear [Huffington Post]