Frustratated at their inability to win the minority votes that needed for passage and eager to show the public that they're trying, members of the majority party this time of year conduct what are known as "budget drills" on the floor of the Assembly and Senate. They are called drills because they are for show only: Everyone knows that the budget bill being debated will fail, so all that really matters is the rhetoric.

During these drills, lawmakers dig deep to come up with statements that have maximum impact, either because of their rhetorical flourish or outrageous content. Each speaker tries to top the one who came before.

The winner in the Assembly on Thursday was freshman Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate. Noting that Democrats had agreed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's request to suspend cost-of-living increases to the aged, blind and disabled recipients of monthly SSI/SSP benefit checks, De La Torre said it had been a very painful decision.

"These are people who make $812 a month," he said. "The governor's ties are worth that much."