Well after an insightful discussion on The Capitol Hour this afternoon regarding the merits of continuing to use precious resources on the relatively meaningless position of Lieutenant Governor, Governor Schwarzenegger has made his appointment for the most important useless job in the state. The Governor’s choice for California’s next Lieutenant Governor is Former State Senator from Santa Maria Abel Maldonado.

Sources say that it came down to Maldonado and Dave Cogdill, and we had Cogdill pinned as favorite here. But for the record Maldonado was my initial favorite months ago when it was first determined that Garamendi would be vacating his post.

Schwarzenegger announced the appointment on The Jay Leno Show, but word quickly spread of the groundbreaking appointment. Maldonado will be the highest ranking Latino Republican holding office in modern California history, (there was a Latino governor in the 19th Century and Democrat Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante in 2002).

Now the next step is for both the Assembly and Senate to approve the appointment by absolute majority. This could be a challenge because Maldonado has obviously alienated himself from the rest of the Republicans after being the key vote on several pieces of legislation, most notably on February’s controversial tax-hiking budget. Many Republicans might be willing to forgive him though for the opportunity to have such a high-ranking Latino Republican with the potential run for additional office, but that very potential could worry make some conservative ideologues.

Maldonado will definitely need some Democratic support if he is going to be confirmed. Democrats are probably upset that Schwarzenegger did not appoint a Democrat after a Democrat vacated the seat and they would probably rather just see the seat remain vacant until the next election. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, who is the leading Democrat running for Lieutenant Governor, released a statement shortly after the announcement:

“I don’t know whether being appointed lieutenant governor by Arnold Schwarzenegger is a compliment or a curse,” Florez said in a statement. “It is especially troubling to see the Governor miss out on an opportunity to save taxpayer money by rewarding Sen. Maldonado with a post that could be left open until the next election only months away.”

Florez would certainly be cautious about confirming a moderate Republican as Lieutenant Governor. If Maldonado decides to run in 2010 for Lieutenant Governor, it could be much harder for Florez to face a moderate that could steal centrist votes, than a genuine conservative. As sad as it may be, this purely selfish purpose could be enough to cause Florez to persuade his fellow Senate Democrats support the confirmation.

Still, it is tempting for the Democrats to confirm Maldonado with the hope that they will be able to steal his 15th Senate District seat. That would give them 26 votes in the Senate, just one shy of the 2/3 majority required to pass the budget. In all likelihood they would be facing Blakeslee on the Republican ticket, and with all of his leader money and name recognition he would definitely be a formidable opponent.

The final and perhaps most important question would be if Maldonado will now throw his name in the 2010 Lieutenant Governor race. Already in the race are Jeff Denham and Sam Aanestad; as the incumbent, this appointment would definitely give Maldonado a leg up in the race, but is he the favorite? Perhaps in the general election, but it will be tough for him to get out of the primary with two bona fide conservatives in the primary against him. Or maybe it would help him get out of the primary as Denham and Aanestad split the conservative vote and Maldonado cruises to victory with the support of more moderate Republicans. It may be an accepted norm that Republicans do not challenge incumbents, but this is a special circumstance because the incumbent was appointed and not elected.

The legislature has 90 days to confirm the appointment and with Christmas approaching, I get the feeling that the votes will occur later rather than sooner. The deadline is February 22, so a lot can happen between now and then.