It's been the worst-kept secret in Sacramento for weeks (months?), but now it's not even that. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed last night that he will call a special election for this November and will issue the proclamation on Monday. He let the very obvious cat out the bag during informal comments to cartoonists from around the nation gathered in Sacramento for their annual convention.

(San Francisco Chronicle) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's push for a special election has fired up California conservatives to such an extent that a retreat now could be devastating to the governor's political future and to his party, Republican grassroots activists and conservative leaders warn.

"There's no turning back," said Thomas Del Becarro, chair of the Contra Costa County GOP and publisher of PoliticalVanguard.com, a conservative news and commentary Web site. "At this point, the momentum for reform continues to build, and the grassroots' hearts and minds are into this election -- as much as it was for the recall."

"If it doesn't happen, the governor has a credibility issue," agreed Jon Fleischman, a GOP campaign strategist and publisher of the Flashreport, a roundup on California politics. "The soldiers are wanting to be deployed -- and if the governor calls the retreat, that demoralizes the soldiers."