Newsletter: Essential Politics: Can Congress reach a drought compromise before leaving town?

I’m Christina Bellantoni, the Essential Politics host, joined by Sacramento bureau chief John Myers.

The week begins with the ink drying on a major climate deal and Congress racing to fund the government before lawmakers get out of town for the holidays.

Funding to address California’s drought is a major sticking point in the federal spending bill. Sarah Wire found the volleys over water language continued as the Republicans in the state's delegation are blaming Sen. Dianne Feinstein for not supporting their bid to insert a GOP plan into the must-pass spending bill.

Feinstein’s staff said negotiations were still ongoing when Republican members put the plan forward without approval from the rest of the delegation or stakeholders and interest groups back home. GOP aides say timing is crucial so California can figure out a plan to capture water from El Niño.

The House and Senate are expected to leave town by the middle of next week. The dwindling days, and frustration from both sides, have diminished that chance a drought proposal could pass by the end of the year.

The United Nations Conference on Climate change concluded Saturday with the approval of a historic international climate accord that President Obama hailed as "the best chance we have to save the one planet we’ve got."

Chris Megerian, who closely followed the California delegation to the summit, outlined Gov. Jerry Brown’s reputation as a a real doomsayer on climate change. From his piece on Saturday’s front page:

Gov. Jerry Brown had a song stuck in his head, and he wanted to hear it. Standing outside a conference center shortly after giving a speech on climate change, he asked for someone to play it on their phone. And when the refrain arrived, he sang along to the Barry McGuire tune from 1965 – "We’re on the eve of destruction."

"We have a theme song!" said Nancy McFadden, the governor’s top aide.

It was a fitting anthem for Brown’s trip to a United Nations summit dedicated to preventing catastrophic global warming. In each speech, panel discussion and interview, he’s tried to drive home the vast dangers of climate change while urging nothing less than a radical transformation in life on Earth.

William Yardley goes over the details of what’s in the international climate accord, and Julie Makinen and Megerian report how global leaders managed to reach an agreement amid the crucial U.S.-China relationship. Our comprehensive coverage of the summit is here. Plus, catch up with the flurry of activity in the summit’s closing days.

FEMINIST ORGANIZATION’S SHRINKING CALIFORNIA INFLUENCE

Melanie Mason reports that opposition to a new state equal pay measure from the California National Organization for Women was symptomatic of the group’s deeper troubles.

From internal tensions to a recession-caused cash decline, one of California’s storied names in feminist advocacy now finds itself with diminished clout, increasingly at odds with liberal allies and female lawmakers.

DEMOCRATS WILL DUEL FOR CONGRESS IN SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

In the two election cycles since California voters approved the top-two primary system, there have been a handful of expensive and bitter intraparty battles. Next year, it looks as if you can add the state’s 32nd congressional district, in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, to that list.

Javier Panzar reports that Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) kicked off his campaign to unseat nine-term Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) over the weekend. It’s a battle of Democrats where everything from residency (Napolitano lives outside the district) to scandals (Hernandez has had brushes with the law) may come into play.

Hernandez, termed out of the Assembly next year, just wrapped up his last controversy Friday. Patrick McGreevy reports the state’s campaign watchdog agency dropped charges of money laundering in connection with Hernandez’s 2010 legislative campaign. The reason: the death and serious illness of key witnesses.

ELIZABETH WARREN GOES HOLLYWOOD

Panzar also reports that the People for the American Way Foundation dinner at the Beverly Wilshire on Saturday night showed off Hollywood’s liberal side. Director Judd Apatow was the first honoree of the night, and he warmed up the crowd by reading sections of Donald Trump’s book "Think Big," including a passage titled "Revenge."

His stand-up was the lead in for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who cracked the obligatory joke about traffic on the 405 before jumping into her rousing populist stump speech railing on banks and corporate influence in politics.

The task of introducing Warren went to Stockton’s youngest city councilman, 25-year-old Michael Tubbs. The Times’ Diana Marcum profiled him three years ago during his first campaign. Now he is attempting to unseat Anthony Silva in hopes of becoming the city’s first black mayor.

Legendary United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta also was in attendance. She told The Times that her son Emilio Huerta has been talking with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee about potentially taking on Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) in the Central Valley’s 21st district. She said he should reach a decision in the next two weeks.

But the real highlight of the night may have been the rising political stars sprinkled into the show. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, 36, made the pitch for donations to the foundation’s youth leadership programs. Alums include Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) and his twin brother, Obama administration cabinet member Julián Castro. Later in the night, Norman Lear the group’s founder, called Gillum "a [expletive] star."

PODCAST: THE POLITICS OF GUNS

There already are clear signs that legislators will be considering new gun control bills when they reconvene in Sacramento in a few weeks. But there’s less clarity about whether the San Bernardino shootings will lead to those bills ending up in law. John Myers hosted an in-depth discussion of the politics of guns on this week’s California Politics Podcast.

The free podcast

The episode also takes a look at the new leaders of the business-friendly Democrats in the statehouse, and the potential impact in California of the "one person, one vote" case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

CHRISTIE COMING BACK TO CALIFORNIA

If you missed it on Trail Guide last week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is heading to California the day after Tuesday's GOP debate to raise money at the Los Angeles home of billionaire hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen.

Seema Mehta reports that among the hosts of the Wednesday cocktail party are Hewlett-Packard chief and unsuccessful 2010 GOP gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman and NBCUniversal vice chair Ron Meyer, according to an invitation obtained by The Times.

Cohen, a longtime Christie supporter who is the founder of SAC Capital Advisers, is worth about $11 billion. He was implicated in an insider trading scandal but was never criminally charged.

Among those spreading word about the event is businessman Nick Loeb, the nephew of billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr. and the former fiancé of "Modern Family" star Sofia Vergara.

Whitman also is hosting a luncheon for Christie that day at the Four Seasons in East Palo Alto, with co-host Rick Devine.

Christie is not alone in using his trip to Tuesday’s Las Vegas debate to slip in time with California’s deep-pocketed donors the following day. On Wednesday, Jeb Bush will visit Brentwood and Pasadena. Among the top names hosting Bush events are former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, former Rep. David Dreier, and former U.S. Ambassadors Bob Tuttle, Frank Baxter, Susan McCaw and Ron Spogli.

Brad Freeman, a top California-based George W. Bush fundraiser, is hosting a $2,700-per-guest luncheon at his Brentwood home. The dinner -- also $2,700 per guest -- is at the Pasadena home of Jeanine and John Cushman, a commercial real estate mogul.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- Perhaps it's unfair that a politician's response to crisis will forever be measured against that of New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on Sept. 11, 2001, Cathy Decker writes in her Sunday column, but the overwhelming drama of Giuliani and others on the scene contrasted with the underwhelming response to the terrorist attack in San Bernardino.

-- In George Skelton’s Monday column, he writes about an effort to create "a new organizing tool that allows groups of gig workers to collectively bargain" with companies such as Uber and TaskRabbit.

-- John Myers reports on the frustration among activists on healthcare and transportation issues with the lack of action this fall in either of the Legislature’s special sessions.

-- Rep. Loretta Sanchez got the statistic she cited about Muslims from authors Maajid Nawaz and Sam Harris, Phil Willon reports.

-- Sarah Wire reports on how Democrats are showcasing families torn apart by gun violence as they keep up the push on gun control on Capitol Hill.

-- Tuesday’s main debate stage will feature nine Republicans. Check tomorrow’s Essential Politics for links to debate bingo and more.

-- Noah Bierman and Lisa Mascaro report that both Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas are presenting themselves as a hard break from the past, not only a contrast from President Obama, but also with the Republican Party of the Bushes. Yet even as they vie to become the first Generation X president, they represent sharply different views of what that should mean.

-- These grannies are not happy about fracking, Melanie Mason reports.

-- Finally, two stories in other places caught our attention: The SClarita blog on when an L.A. County supervisor uses profanity to respond to an irate speaker, and the Fresno Bee finding prominent Democrats from across the central and southern stretches of the San Joaquin Valley are frustrated with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, saying the organization is more a hindrance than a help in winning local elections.

LOGISTICS

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