With the pressure mounting, Mike Villines orchestrated the smoothest possible transition today as he resigned as Assembly Republican Leader. He not only bought himself an extra few weeks -- his resignation is effective June 1 -- but he got an ally named as his successor.

The new leader, Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, served as "floor manager" under Villines, basically meaning he was the caucus voice during Assembly proceedings.

Blakeslee touted himself today as a "fiscal hawk" who does not support tax hikes. But he has a reputation as a moderate on other issues, including the environment. When his name first surfaced, conservative bloggers worried that he wasn't conservative enough, although that rhetoric has been toned down today.

"I have 100% confidence in Sam Blakeslee," said Jon Fleischman, publisher of the FlashReport, an influential conservative Web site.

The California Republican Assembly, a conservative activist group, gave Blakeslee an 87% rating on its 2008 legislative scorecard. Villines earned a 94%. In 2007, Blakeslee earned a 55% score, compared with Villines' 84%.

But those scores mean little in today's environment, in which Blakeslee will have to cater to his conservative colleagues or risk the same fate as Villines, who was criticized for supporting new taxes.

CapitolAlert has more on Sam here.