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Dan
Gougherty
Voters Express Ire Toward Politicians With Failed Propositions
Last
Tuesday night’s election results on the state budget provisions
offered no suspense for political junkies like me. All the polls
told us ahead of time what to expect, and they were right.
For me, a self-proclaimed political junkie, it was a huge disappointment. I am
the guy hunkered down with a big bowl of hot-buttered popcorn and a steaming
pot of coffee, prepared to watch the results roll in on the various cable and
local channels into the wee hours of the morning.
This time around, forget the hot-buttered popcorn or fortified java. I didn’t
even bother to turn on the TV. At about 8:01 p.m., I checked the county’s
voter information results, and with over 56 percent of precincts reporting, the
contest wasn’t even close.
A visit to the Secretary of State’s Web site moments later mirrored the
same results, only with bigger numbers — overwhelming the California voters
(those who bothered to cast a ballot that is) — as they turned down five
of the six propositions by an almost uniform 2-to-1 margin.
This election was like looking at the results of a hypothetical Tiger Woods versus
the captain of the high school golf team competition. Game over. In fact, I was
in bed before “American Idol” finished.
The only proposition to win — 1F, which in reality was a fiscal “gotcha” message
to legislators that they would not get a raise without a budget — was a
measure of how angry California voters have become. It won by a whopping 3-to-1
margin.
So what can we take from this election? Well, first and foremost, it is easy
to surmise that voters all along the political spectrum are angry with the manner
of how the budget is being handled along with our legislative bodies and Gov.
Schwarzenegger.
For the more conservative voters, their anger lies in the fact that they oppose
any tax increases. They viewed Proposition 1A with a jaundiced eye, as they feel
that any short-term tax increase eventually becomes a permanent tax increase.
For liberal voters, propositions taking away funding from any social program
are anathema for all they stand for. Once a program is removed, the harder it
is to get a program back.
On a certain level, both are right. But they are unwilling to reach across toward
a middle ground and find a compromise or solution. Herein lays the problem.
Coincidently, a few weeks ago I attended a town hall-style meeting in Elk Grove,
conducted by 10th Assembly Member Democrat Allyson Huber. A newly-elected assembly
member and political newcomer, Huber offered a few common sense approaches to
solving the problems.
First, Huber agreed that the two-thirds majority needed for a budget was a major
stumbling block in passing a timely budget. The super majority also gives both
the majority and minority plenty of political cover. She also agreed that politicians
should not draw districts.
Aside from doing away with the two-thirds majority, Huber also said the state
should convene a constitutional convention and rewrite the state’s constitution
as the vast majority of state spending is derived by voter initiatives mandated
in the constitution. Huber said that, depending on the year, as little as 7 percent
of state spending is flexible, with the balance constitutionally mandated.
The only problem with Huber’s approach is that our politicians suffer from
a lack common sense. If there is one quality in short supply in Sacramento, it
is the ability to compromise.
Nonetheless, I’ll offer a little advice to members of the Assembly, the
Senate, the governor, or anyone who might influence these people on this — do
some reading.
Specifically, go back to your high school days and dust off a copy of John F.
Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage.” Our elected leaders can learn
lessons from any of the profiles, especially the profile of Edmund G. Ross.
Read Kennedy’s profile on Ross, and who knows, you legislators and the
governor can at least become the lion in “The Wizard of Oz” and show
a bit of courage.
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