Reason TV: How California government destroyed Schwarzenegger
posted at 7:31 pm on May 20, 2009 by Allahpundit
An elegant summary of what went wrong, equal parts entertaining and didactic in the fine tradition of two other libertarian heroes. As a postscript to yesterday’s vote and a prologue to where the Hopenchange era is headed, it makes a nifty bookend with my post from this morning. Even so, I can’t help feeling some sympathy for Schwarzenegger when he says this:
“When you ask [voters] about the cuts, ‘Do you mind of we have to make an additional $6 billion in cuts?’ and it’s great, they say, ‘No, no, no, no, no, not in education,’ ” the governor said in Washington, a day after voters overwhelmingly rejected a slate of new taxes.
“And we say, ‘How about in health care?’ and they say, “No, I wouldn’t go after the vulnerable citizens,’ then we say, ‘Well, then we have to make some cuts in law enforcement,’ and they say, ‘Law enforcement, I want to keep that in place.’ People don’t know themselves where they want to cut, they just say, ‘Make the cuts’ and ‘You figure it out,’ ” he said with a smile, shaking his head.
Yes, well, that’s called “governing.” The alternative is raising taxes, but check out the map Ace posted. Not a single county in the deep blue state of California voted for a tax hike. Consider this a guarantee that The One won’t be raising your marginal rate until, say, January 2013 at the earliest.
Blowback
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run get to da choppa!
sven10077 on May 20, 2009 at 7:32 PM
How’s about you stop paying those teachers on “administrative leave” who are waiting hearings for wrong-doings? I mean, 6 -7 years?
PU—LEZE. I have NO sympathy.
ladyingray on May 20, 2009 at 7:36 PM
Reason has been doing yeoman’s work recently. Good stuff.
elduende on May 20, 2009 at 7:36 PM
Well hell, all those illegal aliens that are suckling off the taxpayer teat were there before Ahnold, and he allowed them to stay, so yeah, the world is thankful there will not be another Terminator sequel. Thanks, Kalifornia. Suckers.
HornetSting on May 20, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Auhnold learned governing is not campaigning. Obama learns slow …
tarpon on May 20, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Did you ever ask the citizens if they would be willing to lay-off a few of the quarter million state workers, or freeze the pay of state legislators, or not hire twice as many teachers so as to provide every school class in at least two languages?
It’s always, “Well, we will have to fire cops or firefighters or allow the streets to become dusty, rutted, 19th century-type dirt paths.”
Bishop on May 20, 2009 at 7:45 PM
How about you kick out the eco-nazis and rollback a bunch of your crappy laws that penalize industry???
How about you create a business friendly environment.
You can’t keep losing producers and expect your state to stay golden.
izoneguy on May 20, 2009 at 7:46 PM
Reason has been great for much longer than “recently”. Then again, I’m basically a pure libertarian. I’m in their proverbial choir.
radiofreevillage on May 20, 2009 at 7:47 PM
Someone share this with Shit-fer-brains-Colon-Powell. Nah, never mind. He won’t get it.
Jaibones on May 20, 2009 at 7:48 PM
Get rid of the unions.
Wade on May 20, 2009 at 7:48 PM
They just announced what happened in the louisiana house yesterday. A sneaky democrat sneaked in language overriding jindal at the last minute. It will be killed in the senate.
TTheoLogan on May 20, 2009 at 7:50 PM
Arnold, rapidly going downhill and in more ways than one
MB4 on May 20, 2009 at 7:51 PM
No one has asked the voters about cuts in healthcare, education, or law enforcement — not in anything. Voters only get
askedthreaten to raise taxes or else.In the past 1.5 years, my taxes have been raised 3x to pay for a 1000 cops that never get hired. They raise taxes and then use the $$$ for their own crappy purposes.
Blake on May 20, 2009 at 7:52 PM
I’m still in shock at the subhuman behavior of Hotair commenters in the Ted Kennedy thread. A lot of people here should migrate to Democratic Underground where they belong.
DaveS on May 20, 2009 at 7:53 PM
The movie didn’t even hit on the economic and demographic damage illegal aliens have on the state…………..
This movie should be called:
Seven Percent Solution on May 20, 2009 at 7:55 PM
This is the guy who came up with the idea that the state should pay for stem cell research at a $3 billion dollar cost when we had no money to spend. What a waste.
Blake on May 20, 2009 at 7:57 PM
Goebbels felt the same way about Jews.
MB4 on May 20, 2009 at 7:58 PM
I wouldn’t be surprised if the worst of them came from there and posted to stir things up. Just sayin’….
ElectricPhase on May 20, 2009 at 7:59 PM
How long before the California model of fiscal explosion goes nationwide?
Loxodonta on May 20, 2009 at 7:59 PM
So they don’t want Arnold to cut health care, education, or law enforcement. Fine. I mean, maybe they’re being all picky about public education and law enforcement being, you know, government’s job and all. But there are a whole bunch of expenditures that never should have been publicly funded. Cut those, Arnold. See how that works? Oh, I know, I know, it’s much harder to blackmail voters with, say, cuts in “public arts projects” and midnight basketball leagues, particularly when the state is flat broke, but too bad. The people have spoken. Cut ‘em.
And here’s a thought. Stop doing state business and printing state documents, signage, etc., in any language other than English. There’s got to be some savings there. And perhaps you could require that only legal US residents receive state subsidized health care and taxpayer-funded education. Seems reasonable — even, um, legal. Yeah, I think we’re on to something here. Trim the state budget to essential services that were intended to be publicly funded, and extend public funds only to those residents legally permitted to receive them. Start there. It might just work.
Rational Thought on May 20, 2009 at 7:59 PM
I haven’t watched the video yet, but Arnold’s quote really bugs me.
Just off the top of my head, here are two ways California could save a ton of money, which wouldn’t cut any essential services:
1. De-unionize the government, and reduce salaries and benefits of city, county, and state employees across the board. The job market is tight; people will work for less. I work for a private company, and our pay was reduced in order to avoid (or at least postpone) layoffs; why should the government be different?
2. Stop funding stem cell research and similar projects which are not the responsibility of an in-debt state government.
But Arnold hasn’t suggested anything of the sort. Instead, he’s asked us to balance the budget by, for example, reducing mental health services, which would result in increased homelessness and crime.
I voted “hell no”.
sandberg on May 20, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Cut the Coastal Commission!
Cut 50% of the environmental programs!
Harvest the natural seepage petroleum off the coast of Santa Barbara that is leaking the amount of 8- 80 Exxon Valdez spills!
The leaking petroleum deserves it’s own thread…
Let the delta smelt effing die!
Stop paying for everyone’s school lunches!
Get rid of the English as a Second Language programs- they don’t work!
Stop paying state pensioners 95% of their top pay until they die!
Us Californians can think of thousands of places to cut, the career politicians just don’t like our ideas.
Screw them for saying the only places they can cut are the ones that will hurt the electorate most. It’s a dirty lie and we the people know it.
GRRR!
NTWR on May 20, 2009 at 8:00 PM
+7%……….
Seven Percent Solution on May 20, 2009 at 8:04 PM
I haven’t read the thread, but he is a truly awful human being who has left damaged and dead people in his wake. Ghastly people like that shouldn’t necessarily get tea and sympathy because they’re sick. If you find Democratic Underground so disturbing, just remember that those are Ted Kennedy’s peeps.
Rational Thought on May 20, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Schwarzenegger Schwarzenegger blah blah blah.
Hey, here’s an idea, lets not buy the MSM narrative, the TRUTH is the CA legislature is far left loony toons, and they’re the ones REALLY responsible for all this. Blaming everything on Schwarzenegger is deflection of the first order, and only because there’s a “R” behind his name.
Rebar on May 20, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Aren’t voter approved Bond (?) initiatives also a significant cause of the problem? How much control, if any, does the Governor or Legislature have over them? Can funding for them simply be stopped, or would this require yet more bond initiatives?
As to the illegals, what percentage of the services being offered are voluntary by the state, and what are mandated by federal law?
Loxodonta on May 20, 2009 at 8:07 PM
I wonder if he ever mandated that every dept. cut a percentage of their budget. It’s amazing how quickly they can find the fat when they are compelled to do it. Instead everyone knows that they will always get more money.
Cindy Munford on May 20, 2009 at 8:09 PM
MB4….buddy….PLEASE don’t ever do that again!
Patrick S on May 20, 2009 at 8:11 PM
True, but he’s going out of his way to make it easy.
Yes, absolutely.
sandberg on May 20, 2009 at 8:11 PM
Seven Percent Solution on May 20, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Send you panties to the cleaners, maybe they can remove the knots.
Wade on May 20, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Hey Kindergarten Governuter, How about re-instating Prop 187 and reforming welfare, that would save California about 25 BILLION dollars a year.
doriangrey on May 20, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Is it any wonder people believe all politicians lie? Ahnuld trots out the same old risk to vital services Liberals always trot out when voters refuse to agree to be further fleeced. They act if all the government does is teach, police, and fight fires. If only! There are undoubtedly hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of people who could be cut without anyone noticing. And Ahnuld didn’t mention the gobs of money required to pay for CA state employees’ benefits. The CA GOP should go through the entire budget and provide this moron with things that can be cut. They can start with every dollar that goes to illegals.
DerKrieger on May 20, 2009 at 8:14 PM
back up to lox’s question as to how much of CA’s entitlements were federally mandated.
you know, i bet alot of them are. and so far, the other states haven’t gotten themselves in the same CA trouble. but if we didn’t have all these stupid federally mandated programs, we would all have better fiscal health.
kelley in virginia on May 20, 2009 at 8:14 PM
Gillespie’s final question about what chance do mortals have if superhero Arnold couldnt restrain the beast is not quite accurate.
Arnold allowed himself to get rolled again and again and again by CA’s public employee unions, starting in early 06 when, allegedly at the strong urging of Maria Shriver he publicly humiliated and kneecapped all of his GOP advisors and replaced them with career Democratic operatives like Gray Davis’ former chief of staff/liberal knife fighter Susan Kennedy. After that he ceased to be the Last Action Hero and became Casper Milquetoast.
So, no, brave Sir Arnold did not get blown over by pressure beyond his power. All along he had a glass jaw and thus he crumpled like a cheap suit the minute he got popped in the mouth.
He will leave CA in a much much worse condition than he found it, and should never be welcome in GOP circles ever again. In my view, fleeing like a rat to DC to hug it out with Obama just to avoid facing the fallout of his hand-crafted initiatives going down in flames will properly be remembered as a monumental act of political cowardice,
Mike D. on May 20, 2009 at 8:15 PM
As long as Benedict Arnold Schwarzenrenegger leaves who cares…
doriangrey on May 20, 2009 at 8:18 PM
Seven Percent Solution on May 20, 2009 at 8:19 PM
Privatize Education!
- The Cat
P.S. Then privatize health care. . . naw, that’ll never happen.
MirCat on May 20, 2009 at 8:22 PM
Yeah I’ve liked them for a couple of years but they seemed to have ramped it up in the last few months. Nothing like a socialist takeover to focus the mind. Only quibble I have with Reason is the squishyness they have with foreign policy and defense issues.
elduende on May 20, 2009 at 8:27 PM
OK, I’m getting sick of this…
1. You were not out of bounds to give many of the more rabid idiots there a quick once-over. Hell, if I had more time, I might’ve done it myself.
2. Believe it or not, many of us HAVE infiltrated the DU, and we do not like it there.
3. IF you are going to start casting blanket condemnations, than why have you not answered my response on that thread? I know it isn’t because you are a drive-byer like athensboy and strangelet, and you have responded to others on that thread, so why not to mine?
As I stated before, my sympathies lie with his friends and family, but not with him himself, and I AM of the opinion that- given the fact that it is going to inevitably happen at some point in time- he should go as quickly and as painlessly to the realm beyond sooner rather than later.
If that makes me “subhuman,” I invite you to investigate the mass graves in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Baltic States, and Eastern Germany that the Soviets dug and filled during the twilight of their occupation to try and retain power over the fate of dozens of millions in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
The same dozens of millions that Mr. Kennedy betrayed for petty political game in a direct and treasonous communique with Moscow.
And tell it to the families of those in the holes about what “subhuman” behavior is.
Your point was valid, but the hysteria was not.
I await your response.
Turtler on May 20, 2009 at 8:29 PM
From the DSA website…yeah Arnold…it’s the voters:
r keller on May 20, 2009 at 8:31 PM
Get You A$$ to Mars!
I hear they have no sales or income tax there.
tommylotto on May 20, 2009 at 8:36 PM
This is about the best summation of California’s fiscal problems that I’ve seen.
I only wish the local media would have the balls to do a segment like this.
The Ugly American on May 20, 2009 at 8:39 PM
ESL is okay. It’s bi-lingual that you don’t want and they did away with it in the mid-90s. The msm never really reported the results because it was a success contrary to the leftard school of thought.
Blake on May 20, 2009 at 8:40 PM
That’s because we’re descended from lemur thingys. Bye-bye :)
JiangxiDad on May 20, 2009 at 8:42 PM
Yeah but check out the votes in San Francisco County where the percentages were much closer and they actually voted YES on 1B.
It’s for the chiiiiiiiildren!!!
The Ugly American on May 20, 2009 at 8:47 PM
He doesn’t have to — The Bush tax cuts will expire in 2010, giving Obama higher taxes without having to take any proactive measures.
jon1979 on May 20, 2009 at 8:56 PM
Another diagnosis of doom that leaves us hopeless, oh joy. What, they expected the choir they preached to not know things were bad? So when will someone get around to offering a hopefull beneficial solution? I already had my vote overwhealmed last time, and I see the RNSC endorsing RINOS over conservatives, so where can I go?
AnotherOpinion on May 20, 2009 at 8:56 PM
to hell.
JiangxiDad on May 20, 2009 at 9:01 PM
HornetSting on May 20, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Yes we here need to make that priority numbah 1. But Why don’t we? You know it feels kind of awkward being the only non-Hispanic out there tending to the lawn.
P.S.
/s
FontanaConservative on May 20, 2009 at 9:12 PM
Of *all* the people to pile on Schwarzenegger’s failures…Maxine Waters…WTF???
Is this b*tch serious?
The Ugly American on May 20, 2009 at 9:30 PM
Yeah, he never asks us to cut what should be cut. Like the building of a replica of a Chumash village in Malibu, like the doubling of boards populated by defeated pols who then make $100K per year, like forbidding of oil exploration, like building a new school every day in LA with enrollment dropping, like paying of gang members to be nonviolent and then never checking upon them…let’s all list our pet peeves!
PattyJ on May 20, 2009 at 9:34 PM
Oh, and Nick Gillespie looks like Lou Reed! Or am I crazy?
PattyJ on May 20, 2009 at 9:38 PM
That remains to be seen. Obama seems pretty much on a course–that ignores reality.
petunia on May 20, 2009 at 9:38 PM
As serious as an addled syphilitic pustule can be. Here’s hoping for kidney failure.
/sykes
JiangxiDad on May 20, 2009 at 9:42 PM
I would like to correct McClintok, he said California’s are leaving and moving to the 49 other states. I can assure you that they are not moving to my home state of Michigan. Our governor has mirrored the California model and any one trying to avoid this train-wreck knows better than to come to our once great state.
MichiganMatt on May 20, 2009 at 9:45 PM
As someone who lives in CA let me say that the public service unions own the place. We spend more on education per student than any other state and yet our test scores are 2ND to last. Would you want you’re child taught by the protesters in this video? If CA doesn’t start to realize that they are getting taken by teachers unions things won’t change. They vote for anything that has the word child in it and it has become a running joke that putting the word “child” into any spending plan is the ticket to approval. But as the expenses of these under worked and over paid public servants mounts and tax hikes scare away any businesses that hasn’t already left, revenue needed to keep it going disappears. The time to cut public education spending 30%, cap teacher and administrative salaries and lower sales and income tax rates to try to save the economy of CA is running out of time. CA should consider declaring bankruptcy and defaulting on these unrealisticly high compensation packages of public employee unions.
Dollayo on May 20, 2009 at 9:47 PM
Disclosure: I have immediate family members and numerous friends and acquaintences who are State employees. They are all talented hard working folks, whom I would recommend to any employer, or would hire myself.
The State of California requires employee candidates to take a test for specific job classifications, and score high enough to “reachable” on a hiring list. I took two tests in 2006. ISA (STAFF) & ISA (Senior)
I’ve been offered ten IT positions with the state of California in the past two years and refused them all. One was managing the Black Berry servers in the Governors’ office. Typically it takes 2 months or longer to be screened, selected for an interview, and then offered a position. I’ve considered working for the state because it’s a steady income (although woefully below private sector rates, at least for IT) it would permit a flexible schedule, with good benefits, and retirement, and the remote possibility that I could provide some benefit to my state.
You have to respond to Employment postings to be considered for a position, or if you rank high enough on a candidate list, you are mailed an employment inquiry. If you don’t respond in writing within the required period (typically 1 to 2 weeks) you risk being removed from the list, and have to re-test. As I mentioned, the last test was in 2006, and theoretically expired in 2008. Few and far between.
I’ve had over 8 calls in the past two months from the Dept of Corrections, Fish & Game, and other agencies ask me to come in to interview for a position I’ve never even applied for. Had a message waiting for me literally today from the Dept of Corrections. Methinks they’re a bit desperate.
The point is, even with the threat of immediate layoffs for junior employees, and budget cutting, and the ridiculous 35% + budget “gaps”, they are still trying to hire staff.
Where will it end? When it’s in flames smoldering for all to see?
They. Don’t. Get. It.
juanito on May 20, 2009 at 9:50 PM
A deceitful Democrat dingbat (redundant adjectives, I realize) on FOX just declared that the state of CA is “the Republicans’ fault” (because, so she ~reasoned~, because Schwarzenegger is a Rep. by registration, the state of CA’s mess is therefore “the Republicans’” fault).
Utterly ignoring the fact that all that massive and annually building indebtedness in CA as coupled with the ridiculous, irrational spending programs in CA are ALL THE CREATION OF THE DEMOCRATS IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE.
There are some Republicans remaining in the CA state legislature but the overwhelming majority is and has been for a long time now, Democrats. And they annually demand a state “budget” that includes more spending they can’t pay for, leaving the alternative to raise taxes, and raise taxes, and raise taxes and…
Schwarzenegger is a Liberal Republican, to understate the case and I don’t defend his indulgences in Liberal big spending, but, to clarify here, the state of CA is in trouble as it has been for a while now due to Democrats and their perpetual milking of the state to fund the Democratic Party by way of CA unions and illegal aliens.
As I write this, CA Demo Senator Feinstein is ridiculously asking for another amnesty for “workers” in CA. AND their “families.” It’ll never end with CA as long as there continue to be these irrational Democrats ruining the state.
Lourdes on May 20, 2009 at 9:54 PM
Anyone here recall Fabian Nunez’s story? He’s one of the loudest most brash hyper-spenders in the CA state legislature, also a leading Democrat there.
He was found to be taking a trip to Paris where he spent lavishly on purses and champaigne at the CA taxpayers’ expense, deeming his outlandish trip to be something/somehow related to ‘research’.
THEN he tried to pass legislation in CA that would enable him to remain in near-perpetual office.
Lourdes on May 20, 2009 at 9:56 PM
Does Sam Smith get the same attention?
JiangxiDad on May 20, 2009 at 9:58 PM
Arnold could move to the house in Sacramento that is provided for him and save the cost of jet fuel for a trip made twice daily at our expense.
Also, stop giving food stamps to people that convert them to
cash at the grocery store(usually illegals)in my neighborhood.
dragondrop on May 20, 2009 at 10:23 PM
Sadly, there is no official Governor’s residence anymore.
And I believe that The Governor pays for his own aircraft…
juanito on May 20, 2009 at 10:49 PM
It’s the oldest law in the world. It is the Law of the Hole. When you get in over your head, stop digging. It’s really not that hard to understand.
volsense on May 20, 2009 at 11:13 PM
He was termed out. Last I heard, his son was charged with murder. A chip off the old liberal.
Feedie on May 21, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Arnold Schwarzenegger has become what he claimed he detested most in California’s government. He’s just another fat-cat bloated special interest politician that wants to tax and spend without any foresight and while relying only on what he’s told by special interests. But he even goes a step further. The government won’t govern and his answer to that is to play the blame game with his woeful inadequacies and his utter incompetence. Naturally, the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the citizen voters and residents of California, and not with himself and the Legislature.
It’s Life Imitating Art. It’s Brewsters Millions. Only in this case it’s Billions and they don’t cash in bigtime like they hoped they would after they spend all the money on all the feel-good gifts that they can throw into that Illegal Immigrant black hole and hyper dysfunctional public education system that’s sucking the State teet dry, not to mention each and every other horribly inefficient California state-run department. And trust me, literally each and every California state-run department is horribly inefficient to the bone.
The only thing we can look forward to in a so-called ‘best case scenario’ is Arnie being replaced by Gavin ‘Whether-You-Like-It-Or-Not’ Newsome or Jerry ‘Moonbeam’ Brown, and the blue dogs in Sacramento being replaced by more blue dogs. Terrific.
Oh well. In 7 years I’ll be taking my family and my pension and exiting California as a resident forever. It’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there… anymore.
SilverStar830 on May 21, 2009 at 1:09 AM
Um, I’m fine with them cutting education and health care. Its been shown that expenditures and results in education aren’t linked. As for health care, the people should be paying their own way, not the state. Especially evident in California is the fact that cosmetic surgery has controlled costs and even has reduced costs. Why? Free market. Insurance never pays for cosmetic procedures. They have to streamline the process and make it affordable in some way.
InCali on May 21, 2009 at 1:35 AM
Many of you are being unfair to the Governer.
He put forth a set of initiatives that would have reduced exorbitant union wages, and those were also soundly defeated.
He can’t win in that state, he fought against the legislature, the unions, and the people to improve things: not even a Terminator can win against everyone.
greenLibertarian on May 21, 2009 at 2:56 AM
Yes, dumbass, they know there are more than three things in the state budget. Like WELFARE and EDUCATION for illegals…
Excess state personnel. I’ll bet I could look at all the things the state of Kalifornia does and fix their problem, without losing a single cop. How many bureaucrats are there?
dogsoldier on May 21, 2009 at 7:09 AM
While I’m no fan of “Arnuld”, I think the people of California are being left completely off the hook here: They’re the idiots that keep voting in Democrat majorities in their state. You get the government you vote for.
Dagnar on May 21, 2009 at 7:33 AM
For the sake of my mother and brothers and their kids in California, I hope the state gets their fiscal sanity back. I do wonder how much of CA’s debt is unfunded federal mandates. Those are things they can’t cut. Any numbers on that?
I would like to hear what Mitt Romney or Mitch Daniels would do if they had the reigns in that state.
SKYFOX on May 21, 2009 at 8:07 AM
Don’t feel sorry for the “governator” AP. He is refuseing to deal with the real issues that are hurting his state like over paid unions, illegals, envirostatist,and high taxes while using scare tactics like cutting funding for programs and services that the government is supposed to be doing. Roads / law enforcement ETC.
I wonder of how much $$$ is wasted on the “arts” in the failed state of Cali?
mpgrunt787 on May 21, 2009 at 8:59 AM
The governator is full of crap. He was elected to lead, not blame Californians for being too stupid to know that demands for services costs money. HE should have cut the programs and told Californians to suck it up. Even if it cost him an election.
And finally, ChimpyO is no mere mortal. He is “The One”.
csdeven on May 21, 2009 at 9:31 AM
Only thing I like in California is Miss California. The green people in that state have ran it into the ground. This is one of the situations where I really do wish I could see ballot to see the people that voted against the taxes. Everyone knows 40% of the people that vote don’t pay them anyway.
Tremmy on May 21, 2009 at 9:37 AM
I wonder why states like Oregon have signs welcoming everyone except Californian’s who their boarder signs say “If you are from California, keep driving don’t stop”.
MSGTAS on May 21, 2009 at 9:54 AM
A commentator on Greta last night said that the state legislature districts are hopelessly gerrymandered.
One major problem is that the California State Legislature is very SMALL for the population of the state: 80 Assembly members and 40 State Senators for a population of 38.293 million people, meaning that a CA State Senator represents more people than a U.S. Representative.
Compare that to the second most populous state, New York, where 150 Assembly Members and 62 State Senators represent 19.255 million people. This means that each New Yorker has nearly four times the representation in the State Assembly, and three times the representation in the State Senate, as the average Californian.
With a small Legislature for a large state, a few committee chairmen can accumulate tremendous power, and entrenched incumbents can draw huge districts for themselves where enough ignorant sheeple keep on voting for the name they know, and a challenger has trouble raising enough money to get name recognition in an Assembly district representing nearly half a million people, or a State Senate district representing nearly a million people.
How about a Proposition to double the number of CA State legislators in each House? This would mean that half the seats in the new Legislature would be open, competitive seats, eventually won by a “challenger”, and each Member would represent only half as many people as before, and be twice as responsive to his district. With twice as many districts, there would be more suburban or rural districts not dominated by large cities, and better representation for people living in suburbs and rural areas.
Steve Z on May 21, 2009 at 10:02 AM