Dems Say "No Way" on 1A

I have no prediction for the results of the special election meant to uphold the recent CA budget deal, but the indications are that a train wreck is slowly developing. I think we can count on GOP voters to turn out against the 6 propositions but a lot of Democratic and progressive interest group, including the SEIU and the teacher's unions have come out against them, too. Now the "grass roots" activists at the Dems' annual convention have refused to endorse some (but not all) of the propositions, including the linchpin 1A: Backers of 1A Fall Short of Democratic Party Endorsement

Delegates at the California Democratic Party convention on Sunday failed to endorse Proposition 1A, the measure Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature have sold as the lynchpin of the May 19 special election budget package.

The delegates voted 58 percent in favor of endorsing the measure, which would extend tax hikes and constrain future state spending. The measure fell short of the 60 percent needed for passage, after the party's resolutions committee had recommended support for the measure on Friday.

The vote came after heated debate all weekend, as union groups mobilized delegates against the measure and the legislative leadership pressed for support

I would assume they don't like the spending cuts in the proposition, as opposed to the tax increases which the GOP dislikes. Mostly, though, I'd say this is a signal that the rank-and-file from both parties are growing restless with the insiders who prefer lurching from crisis to crisis as they try to hold together a failing system, rather than make serious structural reforms on the spending AND tax sides. Certainly, the Dems' grass roots were unmoved by this pitiful bit of rabble rousing from a leading Guccicrat:

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, in a speech on the convention floor on Sunday, urged support for Proposition 1A. "Do not let the Democratic Party join forces with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association," Steinberg said, citing the anti-tax group that is also opposed to the measure.

Ooooo. Howard Jarvis! He might rise from the grave and rap you with his green eyeshade! That's supposed to scare people?

Then there's this comment that is so at odds with reality as to be delusional:

Willie Pelote, the political director of AFSCME, gave an impassioned closing speech calling 1A the "most dangerous thing that I've ever seen."

"We need to stand against Republican tyranny," said Pelote, blasting the concessions Republican lawmakers extracted during budget negotiations. California is one of several states to require a two-thirds majority to pass a budget

That's right. The GOP may not control the legislature, the bureaucracy, the courts, the state agencies, or even their own governator. But we remain tyrannical! No wonder we've got CA wriggling in our grasp. It's a Napoleon on Elba thing, I guess. Mwah-ha-ha!

"Willie," give me a break about Republican "tyranny." What is this, 1896? Are you being nailed to a cross of gold? Leave the DQ-ing to the Prop 8 guys.