A Very Special Election

Just got back from voting in CA's Special Election (which is to elections what the Special Olympics are to sports). The point of the SE was to help the legislature pass the budget compromise that our representatives "hammered out" last February. Except that's not what's going to happen. All but one of the 6 budget propositions are expected to lose, and to lose big. Maybe next time, the governator and legislature should spend its time actually trying to put the state on a sustainable fiscal path, rather than chasing a couple GOP state senators around Sacramento, which is what the budget fight really boiled down to.

As for the propositions themselves, I decided to keep it simple and voted "No" on all of them. I know there are people out there who actually thought things through, and maybe voted "No" on 1A (the tax and spend measure) and 1C (the debt measure), but voted in favor of the education or mental health ones. Whatever. I disapprove of the entire process of budgeting by proposition. I also disapprove of the notion that our representatives should be allowed to fob off their constitutional duties on the voters who sent them to Sacramento in the first place. Hey, if you think a bloated state budget, unsustainable deficits, and higher taxes are the solution, then let's see some courage of convictions out there! Instead, the message has been: "we threw this together last winter, but didn't want to actually vote on it becase deep down we know it's deeply as unpopular with the voters as it is popular with the lobbyists we see everyday. Also, if you vote "No," kindergarteners will have to share classroom space with prisoners."

Everyone has been bitching and moaning about the "tyrrannical" GOP minority that refused to go along with this mess. But, it's the liberals and moderate Republicans who want to keep this monster going; and they are doing everything they can to avoid taking responsibility for the very policies that they insist are necesssary for the state to pursue. You know what, fellas (and ladies)? If you're not willing to vote in favor of them in Sacramento, then I'm not willing to vote in favor of them in the voting booth.