Posted on 11/05/2005 1:45:25 PM PST by new yorker 77
It is the political equivalent of one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's early action movies.
The hero is attacked on all sides by a dizzying array of opponents: the well-organized troops of the enemy, a motley crew of affiliated insurgent forces, and then — at the height of the battle — his own supposed allies turn against him. But the hero fights on.
This is the current state of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s battle to bring fundamental political and fiscal reform to California through direct ballot referendum (search). Opponents are set to spend more than $80 million to defeat initiatives that promote redistricting reform, paycheck protection and spending restraints on the state legislature. It is perhaps the most important election in the nation this fall, because its success or failure will determine how future grassroots efforts at political reform will fare in other states.
Currently, 11 different states — including Texas, Florida and Georgia — are home to growing grassroots redistricting reform movements (search), but only in California has a reigning chief executive thrown his muscle behind the effort. It used to be that voters chose their politicians — now politicians are choosing their voters, drawing irregular single-party districts where they are virtually guaranteed to win until retirement.
The result of this system-rigging is a 98 percent re-election rate in Congress, despite historically low approval ratings. Unaccountable taxpayer-funded pork barrel projects and harsher partisan politics are additional by-products of this corrupt bargain. Redistricting is the reform that guarantees all others.
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(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
A 'Yes' vote on all four is what Governor Schwarzenegger is striving for.
His heart's in the right place, but up to now, he's been more effective in the movies. And much more bulletproof.
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LATEST: Judge allows extra union dues to fight Calif ballot Props 75, 76, Nov. 4, 2005
THE CA PROPOSITIONS; Democratic and Republican activists discuss the propositions
Dean urges voters to reject measures governor supports [California]
Davis opposes Schwarzenegger's reform initiatives
CA: Feinstein to oppose Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives
John Alden (Marin cnty Dem Party chairman): Vote no on Prop 76 - we need better leaders
Top Democratic leaders at Penmar Park rally to 'swat' governor's special election measures. Key note speaker: Angelides, Dem candidate for governor
Liberal groups (Moveon.org) try to link special election to broader GOP agenda
Open letter from Phil Angelides (opposing Schwarzenegger and the Propositions)
McClintock's recommendations for CA Propositions
Summary of Recommendations on the CA Propositions by various organizations and parties
CA: McClintock stumps for governor's ballot initiatives
Ad watch: McClintock in radio spot supporting Prop. 76 (includes actual text)
Supporters of the CA Propositions 74-77 include CA Club for Growth, Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, Ray Haynes, San Fernando Valley Town Hall Conservatives, Republican Party, and many others. Click on the link for a more comprehensive list.
And you can see from links above who are the ones opposing them: Democrats, Unions, Gray Davis, Howard Dean, Phil Angelides, MoveOn.org, various Dem party chairmen, etc.
Ahnuld is hosed. His RINO nature is known to one and all, now. He might as well forget another term.
He accomplished a lot, during a short time, and we need to keep in mind, that CA is dominated by a Dem Legislature.
Now Arnold is taking on the entire Dem and Unions juggernaut with his reform propositions. Nobody else would have dared to do this. I hope people of CA will come out and vote, as they did in the recall, to help Arnold reform CA, and force the Dems and unions to release their iron grip over the state. The Dems know what's at stake, that's why they are spending huge amounts of money on lying ads, to defeat these reforms, because they know, that these propostions may spell the beginning of the end for the Dems and Unions power in CA.
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LATEST: Judge allows extra union dues to fight Calif ballot Props 75, 76, Nov. 4, 2005
THE CA PROPOSITIONS; Democratic and Republican activists discuss the propositions
Dean urges voters to reject measures governor supports [California]
Davis opposes Schwarzenegger's reform initiatives
CA: Feinstein to oppose Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives
John Alden (Marin cnty Dem Party chairman): Vote no on Prop 76 - we need better leaders
Top Democratic leaders at Penmar Park rally to 'swat' governor's special election measures. Key note speaker: Angelides, Dem candidate for governor
Liberal groups (Moveon.org) try to link special election to broader GOP agenda
Open letter from Phil Angelides (opposing Schwarzenegger and the Propositions)
McClintock's recommendations for CA Propositions
Summary of Recommendations on the CA Propositions by various organizations and parties
CA: McClintock stumps for governor's ballot initiatives
Ad watch: McClintock in radio spot supporting Prop. 76 (includes actual text)
Supporters of the CA Propositions 74-77 include CA Club for Growth, Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, Ray Haynes, San Fernando Valley Town Hall Conservatives, Republican Party, and many others. Click on the link for a more comprehensive list.
And you can see from links above who are the ones opposing them: Democrats, Unions, Gray Davis, Howard Dean, Phil Angelides, MoveOn.org, various Dem party chairmen, etc.
John and Ken had a school administrator on the other night. It was an older woman and she was quite sharp. She stated that the unions had spent $118 million on advertising so far. I'd find it rather hard to believe they hadn't spent more.
You can't turn on the television, almost any channel, without seeing non-stop union anti initiative commercials. Even the liberal papers are beginning to classify the union commercials as mis-truths and full of lies
She also mentioned that most teachers are angered by the commericals. A little known fact is that California has approximately 345,000 teachers. Only about 125,000 of them are union members.
So you're saying McClintock is wrong to support these measures?
I'd rather not see Schwarzenegger serve another term, but supporting these measures is important.
the ramifications for these reforms go far beyond California. Other states that wish to take on the Unions are waiting to see what happens in California.
If the Rats lose, conservatives should come right back to the initiative with a right to work state law, and remove the unions from the Rat's back pocket for good. What a thought, a union that would have to compete for membership!
Arnold's poll numbers are down, but I don't understand why. He hasn't changed his message -- which is, in short: "loosen up these public sector labor union cartels, get a control on spending, etc."
It is the electorate that's changed -- but again, the question is - WHY??
If Arnold were currently popular, as he was earlier this summer, Prop 75 would be ahead in the polls, as it was earlier this year (that was great news).
My husband thinks that basically, the problem is that California citizens are stupid. He argues that they had only supported Arnold originally, because of his movie-star status. (Now that the bloom's off the rose, voters don't care to support him.) That's a pretty dreary, cynical assessment -- but CA voters ARE the products of Public Ed, after all, so -- I guess the moral foundations upon which they vote are a bit 'shaky,' and are not firmly rooted in a fixed set of well-articulated beliefs.
Too bad.
Anyway, my husband and I will be voting YES on all of Arnold's propositions, as Los Angeles voters. It'll be great to cancel out some of these Hollywood idiots' votes with our 2 votes.
:)
Conservatives have cause to pick a few bones with Schwarzenegger. Some of them are fairly serious. He's been a mixed bag at best.
In general I agree with your comments regarding the fickle public. It should be acknowledged that the Unions have spent upwards of $118 million dollars to destroy Schwarzenegger, in the interest of defeating his initiatives.
I suspect more than a few on the right have been watching with glee as this took place. I think that's short-sighted, but what the hey.
These initiatives are worthy of yes votes IMO.
Yes they are. They all deserve a YES vote. Any sensible, freedom-loving person would support them with very strong enthusiasm.
The fact they they are a 'hard sell' is truly puzzling & alarming.
Does the unions' non-stop political propaganda (heard on the radio with regularity lately out here in Calif.) really have such strong influence on people in the state?? If so, it's a sad and very worrisome comentary on the long-term effect of public (union-run0 education. Apparently, K12 campuses have become nothing more than pro Democrat party re-education camps... the citizens out here are completely incapable of appreciating the benefits of liberty, any longer.
-4L
at least the voters in california are given an opportunity to vote on these issues - in most states, people cannot. if they fail to vote in these reforms, Arnold should allow the Dems in the legislature to push through massive tax hikes, sign them into law, then resign as governor and tell the people "you had your chance, this is the result" - and go back to making movies.
What is "known" by too many sheeple throughout CA comes from the $118 million campaign of lies by the union interests who are fighting for the survival of their unbridled control of the Democrat legislature. The governor's been attacked on his left-flank by ads targeting women.
The attacks come because he restrained education funding this year to a $3 billion increase instead of $5 billion demanded by the education establishment and is being slandered for stealing that non-existent $2 billion. That's the premise for the stupid "another bad idea on education" advertising.
He was attacked over supposedly wanting to eliminate firefighter widow's benefits when no such proposal was ever made, was never considered, simply because an initiative written by a republican legislator did not specifically exclude that possibility. It was another manure-filled argument made out of whole-cloth designed to paint him as "extreme" and "mean spirited."
Since you're off in Jesse Venture's old stomping ground, the land of 10,000 taxes, why are you over here telling CA Freepers what it's like in California?
No one could face $118 million in slanderous advertising and come away entirely bulletproof. Especially someone having difficulty raising funds. Why is the Republican establishment unwilling to help him rescue California from the Democrat's grip?
That said Arnold would be doing much better if he continued to maintain his "brand" with positive ads sprinkled throughout. Remind women and men what he inherited, what progress has been made. Clinton did this "mayor of America" type stuff and it helped him beat removal from office and avoid prosecution. The reform campaign strategy being used now works only if he's seen in a positive light and the years-long opposition propoganda advertising has made him a liability instead.
He's gotten abominable political strategy advice from Pete Wilson's team. It's shameful!
GOP legislators have handed him poison such as the initiative withdrawn earlier this year because it might, some how, open a theoretical door to ending firefighter widow's benefits.
As a political outsider, the state GOP should have offered their very best advice and support to him. I'm coming to the conclusion he's being set up to fail because he's not part of the "political ruling class" and wasn't "annointed" by the money-men and king-makers of the Republican establishment.
As I watch the post-recall machinations, I more fully anticipate the plotting of a coup in 2006 to remove him as GOP standard-bearer in the primary and replace him with someone the establishment has selected. They'll say he's "tainted," "out of his depth" and must step aside. And I expect too many Republicans, full of righteous indignation over Arnold's recall win (instead of McClintock), will fall for it.
Exceedingly alarming. The issue of this special election has been turned away from the common sense reforms to Arnold. Throughout an entire year the electorate has been told Arnold is mean, greedy, power-hungry and responsible for little Juanita for not being able to read.
They figured out how to beat him *NOT* on issues but on personality: 1. because he's not able to raise enough funds from GOP donors 2. he hasn't focused on maintaining a positive image of himself in people's minds.
The Democrats are using their tried-and-true tactics. Just think about it: Bush might be able to win elections but who controls the nation's agenda and mindshare? It's Democrats, the minority party.
LOL. I thought about that; he doesn't need this aggravation. I will say it's enough to get me to seriously consider leaving the state. I think next year is the make-it-or-break-it. If they put another Dem back in the governor's office (or Warren Batty) the state won't be worth living in.
While I agree with your comments more than this might reflect, it's still difficult to allow a $118 to $35 million dollar add campaign, and still think the populace won't be swayed by the uneven spending. Hearing the governor slandored for month on end with very little rebuttal, would have to influence some people, especially when the newspapers and other MSM media outlets remain stone cold silent about the lies of the left.
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