Posted on 01/29/2006 10:18:40 AM PST by NormsRevenge
From the outset, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a creature of direct democracy. He was elected via a recall election, one of the tools the state constitution gives voters to take matters into their own hands.
But when the Republican governor suggested last week that California voters also ought to be responsible for "difficult" decisions heading his way, such as whether to legalize assisted suicide, he raised significant questions about the role of representative government in California.
His position, a variety of academic and political experts contend, reflects two factors at play in California politics: Schwarzenegger is in political jeopardy and he is governing a state increasingly confused about when lawmakers should make a decision and when voters should weigh in.
Democrats, in particular, saw a chastened governor afraid to take a position on a controversial issue in an election year, especially after voters rejected every one of the initiatives Schwarzenegger asked them to support last year.
"He ran to be a leader, and now he's a waiter. He wants to hand the voters the menu," said Bob Mulholland, senior adviser to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides.
"My only conclusion is the massive defeat in the special election has completely taken the electricity out of Schwarzenegger," he said. "I thought it was a chicken way to state a position on an important issue."
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
He said he thinks Schwarzenegger's statement reflects a growing confusion at the Capitol about how to make policy in a state where the voters and the courts can have as much to say about the outcome as the governor and lawmakers do.
"I think what the governor is expressing is really a mindset that has led to a kind of policy paralysis in Sacramento," he said, "where they're not quite sure if it's something that they should tackle. It's very interesting, and I'm not sure where it leads us in terms of the role for representative democracy anymore."
California is now heading into its fifth consecutive statewide election year. Ordinarily "off" years, 2003 and 2005, were occupied by the recall and Schwarzenegger's special election.
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Why have a body of elected officials if they don't have the cahonies or the brainpoweer to get the job done for all the people, not just special interests aor the union behemoths?
FRankly, it may well be headed that way.
But do we really want a small percentage of the general population made up of LGBTers and a larger portion of illegals calling the shots along with the unions and GReenies?
This state is headed over the cliff, imo. Enjoy the fireworks.
Imagine everyone who is politically active, campaigning for their own individual issues.
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We already have diverse groups all over the place doing just that.
It also destroys the state's due process which protected an essential minority class, the taxpayer, from the majority class, those who benefit from the social safety net without any liability,
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