OK, CA has chosen a pair of well rounded, financially endowed, fiscally conservative women to run for Governor vs Brown and Senator vs Boxer. That was the big news, and though I did support Whitman over Poizner, it was a damned if i do, damned if I don't, since each had its baggage. I supported Devore, but he just never had the financial foothold to get any traction, without some major slip-up from Fiorina. She should have no problem beating Boxer.
That said, let's address the unfortunate situation with the Propositions. In particular 14, which now has been passed by a scarce majority, but passed it did. Now the state is to run open primaries, where anyone and everyone can jump in 1 big blob of candidates. My wife and I took time to educate ourselves, and noted just how bad a proposition this was. It ran on the pretense that Government is broken, and we needed to change the way we send people to Sacramento...that this will facilitate a "different type of candidate". Strange that the only other states, 2 I believe, that have already passed such open primaries, have seen voter turnout DROP, and incumbency reign supreme, as the ones who manage to stay in power are the ones with the money & name recognition.
So much for changing the status quo
But I think I understand why it did pass. People are SO FED UP with Government, and the way its run California into the debt-ridden economic black hole we currently find ourselves in, they wanted to think they were doing something to change that...which is how the commercials ran. Unfortunately, it's not so much Government in general that ran this state into the gutter, but 3 things.
1) The Democrats in control, in the legislature, that have passed program after program after program, not caring where the money was going to come from, so long as it "helped" the less fortunate. As long as the economy was doing well, no problem. No plan, outside of higher taxes, in the event the economy goes belly up
2) The Unions, which were brought into play, by no other than the current Dem candidate for Governor, Jerry Brown, who managed to unionize all the State Government Employees, with then Governor Davis, slapping on increased pension after increasing pension, all on the taxpayer's dime. As long as the economy was doing well, no problem. No plan, outside of higher taxes, in the event the economy goes belly up
3) The people of California.....or should I qualify that, the ignorant people of California, who not only keep voting the same Democrat controlled legislature into majority power every election cycle, but also vote for propositions that are very clear in the need for increased revenue to pay for X, like Stem Cell research.
I wish Meg & Carly well, though I'm not going to hold my breath for any substantive improvements, in either the near or distant future. Especially now with the passing of Proposition 14. And so endeth my rant
