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| Home Front: Politix |
| Here comes California's May 19 Rebellion |
| 2009-05-13 |
| California voters head to the polls next week with predictions of doom echoing in their ears if they decline to endorse the massive tax hikes prescribed for them by big Democratic majorities in the statehouse, Arnold and a handful of now ruined-politically Republican legislators. "Shrill" doesn't begin to describe the campaign designed to stampede the Golden State electorate. The latest ad has a weary, soot-covered fire-fighter urging a yes vote on the tax hike. The message is clear: Vote no and your homes will burn down. Not even this sort of fear-mongering is moving the needle towards "yes" on the massive tax surge on next week's ballot as poll after poll shows all the key measures put forward by the tax-and-spend-and tax-again crowd failing badly. Arnold is doing his best to summon up the old magic but his appeal long ago hit Gray Davis-levels. Arnold was elected to slash taxes and spending, and somehow he confused that mandate with orders to throw in with the public employee unions. Too bad. He could have been a contender. The GOP "leaders" who signed on to this roadmap to ruin have been dumped by their caucuses, and go down in California history as the biggest marks to have ever had a seat at the poker game known as the "Big Five" negotiations wherein the governor and the top Republicans and Democrats in the State Assembly and Senate hash out budget matters. Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom and every other would be Democratic governor are watching their chances in '10 swirl down the drain as deep disgust with the tax-addicted grows. On the GOP side, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner --the leading candidates to replace Arnold-- are against Prop 1A, the biggest of the tax hikes, and the deep revulsion at the refusal of the Sacramento elite to make even minor cuts in the bloated state budget is forcing a realignment that east coast political reporters ought to take note of. If the tax hikes are rejected by large margins next week, the country's political elite ought to study that result closely. Despite huge spending margins and despite a thin veneer of bipartisanship, the tax hike gang is getting thumped because the electorate is saying --no, shouting-- "Enough!" Everyone has a story of a state or county employee friend who is retiring at 55 with a guaranteed life pension of $75,000 or more plus gold-plated medical benefits. Almost everyone knows that massive amounts of money have flowed into Los Angeles public schools and still half of the kids drop out. Majorities realize that businesses don't have to operate here, and that places like Texas may lack the Rose Parade but let you grow a business and keep most of the profits. On social issues, the California is evenly split, as the narrow victory for traditional marriage this past fall demonstrated. But there is a sizeable majority in favor of a radical change in the way government operates. The anger directed at Arnold and his tax-raising, free-spending pals is fueled by the genuine hardships brought about by the panic in the fall and the drop in home prices. Every business and almost all families have had to make painful cuts and downsize or postpone dreams. But not the state government. And that has ignited the voter revolt underway that will culminate next week. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #15 Part of the problem is that the feds are already interfering with California. Arnold apparently wanted to cut wages of some unionized health care workers. The unions called Washington, and Obama threatened to withhold stimulus money if they cut the workers wages. I lived in California last year while working on a contract. The ads and counter ads during election season drove me nuts. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-05-13 20:41 |
| #14 Can I vote on whether or not the Obama and the Congressional Democrats bail out California with my tax money? |
| Posted by: DMFD 2009-05-13 18:14 |
| #13 Arnold got his orders to throw in with the voters the last time Caliphornia had a batch of anti-public union referenda on the ballot and they all lost. The people of Caliphornia have gotten what they voted for. By the time the advertising is done, I can't imagine they will defeat these efforts to further consolidate the hold of the unions on the state and the Democrat puppets who run it. But if they do, 2010 will be a very interesting year. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-05-13 17:43 |
| #12 Not just NO. HELL NO!!! |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-05-13 14:40 |
| #11 Just mailed my Absentee Ballot with "No" across the board. |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2009-05-13 14:16 |
| #10 Well, you can knock me down, Step in my face, Slander my name All over the place. Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh, Honey, lay off of my HDTV!!! |
| Posted by: Zorba 2009-05-13 13:30 |
| #9 I think they are going after the large screen Plasma TVs which are less energy efficient. ..but usually cheaper. The Poor(tm) hit worse. Oh, the humanity. Big screens only for the |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-05-13 12:59 |
| #8 I think they are going after the large screen Plasma TVs which are less energy efficient. |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2009-05-13 12:22 |
| #7 OC Register reports legislation will be passed by this summer to ban all big screen TVs in California. Heh. I expect a revolt!! |
| Posted by: Zorba 2009-05-13 11:58 |
| #6 Follow the record of a federal judge who imposed a 'tax surcharge' on an entire state. SCOTUS's weasel wording in overturning the tax was that the judge had failed to exhaust all other means before imposing it, meaning that the judiciary [like the old English Crown] reserves the power to impose taxes, even though the founding fathers specifically declared that the power only resides in the legislative branch. It's an Anglo-American position held since the English Civil War which predated our own war of independence by over a hundred years. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-05-13 09:23 |
| #5 The judges should be the first to be thrown out of office. Unelected tyrants. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-05-13 09:23 |
| #4 Calizimbabwe growing pains. No worries. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-05-13 09:07 |
| #3 Glenmore, You are absolutely right - and not just taxes, either. I've seen judges actually plan to impose controls on whether or not you could move out of a school district. I should have been a bit more precise; I think you are going to see taxes levied at the STATE level instead of local/county for just schools. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2009-05-13 08:51 |
| #2 Mike, The courts have imposed taxes on school districts for |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-05-13 07:22 |
| #1 ...And if the state doesn't get its way, there are plenty of 'interest groups' who will be happy to take it to a friendly court and have taxes imposed there. You heard me right - I think that we will see taxes laid down on American citizens by unelected judges. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2009-05-13 06:25 |