Hi. Jackie Goldberg's ballot recommendations letter was written three+ weeks ago. The election is NEXT TUESDAY. -Ed
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-court30oct30,0,1460585.story?coll=la-sunday-commentary Los Angeles Times SPECIAL ELECTION The secret force behind the propositions Using Schwarzenegger's initiatives, some of the country's leading conservative minds hope to paint California red in 2008. By Jamie Court Jamie Court, author of "Corporateering: How Corporate Power Steals Your Personal Freedom And What You Can Do About It" (Tarcher/Putnam), works with Electionwatchdog.org. October 30, 2005 WHEN President Bush came to Los Angeles earlier this month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger treated him like a rival Mafia boss crossing a turf line. Schwarzenegger didn't want Bush raising money from the same right-wing Beverly Hills donors who the governor wanted to help underwrite his November ballot measure campaigns. "We would have appreciated if he would have done his fundraising after the Nov. 8 election, because you know we need now all the money in the world," said Schwarzenegger, who ran for office saying that he was so rich he didn't need anyone else's money. By turning to those donors, Schwarzenegger has revealed a truth about his proposals. He presented them as nonpartisan, but they are unquestionably rooted in a gene pool of conservatism. Some of the nation's leading conservative thinkers and strategists are seeking, through Schwarzenegger's initiatives, to alter the balance of power between the right and left wings of California politics. Their hope is to turn California red in '08 and pioneer a new gospel that can spread across the country. The grandest Republican architect is Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, host of weekly gatherings of Republicans in Washington and, according to the Aug. 1 New Yorker, the current ringleader of the "Republican revolution." "He refers to Democrats as 'the enemy'; he has described bipartisanship as 'date rape'; and he likes to talk about reducing the federal government so much that he could 'drown it in the bathtub,' " the article says. Norquist is behind Proposition 75, the Schwarzenegger initiative that polls show is most likely to succeed. It would prohibit the use of public employees' union dues for political contributions without their explicit consent. It's a Trojan horse whose larger purpose is to tilt the balance of power in politics by limiting union support for Democrats without cutting corporate sources of Republican funding. "If it passes, it will be so significant, and the effects will be so dramatic, that you would see a dozen initiatives on the ballots [in other states] within two to four years," Norquist said. Texas Rep. Tom DeLay inspired Schwarzenegger's Proposition 77, which would redraw political districts more to the benefit of Republicans and do so in 2006 rather than after the 2010 census. State and federal districts traditionally are redrawn every 10 years, consistent with the census cycle. But like Schwarzenegger, DeLay did not like the Texas redistricting results after the 2000 count. Rather than wait for a new census, DeLay engineered a plan to redraw Texas districts mid-decade. Democratic legislators fled across the Texas state line in protest. DeLay's fundraising tactics for that political coup d'etat is the subject of his recent grand jury indictment. Fairer redistricting is vital in California, but drawing new districts mid-decade is frowned upon by good-government groups. They recognize that plans tied to recent census figures are better than midstream revisions, which are prone to manipulation because they are based on older data. Those groups also favor transparent independent commissions rather than the type of unaccountable, unelected three- judge panel called for in Proposition 77. Opponents of the initiative also say it could disenfranchise minorities by preventing the panel from taking "communities of interest" into consideration when drawing boundaries. Proposition 73 is the red meat on the ballot, intended to bring the Christian right to the polls. The initiative would bar most abortions by minors unless their parents are notified. But the fine print defines abortion in the California Constitution for the first time as the "death of the unborn child, a child conceived but not yet born." This definition sets the stage in California to undermine the protections of Roe vs. Wade. To turn out Christian right voters, the Schwarzenegger machine hired Gary Marx, a protege of Christian conservative activist Ralph Reed. Marx led the get-out-the-evangelical-vote effort for Bush in 2004. Proposition 76 is another Norquist special delivery, one he and other conservatives have pushed in many states. It gives Schwarzenegger extraordinary budget powers to cut spending. California voters rejected a similar attempt by former Gov. Pete Wilson in 1992, but Schwarzenegger is hoping to bring his star power to bear in the sequel. The national conservative attack on public schools has also found voice in this election. Proposition 74 discourages teachers from working in public schools by limiting the awarding of tenure. The California Teachers Assn. considers the initiative a stalking horse for a voucher system of "school choice" favored by conservatives. Most California voters are socially progressive and Democrats - and they are not enthused about Schwarzenegger or his ballot measures. The governor is counting on them to stay home on Nov. 8, while motivated conservatives go to the polls. If that happens, Norquist, DeLay and Reed will have the last laugh. *** from Jackie Goldberg: Sent: Monday, October 17, 2005 4:18 PM Subject: The "Special" Election Hi everyone-There are only four weeks to go until the so-called "special" election. And the big worry is that only reactionary people will vote! I can tell you for a fact, that this may be one of the more important California elections in recent years. You see, the corporate take-over of California is what is being proposed. Several of the Governor's measures, all sponsored and paid for by members of the corporate elite of California and the United States have several goals. First and foremost they do NOT want to be bothered having to work with the pesky legislature. So, they propose something they call "Live within your means." This measure makes the Governor a King where matters of money are concerned. It also trashes the Prop. 98 guarantee for Public Education. What that means is that the Governor can unilaterally determine how to cut the budget if the legislature cannot get a 2/3 vote to do so. And that means that the Republicans will NEVER vote for a budget if there is a Republican Governor who will be able to cut anything he wants, however he wants, without the approval of the legislature. It means that the legislature is irrelevant to the budget process. Regardless of what you feel about the current Governor, it is not hard to believe that at some time, some Governor will slash health care, human services, and public education because he/she needs no one to approve. Checks and balances were set into the California constitution to prevent one-man rule. This election could overturn this. Then, of course there is the redrawing of district election lines. No state uses retired judges. In fact almost all of them do it the way we in California currently do it. That is the legislature, with the signature of the Governor, writes a plan every ten years. Both sides have to agree. When they cannot agree, a lawsuit puts it into court, and then an active judge will make the changes necessary to make it fair. Think about retired judges. Currently almost all of them are going to be Anglo males, largely drawn from the men appointed by Governors Wilson and Deukmejian. This does not sound "non-partisan" to me. All in all, it is just a power grab. Even the so-called Prop. 78 "drug savings" measure is paid for by the biggest pharmaceutical companies and would be entirely voluntary on their part. The real savings to consumers would come from Prop. 79 and the drug companies are spending millions to stop this good measure. This ballot has something to hate for everyone. One proposition tries to kill off the voice of public employee unions by making it harder to get an OK from members to use money collected to lobby or support candidates. Another tells a young person who wants to teach that they will have absolutely NO job protection for five years! No other job in the state is treated like that. Talented young people with about $100,000 in debt from five years training at a University will not likely choose teaching because of this uncertainty. And of course, no assault on our rights would be complete with an attempt to limit a woman's right to choose. So here is how I am going to vote: Prop. 73 NO Prop. 75 NO Prop. 77 NO Prop. 74 NO Prop. 76 NO Prop. 78 NO That is six big NO's on the November 8th ballot. There are actually two good measures and they are, of course, at the very end. They are Prop. 79 YES; and Prop. 80 YES. I am voting YES on Prop. 79, because it would require the drug companies to negotiate a real deal with the state of California that would cover Medi-Cal recipients, and the savings would also be passed on to all Californians in lowering the drug costs for them as well. And Prop. 80, I am voting YES because it would re-regulate electricity in California so we don't end up with blackouts and with the gaming of our system by Texas Oil and Gas, and Electric company traders like Enron, etc. So, be sure to vote on Tuesday Novebmer 8th! Vote absentee, or go to the polls. But VOTE! If we fail to show up, those who want corporate rule will win by default. This is why they wanted a $50 million special election. They knew there was no urgency. They want this vote because they believe we won't go to the polls and a very small minority of reactionary voters will be able to carry the vote on these draconian measures. If you want more detail on these measures, go to the website: www.speakoutca.org There you will find background info, and a printable voting guide to send to your family and friends, and co-workers. Remember, friends don't let friends neglect their civic duty. Especially when so much is at stake. If you want to help defeat these measures, call SEIU Local 347, at (323) 712-1779 to join me in walking precincts. Or you can phone voters by calling (213) 381-5611 ext. 40 and ask for Norma Lopez. I'll see you there too. Warmest regards, as always, Jackie P.S. Remember If you can not attend the community meeting www.speakoutca.org has information on all of the initiatives and a downloadable voters guide in english and soon in spanish as well! The "Special" Election is on Tuesday November 8th! ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. 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