[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
For those who are unaware, California has been playing a game of fiduciary footsie for decades, an odious annual budgetary process of huffing, puffing, and stalling for nothing more than a slow bleed to humiliate what was once a great Republic. A supermajority of 2/3 is required to pass a budget, so a very minority Republican cabal can—and has—hijacked the entire process into utter failure in a blind stupid adherence to never-ever raise taxes ideology.
Unable to raise taxes or fix ridiculous Prop 13 regressions the state has frantically used smoke, mirrors, denial and deception so many times anyone could rightly assume this glorious budgetary year is no different in the fatuous statements of delay and doom than political seasons past, but 2009 really is it--really really--if we don’t fix our revenue base and budgetary system now major elements of the State will soon start to shut down.
Like 220 State parks, over-run and neglected but still beautiful and offering our people so much while serving our duty as Earth stewards. Even after all these years I’m simply incredulous at the searing contempt California Republicans have for the little people, how is it possible Arnie and the Republicans could ever even think of doing this to us?
Political scientists are always on the watch for policy triggers, enactments of policy that are so outrageous or so lacking in response change sparkles out of one variable (Johnson enacting the Civil Rights Act and turning the south red). If in fact the Republicans shut down 220 State parks watch very closely, that act will crash over a tipping point if any will, a lot of Californians are going to seethe and pound pavement with rage for months if that happens. I don’t think the legislature will be over-run in a riot, but just watch Californians make whomever is so stupid and callous to try that little trick pay and pay and pay for it.
Republicans are responsible for this, Republicans are the ones hijacking the budget with ludicrous, childish obstinacy and ensconcing Arnie in a pitiful shroud of willful ignorance and stupidity. California’s current crisis is a purely Republican one, we don’t have to shut major parts of the state down, we can fairly raise taxes.
One would think in such a blue state closing 220 state parks is simply never an option, so why is it? For whatever reasons—not having a Democratic Governor is a huge one—the Democratic Party doesn’t have the leadership and ability to defend taxation and take on the Republicans in huge fight to correctly identify Republicans as stupid dangerous obstructionists.
Gavin Newsom has made a good start in campaigning to eliminate the stupidly destructive undemocratic 2/3 budget rule, but there’s nothing in his current message to properly identify what’s happened to California and who is responsible for it.1
Democrats didn’t shut our parks down, Republicans and Schwarzenegger did. Republicans are the ones who refuse to fix Prop 13 or raise taxes, so Republicans will shut this State down and break it, they don’t believe in government and they’re finally getting they’re utterly disastrous chance to prove it.
If in fact that comes to pass in 50 days (voters totally rejected an asinine Arnie budget a few weeks ago, man what a total embarrassment for all California adults that was), as looks more likely every hour, the Democratic Party and little people of California cannot ever afford for there to be any iota of confusion about who did this to us and who owns it.
Republicans are shutting our parks down. The Republican Governor is taking a knife to the weakest among us, the sick and aged, they don’t have much power and the pittance we spend on them is easily cut off. Republicans will burn in effigy Schwarzenegger or anyone who tries to raise taxes, which shuts the state down, democratic Republics can’t function with that kind of stupid inflexibility.
Can the current California Democratic Party or Newsom effectively communicate that obvious truth? Obviously to a significant degree not, since the Republicans dare to really shut us down and think they can get away with it.
It would be very, very easy to do, since in fact it’s the screaming total truth Republicans are destructively taking us down, it’s not the Democrats, the Feds or the weather. One would hope Newsom sees the truth and the tremendous political opportunity, but we shall see what happens.
[1] Netroots junkies should note very, very carefully the Blog category at the Newsom site and the precise listing and linking of liberal sites, including the mighty grand big orange, the big kahuna Daily Kos, my my my.
It’s very nice to see real endorsement of liberals by a politician, very gratifying to be led by a man who isn’t embarrassed of the leftist pixel horde or "wisely" triangulating us to shit. If liberals are upset about the current weak position of the liberal blogosphere or being virtually ignored perhaps they should follow and endorse candidates who precisely endorse them, such as Gavin Newsom. It’s an excellent indicator their views and goals will be respected if in fact the politician is elected.
This is not a criticism of President Obama, simply a fact. President Obama brilliantly utilized the web with his revolutionary campaign site and was considered wise by many by basically ignoring the blogosphere, it made him less driven by partisanship and not beholden to "extremes."
That’s fine, we now have a Democrat in the White House. The problem is that after an election the only citizens still interested in politics and policy are the junkies at the liberal blogs and sites, there isn’t anyone else to mobilize if real help is quickly needed, don’t make me laugh telling me the mailing list from the campaign will still be truly useful.
How much will Democrats and liberals pay for this? It’s impossible to know, but it didn’t have to be this way, not in the least.