It’s no secret that there is a desperate need for California political reform. Whether it’s electoral, campaign finance, tax, educational, or any other California political arena, independent voters seek specific and effective California political reform. Measures that increase transparency, enhance competition, inspire voter participation, and operate within the boundaries of strict, fiscal discipline are badly needed in a state that has become inefficient, ineffective, and paralyzed by corrupt, partisan politics. In 2010 and beyond, independents will put various California political reform models to the test and aim to encourage robust intellectual debate in the public forum.
In today’s political environment, it can be easy to forget that more than a third of Americans consider themselves to be moderates. Moderates are, of course, (in)famous for their rejection of partisan politics and their critique of the ideological political polarization we have come to expect from the Democratic and Republican parties.
Over the past week, two high-profile signs of opposition to Proposition 19 have cropped up - signs that have also engendered a fierce and passionate backlash from the proponents of the measure.
The California State Assembly postponed a final vote Friday, on the approved Senate version of AB 1844, a bill that would create mandatory life sentences for violent sex crimes against children, stricter parole guidelines for sex offenders, and lifelong tracking of certain kinds of sex offenders.
Proposition 26 on the November ballot attempts to answer that question. Opponents say the business, anti-tax group backed measure defines a "fee" too narrowly and that doing so will cost the state at least $1 billion in revenue.
With the November election fast approaching, Californians are beginning to take a hard look at their various candidates. What they find may surprise them.
If Democrats lose seats as expected in this year's Senate and House elections, they will have earned it. And the blame lies squarely on the President's shoulders. Barack Obama came to office determined to be a new Lincoln. What I believe we needed was a new FDR.
