It's time for California's chief executive to go over Legislature's head to the people. Negotiating with Democratic and Republican leaders on the budget has proven to be a waste of time for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. My column today even suggests that the 2010 candidates for governor avoid even being endosed by legislators. Why would a candidate want to be tied to the do-nothing Legislature?
You can read the column by clicking here.
Here's part of the column:
Here's a tip for the Democrats and Republicans who want to be the next governor of California: Stay as far away from the state Capitol as you can. The last thing you want is to have any connection to the politicians who have turned the Golden State into the Incompetent State.The California Legislature, once considered among the nation's best, has become a home for a bunch of finger-pointing whiners. That would be fine if they weren't ruining our schools, prisons and highways. But they are doing real damage now, and California families are hurting.
Voters are catching onto legislative shenanigans, which is a key reason they passed the redistricting reform initiative last month.
Like I said on Lisa's blog, you're ignoring the fact that the Governor is part of the problem. If Arnold wasn't so fixated on getting his own laundry list of legislative concessions, we might have a budget by now.
And what do you mean by "going over their heads to the people"? Don't you realize that part of the reason for the bad situation is all the budgeting-by-initiative that has already taken place? Your proposal would only make California even more ungovernable than it is.
I certainly understand your frustration, but why don't we focus on getting some changes to the system that will actually work? Start by getting rid of the 2/3 majority requirement. Most of the other states in the U.S. manage to get by without it, and don't have nearly the amount of budget problems we have. Why not use your influence to advocate for a solution, instead of just venting frustration?
Mike(D)...Jimbo has been advocating for as long as I've been reading the Bee.How about YOU doing something useful... like voting Republican.
I tried that, Brian - I voted for Codgill. I won't be making that mistake again.