Prop 93 shenanigans
Both supporters and opponents of Proposition 93 are wooing Californians this year, with a purported term-limits “correction” proposition (my definition). First, let me disclose that I am and have already voted against Prop. 93 and my reasons for not supporting this proposition is simple – it’s a BAD, BAD, BAD idea!
Way back, when California citizens first began to consider term limits, I read all the available information and on paper it looked like a good idea. However, as fate would have it, term limits looked better in paper than in practice. And, just like with the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act, politicians, their supporters, consultants, lobbyists, etc., found creative ways around it and what was a noble idea quickly succumbed to corruption and manipulations and machinations. So too with term limits, elected officials chose to interpret term limits as hurdles to overcome in order to stay in office; of course they justified this reasoning that they sought to remain in office in order to complete the important tasks that their constituents had sent them to Sacramento to complete, and this is not in and of itself a ignoble ideal. Unfortunately, many of these same elected officials missed the other message that the constituents were trying to send which was we don’t want you to turn this into a life-long career.
So now we are being offered Prop 93 as a fix to a “bad” term-limit law. Proponents of Prop 93 are trying to sell the voter on the idea that letting legislators spend up to twelve consecutive years in one house is far better than the current system where they can only spend two consecutive terms in the Assembly or the State Senate or a combination thereof before being termed out thus prompting an elected official to launch a bid at the next available “elected” slot. We are also being told that passing Prop 93 would allow our elected official to become better informed and educated on their roles and responsibilities thus better servants of the people – and we are warned that failure to pass Prop 93 could mean leaving “outside” influences such as lobbyists, specials interest groups (and though they don’t mention it unions) in charge of our legislature and our government.
Opponents argue that this is a veiled attempt to thwart the will of the people and that it will actually extend the terms of up to 42 sitting legislators (Democrat and Republican alike). It is a simple, and I believe is a pretty accurate interpretation of the Prop 93.
It was this extension of office limits for sitting legislators that raised the “could this be a scam” alert in this voter’s mind. If Prop 93 was about correcting what was a perceived imbalance then it would have made sense for it to apply to newly elected officials, and not those already in office who had been elected under the old terms. Additionally, the argument that it would make for a better educated or prepared elected officials sounded ludicrous to me since if that person is that incompetent to start with then no amount of years in office could serve to better educate them, and lets not forget that each elected official has a cadre of aides and advisors, that are paid for by you and me, whose jobs are to inform and educate their boss; not to mention the entire bureaucracy of Sacramento that is in the business supposedly to serve as a resource to and for our elected officials.
So on Tuesday, February 5th I hope you vote no on Prop 93; and remember the best term limit we can impose on our elected officials is to not vote for them when they do scummy things, break the law, ignore the will of the people, grow arrogant of the privilege granted to them by the people, etc. So remember to be an informed voter and vote each and every time the opportunity presents itself.
Mitt Romney is the Man for the Job!
Okay, so I know that Giuliani endorsed McCain, and of course our erstwhile Governor has also come out in support of McCain; and as all the pundits would like us to believe that we were waiting with bated breath on whom they would endorse just so we’d know how to mark our ballots come Super-Tuesday on Nov. 5th. However, I’m not so sure that their endorsement will actually sway many Republicans, at least not those that I know personally and to those I’ve spoken to who have declared that their vote is going for Romney on Super Tuesday.
Now for those of you who’ve been tracking my blog may remember that back in September of last year, I decided to leave the Giuliani campaign after experiencing what I believed was a complete lack of consideration and respect for the campaign volunteers. I took a month or so off and evaluated the field of choices left for me, and the more I learned about Gov. Romney, his family and his team the more I liked what I saw.
As I chatted up friends and colleagues I learned that many of them were contemplating ending their support of Giuliani and looking for another candidate to support, and I know many have chosen to support Romney. That’s why I believe that even though McCain is racking up a list of endorsement from various so-called Republican leaders (many of whom are not nearly as in sync with fellow Republicans as they think they are).
Also, as I have noted in previous posts even though National Security is an issue of importance to many of us, the economy -- especially on the heels of the home mortgage debacle is moving towards the forefront of many American’s minds. Many would argue that McCain’s the man when it comes to the War on Terror and the best choice to support our men and women in uniform who are serving on various missions overseas. I would argue that Romney’s a better choice because his strong economic acumen and track record in turning around distressed enterprises positions him as the candidate that can help develop and implement strong economic strategies that in turn will allow our Nation to continue on a path of strong National Security and continue to support our men and women in uniform as they carry out the missions overseas that have been assigned them.
Additionally I’m concerned about such things as having someone who can work with individuals from both sides of the aisle and even though McCain has a track record doing that; he has often co-sponsored bills with some of these same individuals that have had unintended negative consequences. Such as McCain-Feingold, which effectively muzzled business and individuals of means, damaging their First amendment rights while pretty much giving a free pass to unions and helping give rise to many of the now notorious “527’s”. Then there was the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Reform bill that was so convoluted and out-of-touch with what “We the People” seem to be telling our elected officials, that we nearly had to rise up and storm the Bastille just to get them to listen (thanks to the radio hosts such as John & Ken, Rush Limbaugh and many others they helped rally the constituents to express their views and maybe we’ll see a repeat of this rallying to help push Romney over the top on Super Tuesday and beyond). Granted McCain may have thought he had crafted two excellent bills, but it has become obvious that McCain-Feingold is incredibly flawed and the McCain-Kennedy bill was just ill conceived.
I know many people are impressed with McCain’s reputation as a “straight talker”. However all the “straight talk” aside McCain seems to also have a mean streak that is often revealed in well documented tirades and bouts of foul language directed at individuals that cross his path or chose to actively disagree with him. I live in fear that his reputation for throwing “F-bombs” at his colleagues in the Senate is a way of life for him and though I’m no fan of some of our world leaders I cringe at the thought of a person of McCain’s temperament and what it could mean to diplomatic relations.
Just in case you think that I jumped ship to Romney on the heels of Giuliani’s withdrawal you’d be dead wrong. Last week my daughters and I sat down and completed our permanent absentee ballots and cast our lot with Romney. I hope that those Republican’s reading this blog also consider voting for Gov. Romney; but whatever you chose to do -- don’t forget to vote on Nov. 5th!