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California voters unite, Republicans, Democrats and Indies
Posted by anticsrocks • 5/21/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: California, conservative, landslide, voters
The tide is turning and the far left is getting a bit anxious. It would seem that contrary to what Colin Powell said about Americans wanting bigger government and more taxes, that is not quite true. In fact the voters in California showed that it isn’t true at all. They voiced their opinions in the most fundamentally American way there is - at the poll booth. Governor Schwarzenegger, who was initially elected to office on the platform of smaller government and less taxes has become so weak that he no longer even looks like a Republican. His constituents have told him this in their refusal to help him increase taxes. The following is posted from an article by Joshua Culling posted on National Review Online:
corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmM4Y2IxODM3YzViODhkODg2Njc2Y2UzZWM0NjQ4Y...
— Proposition 1A would have been the most damaging to taxpayers, as it would extend tax hikes on sales, income, and vehicles for two years, to the tune of $16 billion. It was disguised as a spending cap, but that cap was weak. Voters sniffed out the tax hikes and overwhelmingly opposed them 66-34.
— Proposition 1B didn’t fare much better, as it was rejected by a 62.5 to 37.5 vote. This measure was Gov. Schwarzenegger’s bow to the all-powerful teachers unions. It would have thrown an addition $9.3 billion toward education. It hoped to draw that money from the rainy day fund 1A would have established (so much for a spending cap). Thankfully for taxpayers, both measures were defeated.
— Proposition 1C would have allowed the state to borrow against future lottery revenues, about $5 billion. You have to give state government credit for creativity — they’re tops when it comes to new and innovative budget gimmicks that ignore the reality that they consistently spend outside their means. Voters recognized that Prop 1C ignored this fundamental reality and rejected it 65-35.
— Proposition 1D would have shifted almost $2 billion from the California Children and Families Program into the general fund to close the budget gap. This is more budgetary maneuvering that would have left taxpayers on the hook when the program’s funding was inevitably restored. It lost 66-34.
— Proposition 1E failed by the same 66-34. Like Prop 1D, it would have diverted funds from elsewhere in the budget to shore up general-fund overspending (about $230 million annually from Proposition 63 — a tax on the rich).
— Proposition 1F was the only measure to pass. It imposed a weak limit on pay raises for legislators, theoretically disallowing them during budget deficit years. Regardless of its actual teeth, the results show true populist outrage in California: The measure passed by a resounding 74-26.
This is very interesting in that in order to have this big of a landslide, you have not only Republicans voting against this, but also Democrats and Independents as well. Looks like the tide is beginning to turn.
User Comments
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Didn't they give the actual percentage of voters? And that the number was small?-
Yes liberty my post has the percentages, but here they are again.
Propositions
1. 1A “Rainy Day” Budget Stabilization Fund
Yes - 1,334,724 (34.1%)
No - 2,569,677 (65.9%)
2. 1B Education Funding. Payment Plan
Yes - 1,460,630 (37.4%)
No - 2,435,276 (62.6%)
3. 1C Lottery Modernization Act
Yes - 1,376,145 (35.4%)
No - 2,507,236 (64.6%)
4. 1D Children’s Services Funding
Yes - 1,331,624 (34.3%)
No - 2,550,562 (65.7%)
5. 1E Mental Health Funding
Yes - 1,299,638 (33.6%)
No - 2,563,412 (66.4%)
6. 1F Elected Officials Salaries
Yes - 2,874,524 (73.9%)
No - 1,016,557 (26.1%)
www.thepolicyreport.net/2009/05/19/california-special-election-results/ -
My apologies, I should have clarified. I was referring to the voter turn out number. What percentage of Californians actually took the time to vote.
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Looks like 4,014,348 ballots cast out of 17,153,012, or about 23%. They were expecting a low turnout and got it. But the important thing is that any cross section will by virtue of the random sample be a fairly composite representation of the whole. So either ONLY conservatives turned out, or it was a bipartisan voter revolt.
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Hmmm, maybe ACORN should have helped......
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Colin Powell said Americans want bigger government and higher taxes? In what alternate reality did that happen?-
[Mr. Powell insisted that he doesn't want the Republicans to turn into Democrats or clones of the Democrats. But it's hard to see what other space he hopes the GOP will carve out for itself given his analysis. According to press accounts, Mr. Powell argued that America has changed, and "Americans do want to pay taxes for services" and "Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less."]
I hope the Wall Street Journal is an acceptable source for you.
online.wsj.com/article/SB124173905445498599.html
Any other questions, sati?
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More government huh? I am thinking of a word, can anyone guess?
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