November 05, 2005

Yes on Proposition 77

If you've seen the commercials against Proposition 77, you've been lied to. Don't believe the lies: vote yes, it's the only way to reform Sacramento.

See this:

In the ocean of distortions that has become the campaign against Proposition 77, Senate leader Don Perata last week briefly became an island of truth. The Alameda County Democrat admitted that politicians prefer to control the drawing of their own district lines to make it easier to keep themselves in office.

"We are politicians, and we do have the interests of incumbents at heart," he said.

But Perata's foray into frankness, alas, was short-lived...

...The real insult is that the warning about "power-hungry politicians" was paid for by - you guessed it - power-hungry politicians, and mailed by the California Democratic Party. While Proposition 77 has been endorsed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, against the advice of many of his Republican Party colleagues, it is also backed by Common Cause, TheRestOfUs.org and CalPIRG, three very independent, grass-roots groups that have been fighting for years to put the job of redistricting in the hands of an independent commission. Some power grab...

...When people ask why we are having a special election, why can't the governor and the Legislature just work things out, Proposition 77 provides the best explanation. There is no other way to make this change. It requires a constitutional amendment, and while the Legislature in theory could place one on the ballot, politicians have never shown any tendency to give up even a sliver of the power they cherish. An independent ballot initiative is the only way.

Posted to California at November 5, 2005 07:41 AM

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