T1B

Variable wrote:

Mikey wrote:

BSmack wrote: Our founding fathers would be appalled to see ballot propositions.

The Electoral College out front should have told you that.

I see the results of this election as a sign that the people of California are finally catching on and saying "enough!!".

I see it as proof that:

1. People are stupid.
2. If you run enough negative ads for a long enough period of time, you can program people to believe anything.

How dumb does the average Californian look right now, when they overwhelmingly elected Schwarzeneggar in the recall election, who ran as a reform candidate, and then they shoot down all of his reform measures by huge margins?

Mikey wrote:Is it too much to hope that they will start demanding that their representatives in Suckramento actually get some useful work done?

Clearly. By the people voting down Prop 77, they endorsed the actions of our retarded legislature and gave them a green light to keep right on doing whatever the fuck they want.

I think it was a mistake for Ahnold to force this expensive ($80 million?) special election at a time when the state budget is in a mess.

I agree in a vacuum that it seems like a bad call, except that the main reason for it is because we are financially fucked if we don't stop the deficit spending. The special election was done primarily because of Prop 76, so we wouldn't have to borrow another $10 or $20 billion next year.

Mikey wrote:A lot of people resented the fact that they were forced to go through this in an off year. If he had waited until the regular election next year some of his initiatives might even have passed.

That's a stupid reason to vote "no"...especially on something like Prop 77. Did you know that every major newspaper, even the ultra-lib San Francisco Chronicle supported a "Yes" vote on 77? Even liberal PACs and pro higher taxes groups came out in favor of this, along with essentially every GOP group. This was a no-brainer.

The ad campaign run against Prop 77 was one of the worst I've ever seen. Three retired judges, who are picked from a bi-partisan pool by voters, recommend new district boundaries, which are then approved or shot down by voters, right? There was even a provision that said that no more than two of the judges could come from one party. Yet the ads said, the three judges that Schwarzeneggar picked would be accountable to no one, or essentially saying that Schwarzeneggar's homies would draw up the districts. Just complete bullshit.

Also, word out of Sacramento is that they are considering having Attorney General Bill Lockyear impeached for adding "Education Spending Limits" added to the ballot above Prop 76 in an attempt to sway voters to vote "No." Talk about biased language...

mvscal wrote:

Mister Bushice wrote:Exactly. The advertinsg, both print and media for this election was absolutely appalling. Props to Arnold for not taking the low road. Unfortunately, his opponents did.

So much for Ahnnld's vaunted fundraising prowess. Dude got buried by union money.

BSmack wrote:Which is why our resident dittochimps are hard at work trying to justify ballot initiatives in colonial America when it is clear to anyone with half a brain that initiatives, plebiscites or recalls would have been abhorred as examples of mob rule by our founding fathers.