Voter Revolt -- It's a California Thing

Los Angeles Times ^ | October 6, 2003 | Mark Z. Barabak

[John Jorsett]

We've been here before, even though this has been a campaign unlike any other.

From time to time, California erupts with a spasm of anger, a voter revolt that shudders the landscape like the inevitable, if unpredictable, earthquakes that are part of life on the continent's edge.

The effort to oust Gov. Gray Davis, less than a year after he won a second term, is part of a continuum that reaches back to Ronald Reagan's first election in 1966, amid the upheaval of the civil rights movement and campus unrest over Vietnam.

Antecedents include the revolutionary tax-slashing Prop- osition 13, the bench-clearing recall of state Supreme Court Justice Rose Bird and her liberal allies, the imposition of term limits and other moves over the last decade to straitjacket Sacramento and give voters a larger say over the day-to-day actions of their representatives.

[Publius6961]

Antecedents include the revolutionary tax-slashing Prop- osition 13, the bench-clearing recall of state Supreme Court Justice Rose Bird and her liberal allies, the imposition of term limits and other moves over the last decade to straitjacket Sacramento and give voters a larger say over the day-to-day actions of their representatives.

From time to time it is heartening to see them slapped down: the perverts, the socialists, the clueless...

That small band of loudmouths, marinated in ignorance and with far more influence on the state than their puny numbers justify.

Life is good.

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[Joe Bonforte]

Ah, don't you know that if we just let our benificent elected representatives spend all the money they want to and pass any laws they desire, they can be paragons of leadership, and shape a utopia of fairness and plenty for all.

We ignorant voters are just getting in their way. Imagine us demanding to keep some of our own money! Or even more insolent - demanding that politicians and judges show at least minimal competence by our own standards! How can we do this to our wise, honest, upright, and hard-working liberal leaders?

[proxy_user]

Well, they voters could try electing better representatives. Just a thought. Who knows, it might happen....in all those gerrymandered solid Democratic districts.

[CatoRenasci]

Every example of "voter revolt" cited, and they missed the 1910 earthquake which ushered in the initiative, referendum and recall, is a clear example of voters expressing their displeasure with the way California's state government was running things. Primarily, the issues were spending that kept increasing, taxes being raised to meet the spending spree, and voters' seaching for ways to limit taxes and spending growth.

Californians may be liberal on social issues, but the vast majority of them are tired of misgovernment.

[oldfart]

So what's the big deal? I've always thought California was revolting...

[DoctorZIn]

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[Smogger]

So what's the big deal? I've always thought California was revolting...

Spoken like a true FR Kalifornia hater. A perfect example of why the opinions of Freepers outside of California are not only completely worthless, they are also jealous, bitter and petty.

[oldfart]

Unfortunately (in any sense of the word), I speak from experience. I had the misfortune to spend twelve years of my life in California, hoping all the while that what I was living through was some anomaly and that things would get better. Well, things did get better, but I had to move back to Oregon to benefit from the improvement.

Don't get me wrong, Oregon isn't heaven, but it's a lot better than California. Evidently there are a lot of others who feel the same way too. Both Ryder and U-Haul are offering cut rates to anyone who wants to rent one of their trucks to go south. It doesn't seem to work very well though, they have to hire drivers to take units to the Bay Area and give them bus fare back home.

If you love California I salute you. But I wish you (or someone) could explain to me why-- if the state is so great-- so many people are leaving, only to be replaced by a horde of illegals from even further south. California does have some nice places, like the Sierras and the northern counties, but even those places are rapidly becoming trash pits. The last time I climbed Mt. Whitney I had to walk carefully to keep from stepping in piles of $h!t. The good citizens of California seem to have an aversion to picking up after themselves. I'm sure there are many people who are good, clean, public-spirited citizens, but the average seems to be best represented by the denizens of the primate exhibit at the zoo.