CA: Republicans say election is about party's future, not just reform

Bakersfield Californian ^ | 6/13/05 | Beth Fouhy - AP

[NormsRevenge]

LOS OLIVOS, Calif. (AP) - In this picturesque region outside Santa Barbara, most of the local chatter centers on the nearby Michael Jackson trial and the continuing tourist boom wrought by the hit wine movie "Sideways."

But neither pinot noir nor the "King of Pop" were on the agenda here this weekend at a conference of Republican activists, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's call for a special election was Topic A. Many attendees characterized the likely election as the governor's latest move to restore political sanity to California. But there was little doubt that they also view the high-stakes showdown as the best way to strengthen the GOP presence in California, where Democrats held every statewide office until Schwarzenegger broke through in the 2003 recall election. Bruce McPherson, appointed recently by Schwarzenegger to take over as secretary of state after Democrat Kevin Shelley resigned, is the second.

On Monday, Schwarzenegger is expected to call for a Nov. 8 special election so voters can consider three of his initiatives: a plan to make public school teachers work five years instead of two to get tenure; a measure stripping lawmakers of the ability to draw their own legislative districts; and a state spending cap that, among other steps, would eliminate the minimum education funding requirement approved by voters as Proposition 98.

The spending cap and a separate ballot measure requiring public employee unions to get permission from their members before using dues for political purposes are the most controversial. Both are viewed as a direct attack on Democrats and their labor allies.

The prospect of a special election and earlier budget proposals by Schwarzenegger already has provoked protests from teachers, public employees and the state's majority Democrats, setting the stage for an expensive, high-stakes partisan battle this summer and fall.

"The governor has been reduced to using the office he holds to break the backs of Democrats in the bluest of blue states," said state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who has announced a run for governor in 2006.

In a Sunday conference call with reporters, Angelides said the comments from Republican activists over the weekend suggest that the special election is little more than a GOP power grab.

"He's become the leading spear carrier, the leading edge of the Bush agenda," Angelides said of Schwarzenegger. "And he'll end up being the best organizer of Democrats in the state."

The annual Republican retreat at the wine-country ranch of former state Assemblyman Brooks Firestone is an opportunity for party activists to socialize and hear from candidates seeking their support. But most speakers at this year's conclave focused on the special election, saying their party's future and Schwarzenegger's political prospects hinged on the outcome.

"If we all come together, those initiatives will pass, and if those initiatives pass in November, we will have a lot of statewide officeholders the following November in the year 2006," said state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-San Luis Obispo, who is running for state controller next year. "We can do this - this governor is battling for us."

Many attendees spoke glowingly about the 2003 recall election, in which former governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, was ousted in a surge of populist anger that crossed party lines.

Despite plummeting approval ratings, Schwarzenegger has tried to maintain that populist position. He has characterized the special election as the best way to keep the promises of reform made in the recall.

But to hear these activists tell it, the special election is a plum opportunity for Republicans to expand their reach.

Ramon Buhler, an organizer of the Fair Districts Now Initiative, which is promoting the legislative redistricting effort, said his group would specifically go after independent voters, young people and Hispanics. Hispanics have been a reliable voting bloc for Democrats but in 2004 showed a slight uptick in support for Republican candidates.

"There are a group of people we're going to target who aren't necessarily Schwarzenegger voters," Buhler said.

Schwarzenegger has characterized the redistricting measure as a nonpartisan move, often touting the fact that both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have expressed misgivings about his plan to put a panel of retired judges in charge of drawing congressional and state legislative district boundaries. But even the governor's chief of staff, Pat Clarey, made clear that the success of that initiative is likely to boost Republican power in Sacramento.

"The Legislature that we have right now is skewed to the left to a point where we can't get anything done," Clarey said.

Attendees at the Firestone Weekend also were gleeful about the union dues measure, which they have named the "Paycheck Protection" initiative. Schwarzenegger is expected to endorse the proposal sometime soon and many of his allies were instrumental in getting enough signatures to qualify it for the ballot.

Publicly, the measure is portrayed as a stab at fairness, with supporters arguing that rank and file union members should not be forced to pay for the political activity of their leadership. But Republicans also view it as the best way to defund Democrats, by drying up their most lucrative source of campaign cash.

"The paycheck protection initiative will have a huge effect on the 2006 elections, and the amount of money coming into the races," said Matt Rexroad, a GOP strategist promoting the initiative.

As if to illustrate that point, the California Teachers Association, the union representing 335,000 teachers, voted Saturday to raise member dues by $60 per year. The money will become part of the union's $50 million campaign war chest.

The move was derided by Schwarzenegger allies as a "tax" on ordinary teachers.

[econ_grad]

Either Arnold is incredibly smart or incredibly stupid.

[goldstategop]

If he loses, we're no worse off. But if we win, its the beginning of the end of the Democrats' power here. Like Sean Connery said it famously in the The Untouchables: we have go after them in the same way they'd go after us. Only the updated version's called "The California Way."

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[NormsRevenge]

agreed, to do nothing at this point is certain disaster.