LIVE THREAD - California special election (props 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)

California Secretary of State- Special Statewide Election ^ | Tuesday evening November 8th

[ajolympian2004]

TODAY, Californians are heading to the polls to vote on several major propositions that shall dramatically affect both the political and economic future of our state.

We are following the activity and will report the results.

California Propositions

2.8% of precincts reporting as of Nov 08 08:13 PM PST

Results: http://www.sfgate.com/election/

[OKIEDOC]

Am I the only one who can hear the wake up bell ringing.

Bush and all our leaders on down to Arnold tried to compromise with the Democrats.

All this did was alienate those in the middle and piss off the base.

It's Time To Get Tough Conservatives.

Don't wimp out on us now.

[Rokke]

"It's little wonder why so many conservatives stayed home. Their own party doesn't support them...why should they support it?"

I love that philosophy. "If I can't have my way, I'm going to take my ball and go home." Are you telling me there was nothing in the California referendums a conservative could support? Are you telling me that it is better to cede every issue to the liberals and just live with the consequences. How French.

[Prime Choice]

See this post. It pretty much says it all.

[tflabo]

"What a bunch of left-wing whackos."

Man is Michael Savage so right....left coast lunacy rules the day out there. Like a wailing watchman on the tower warning of impending doom..... history repeats itself.

[afnamvet]

There is plenty of room in my "truck" to roll over RINOs and to stand firmly for the Constitution of the United States of America. Join me?

[calcowgirl]

Precisely my point. One of the core conservative values is to keep fiscal responsibility foremost.

Prop 76 wasn't about fiscal responsibility. It authorized more debt/bonds and deferred more expenses. It wasn't projected to have an effect on spending until the next decade (but would increase borrowing for near term spending increases). The soundbites were good, but the fine print was a killer.

[Rokke]

Yes. I've heard so much about "the base" lately. The only problem is, "the base" seems to be a little hard to define. In fact, "the base" seems to be whatever group the person who uses the term belongs to. The simple fact of the matter is, hard core conservatives did not put George Bush in office. That is because, unfortunately, there just aren't enough hard core conservatives in this country to do that. The real Republican base is that vast number of moderately conservative Americans who live in the small towns covered in red on those red/blue election maps. They are good, strong people whose lives don't necessarily revolve around politics. A little discussed fact on this site is that public approval numbers for the conservative Alito nomination are about the same as the public approval numbers for Miers. Yet the difference in support on sites like this one is night and day. Similarly, George Bush's approval numbers among Republicans has hardly waivered. Yet a few weeks ago, many conservatives were calling Bush an "idiot", a "traitor" and a "sellout". Strong conservatives need to realize that they are not "the base" of the Republican party (as much as we wish we were). We can be part of the rudder, but we ain't driving the ship. And when the ship doesn't always go in the direction we want it too, we need to realize that if we jump off, we will probably get tossed a life preserver and be left with nothing to do but fight off the sharks.

[Hildy]

Can you imagine there are people who whine...ad nauseum...on this site and didn't vote in this election. They same people, I might add...who said McClintock could have won the special election. Unbelievable.

[calcowgirl]

Why do you think that Prop 76 was not a conservative measure?

Prop 76 was not a spending cap. It did not curb spending. It deferred expenses. It authorized more debt and bonds. The purpose of the measure was to lock in the financing provisions of existing debt to set the state up for massive infrastructure borrowing. As I said above, the campaign soundbites were good, but the fine print was a killer.

[BurbankKarl]

I was wondering if those 500,000 vote margins were largely due to people leaving the state for NV and AZ the past few years....

But you have to be honest with yourself....it isnt going to swing back in the other direction.

[calcowgirl]

And I do believe that fiscal conservatism (Prop 76) is a valid barometer..

I believe fiscal conservatism is a valid barometer. I just don't think Prop 76 was conservative.

It's little wonder why so many conservatives stayed home.

At the last minute, I found that I would have to be out of the county this week and unable to vote, so I drove across town to Norwalk to the county registrar on Sunday to find an early voting machine. I voted for 73, 74, and 75. They were close, but not close enough.

[NormsRevenge]

Yup. Haven't missed a vote since '72.

It wasn't wasted either, like the 200 plus million dolars the unions and their ilk had to spend to gain a pyrrhic victory .

[cgk]

I could never sleep well if I didn't do my part by just VOTING. And I am often described as a "one-issue" type.

[NormsRevenge]

I figured they were standing on the podium behind the Gub. ;-)

Did you vote straight ticket or deviate based on your own assessment of the issues presented?

[calcowgirl]

My disgust is reserved for the so-called conservatives that wouldn't support the Reform measures because of their dislike for the Governor.

I hope you are not referring to freepers who opposed some of the reform measures based on their content, while strongly supporting others. They were not all the same.

[HitmanLV]

Thanks for the clarity. I have said numerous times on FR that the average American is not nearly as conservative as the average Freeper. I think more people than not instinctively lean conservative on most issues.

The idea is to build consensus and move the status quo in positive directions.

[HitmanLV]

Good. I'm not a one issue voter, personally. I figure that most americans are not as conservative as I am, and that a candidate who reflects my values over 2/3 of the time is preferable to a candidate who relfects my values 1/10th of the time.

[NormsRevenge]

You need to look at his first year and how he handled his new office and who was advising him not to mention hos appointments and who was "advising" him.

The borrowing bond should have been the last resort , not the first thing he went for, imo.


Now is not the time to borrow more, or he will lose his support of the remaining Rs in the Senate and
Assembly and then we will really be in for a long nuclear winter.

[cgk]

Too many people laugh/scoff at the left-wing wackos instead of taking them seriously. Big mistake. They are obviously able to stir up their "base" much better than our side.

[Hildy]

But at least if you're there...you can give a damn.