Posted on 02/11/2008 8:57:56 AM PST by NormsRevenge
With the unexpected failure of Proposition 93, state lawmakers in Sacramento find themselves with some difficult questions on their hands, questions like:
How did our efforts to fool the voters go wrong?
And who's to blame?
To that second question, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has pointed the finger at Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.
The Legislature, Arnold says, didn't deliver. By not getting the work of the people done - whether on water, health care, the budget or redistricting - the Legislature's top brass failed to prove itself worthy of the extra time in office.
Which is all true, but then it was was true before the election, too - when Schwarzenegger shamefully flip-flopped on Proposition 93 and gave it his endorsement.
As for Perata, he takes exception to Schwarzenegger's suggestion that the Legislature was to blame for the measure's defeat, and delivered a tirade so whiny that it must be quoted in its entirety to fully appreciate:
"This has always been a one politician state, as far as (Schwarzenegger) is concerned, and we are being used to be pointed at for not doing stuff. And everywhere he goes, with the exception of when he is in Big 5 talking to us, he seems to find lots of criticism for the Legislature.
"And I just remind everyone that he is no longer a citizen politician. He is a real, for real politician, just like the rest of us.
"If you want to blame us for what's been going on in this state, he's not first. I am sure he won't be the last. But I don't think it's very constructive with what we are faced with today."
Not that Perata's bitter or anything.
But, then, he's got reason to be bitter. Despite all the money he and Nuñez raised for Proposition 93, their deceitful attempts to eviscerate term limits failed badly. That's why they now must confront what Perata describes as "what we are faced with today" - the need to go out and get a real job.
But after spending the last year thwarting the people's interests in Sacramento, there's a certain poetic justice in the people's having thwarted Perata's interests.
Meanwhile, only Nuñez - who has been more gracious than Perata in defeat - has the courage to point the finger at himself.
"I take full responsibility for Proposition 93 going down," Nuñez says. "I thought we were going to be able to work out a redistricting deal with my Republican colleagues."
Nuñez is right, no doubt, that the Legislature's failure to pass redistricting reform contributed to Proposition 93's problems. But it was hardly redistricting alone that doomed this measure.
The bigger problem for Nuñez and Perata is that Californians like term limits and want to keep them strong. They also don't like it when politicians lie to them. And that's why Proposition 93's defeat had as much to do with its marketing as with its content.
No amount of recrimination is going to change that.
As Schwarzenegger has said, it's time to "move on" on Proposition 93 - and to make sure the right lessons are learned.
It’s a performance thingy.
If you put on a good performance,
they ask you to come back.
Good bye and Good night Messrs Pinata and Nooneze.
My eyez glazed over and my ears swelled up for a few weeks as that and other ads ran non-stop.. and we still have all the November election ads to look forward to.. It’s gonna be a long year. :-\
We’re nipping at 70 today , had 67 or so here yesterday.
Those folks at the golf tournament sure lucked out weather-wise this year..
Now Messrs. Nunez and Perata will have to work for a living like the rest of us.
I say, “Good riddance!”
>> And who’s to blame?
Who cares, as long as they’re gone. Especially Perata.
Say, did he ever get his carjacked Charger back?
Unexpected? I didn't pay much attention to it, but I thought that the pre-election polls indicated that it was going down even with the elected officials trying to confuse people by calling it a term limit law.
I will never forget the Ad that look like Aronld was supporting it at gun point with a Camera in his face.
SB777
signed into law by
??
You got it.
Cleaning house when done , should be done with fervor and fastidiousness, and preferably by hired help. :-)
“Say, did he ever get his carjacked Charger back?”
I think I heard something about it being found in Richmond or at Hilltop Mall a day or two later..
Never mind... answered my own question.
The juxtaposition of the pictures in the link... the man, the car, the gun... is kind of cute, considering the Prop 93 thing.
Buh bye, Perata!
By endorsing 93, Schwarzenegger lost what little credibility he had left. 93 failed, he got nothing in return for his endorsement, so it turns out he sold us out for nothing. What a dope.
The Legislature, Arnold says, didn’t deliver. By not getting the work of the people done - whether on water, health care, the budget or redistricting - the Legislature’s top brass failed to prove itself worthy of the extra time in office.
Hey Arnold!....How fast can you fly out of the hot tub? Your liberal buddies are wondering what the hell happened?
Arnold came in calling them Girly Men..... then Arnold became one of them...... watch out Arnold, look what happened to your flip flopped Prop. 93... a “TOTAL RECALL” could be next!
Like you, I’m trying to teach myself to not hear the ads.
We were up to about 70 yesterday......lovely weather. And the same today. I’m so glad that the intense cold is gone. Wearing four layers of clothes gets tiresome.
Blah, blah, blah. It takes a lot to get good things done in this state. It is ruled by public service unions. But at least we got one.
And thanks to the peoples proposition 140 (1997) and the defeat of the politicians proposition 33 (2000) They will get no retirement benefits from the State of California!
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