CA: What would Hiram Johnson do?

SFGate.com ^ | 8/21/03 | Ruth Rosen - SF Chronicle

[NormsRevenge]

POLITICIANS of all political persuasions are busy invoking the legacy of Hiram Johnson, the governor of California from 1911 to 1917, who pushed the constitutional amendments for initiative, referendum and recall that California voters ratified in 1911. These reforms set the stage for the state's tradition of "direct democracy."

[NormsRevenge]

Hiram would be jacking up the unions and tearing down bureaucracies, they are the "railroads" of today, operating with absolute power and impunity.

Will Arnold take them on? Don't hold your breath.

We need better schools and after hours programs to put our kiddies in and prisons to put the children in later when they fail to pass even basic tests of literacy and knowledge.

BUT education is hands off.

dumbing down the electorate,, mission accomplished.

[tophat9000]

No one bought my signature and no one bought the other 1.6 million other......

But if you dem think you can buy 1.6 million LEGAL signature and with out lying about what it for....

Put your money were your mouth is........

O yea you tried.... lot of times before... your trying right now and lying about it to boot... and your failing

[Uncle Hal]

This gal is probably the most liberal of all the Chronicles liberal columnists. In reality the recall people turned in close to 2 million signatures not the 1.6 million she noted. I note else where in the Chronicle, DiFi recommends changing the recall law. One of her ideas is to require raising the number of signatures required for a recall from 12% to 20% of those who voted in the last election. In reality this recall of Davis got around 25% of the necessary signatures.

[RebelBanker]

WWHJD?

Sidebar on education funding: It is a fixed percentage of CA's budget due to prior referendum, so no governor can control it easily.

[DoctorZIn]

PING!

Your One Stop Resource For All The California Recall News!

Want on our daily or major news ping lists? Freepmail DoctorZin.

[NormsRevenge]

The reform that is needed may not necessarily be funding related (altho there is plenty of room for error and corruption)... but output related.

As long as socialists sitting on school district boards and state sponsored education policies support the overall effect of feeding pap and porn in the guise of "sexual enlightenment at early ages" to the children instead of teaching them things that really do matter, this state and its citizenry will suffer and decline as a people and state.

Who saddled us with that fixed percentage , btw? a leftist media lockstepped with a liberal socialist state leadership. That's OK, its for the children. Forget about the unions and kickbacks to politicos; textbooks manufacturers and history revisionists all make a pretty dollar on our dime. Will Arnie will curb that?

[NormsRevenge]

- 1 will

[schaketo]

They say that Saddam is alone and isolated – but he still has more loyal supporters than California Governor Gray Davis.

[goldstategop]

Liberals love Hiram Johnson but think conservatives are eevil for using the Progressive machinery to advance the conservative agenda. That's why I am a big "P" Progressive Republican. Yes I do think the referendum, intiative, and recall are the best things ever brought to California. And the liberal elite can't stand the fact the public is using every one of the above measures to hold them accountable.

[Axenolith]

Man, that was wierd, it started of relatively good and after the highlighted part just deteriorated to jibberish and illogic...

[rolling_stone]

http://www.peoplesadvocate.org/hiram/hiram.html

Hiram Johnson's Inaugural Address

[rolling_stone]

The opponents of direct legislation and the recall, however they may phrase their opposition, in reality believe the people can not be trusted. On the other hand, those of us who espouse these measures do so because of our deep-rooted belief in popular government, and not only in the right of the people to govern, but in their ability to govern; and this leads us logically to the belief that if the people have the right, the ability, and the intelligence to elect, they have as well the right, ability, and intelligence to reject or to recall; and this applies with equal force to an administrative or a judicial officer.

[daviddennis]

I think he was saying education is hands off in budgetary terms, not in reform terms. I wouldn't be surprised if education reform is high on his agenda ... after, of course, he straightens out the budget to the extent that is possible.

I agree with you about the "Railroads of today" - that was very well put.

This recall is about as populist as it gets. Darrell Issa's money was the accelerator. If it hadn't been for deep public dissatisfaction about Davis, the recall would have never happened. It might have even succeeded without Issa, although it would have taken a lot longer.

D