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Posted on 09/12/2003 5:08:36 PM PDT by ParsifalCA
A confluence of cynicism - Steve Williams
The combined cynicism of California's Democrat-dominated legislature and a crippled Gray Davis is bringing a flood of laws bereft of bipartisanship, and not coincidentally vastly strengthening the Left's grip on state politics.
The worst of the new measures is something called Assembly Bill 503, introduced by Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego). It permits unions to use school resources, funded by taxpayer dollars, to urge the support or defeat of a ballot measure or candidate. Ultimately, the bill gives teachers' unions a free hand to campaign in public schools — using taxpayer resources to foot the bill.
Flipflopping for votes
Specifically, according to Republican Caucus leader Dave Cox, the bill overturns a Public Employees Relations Board ruling that banned the use of public resources for political purposes. It would allow unions to use state-funded resources and distribute explicit political campaign material on school campuses. Last year, Davis vetoed similar legislation by the same author. This year, of course, he's scrambling for votes, and will pay any price to get them.
If AB 503 were now state law, it is entirely conceiveable that the teachers' unions would be sending pamphlets calling for defeat of the recall home with report cards, holding political rallies in classrooms, and spreading socialist propaganda to an even greater extent than is now the case.
Promoting racism
Another one, Assembly Bill 587, introduced by Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), requires county elections officials to include sections for racial or ethnic background on voter registration forms. The California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials say it will "impose a significant state mandate because of necessary modifications to computer software programs, and ongoing data entry costs."
AB 587's provisions, it should be noted, contradict the proposed Racial Privacy Initiative, which will appear on the Oct. 7 recall election ballot as Prop. 54. Prop. 54 prohibits state and local agencies from collecting data from individuals on racial or ethnic background.
Causing a meltdown
If both measures are enacted into law, it will likely cause a meltdown among local elections officials trying to decide what to do.
Needless to say, AB 587 will also get the governor's signature the minute it lands on his desk. Never mind that it promotes racial divisiveness and further delays most Americans' desire for a truly colorblind society.
Californians will likely send the governor into early retirement Oct. 7, but the effects of what he's doing in a last, desperate attempt to keep his job will linger long after he has slipped into obscurity.
What I'm wondering is if you're required to answer this question in order to register.
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