As we get close to the Special Election, California’s newspapers are going through their every-election ritual of taking official position on ballot measures that will appear before voters. For conservatives, this is an exercise in cynicism – as we have come to expect, with a few exceptions, it is always the liberal causes that receive the blessing of the editorial boards. Heck, in Orange County, where I am from, it is a running joke that the candidate backed by the LA Times in a GOP primary loses a lot of perspective Republican voters!
So, it was with a bit of disbelief that I read an email from Prop. 77 Chairman Steve Poizner:
Today, we received endorsements from the LA Times and the San Diego Tribune for Prop. 77. Also, the San Jose Mercury News today published their 2nd strong endorsement of Prop. 77.
That’s a clean sweep of every major newspaper in CA–about 30 at this point.
Steve
I quickly followed up with the excited Poizner, asking for the whole list of papers that endorsed 77. Below the list, I have excerped some great quotes from some of the editorials.
I’m not saying that these editorials mean that Prop. 77 is even close to a slam dunk, or that these endorsements will deliver a lot of voters (like I said, we could conceivably lose some GOP voters in LA if they read the Times endorsement!) — but it is notable that you have a coalition of grassroots conservatives, good-government type groups, and many (not all, unfortunately) Republican legislators, and, of course, Governor Schwarzenegger and AT LEAST 30 NEWSPAPERS!
Momentum is going our way!
NEWSPAPERS THAT HAVE ENDORSED PROP. 77
Los Angeles Times, 10/23/05
San Francisco Chronicle, 10/12/05
San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/23/05
Sacramento Bee, 10/9/05
San Jose Mercury News, 10/2/05
Orange County Register, 10/11/05
Fresno Bee, 10/2/05
Contra Costa Times, 10/7/05
Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/7/05
Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 9/26/05
Pasadena Star News, 10/13/05
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 10/13/05
Grass Valley Union, 10/15/05
Valley Times, 10/7/05
San Ramon Valley Times, 10/7/05
West County Times, 10/7/05
Whittier Daily News, 10/13/05
Santa Barbara News Press, 10/3/05
Bakersfield Californian,10/2/05
Santa Cruz Sentinel, 10/5/05
Santa Maria Times, 10/9/05
Stockton Record, 10/12/05
North County Times, 10/16/05
Merced Sun Star, 10/19/05
Redding Record Searchlight, 10/18/05
Hanford Sentinel, 10/19/05
Barstow Desert Dispatch, 10/19/05
Porterville Recorder, 10/19/05
The Acorn (1000 Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark), 9/29/05
NOTABLE QUOTABLES:
"California politicians used data from the 2000 census to protect their respective flanks in impressive fashion. In November 2004, 153 legislative and congressional seats were on the ballot. Not a single one changed party hands."
— San Francisco Chronicle YES ON 77 Editorial
"The greatest political swindle of the last 50 years in California has been the conspiracy between Democrats and Republicans to protect their own hides by redrawing the state’s legislative and congressional districts. Proposition 77, which would take the redistricting process out of the hands of politicians, offers voters a chance to prevent such mischief. Californians should vote yes on Proposition 77 on Nov. 8."
— Los Angeles Times YES ON 77 Editorial
"Proposition 77, the governor’s redistricting plan, aims to end the conflicts inherent when lawmakers map their own political districts. Because of this gerrymandering, members of Congress tend to keep their jobs for life; legislators keep them as long as term limits allow."
— Sacramento Bee YES ON 77 Editorial
"In 2001 the two parties in California upped the cynicism ante. They collaborated to design districts in which one party or the other has clear dominance, meaning almost no election races are close to competitive. In 2002 none of the 153 legislative seats covered by the 2001 reapportionment changed party hands. The practical effect on governance, especially at the state level, cannot be overemphasized. The current arrangement has exacerbated legislative deadlocks, diminished the capacity for legislative negotiations and, consequently, pushed more public policy issues into the initiative process."
— Orange County Register YES ON 77 Editorial
What we have now is simply not democracy. We have a party-ocracy where the fat cats run the system and the people are shut out. If it were not for the proposition system, the people would still have no mechanism for reform. But thanks to Prop. 77, voters have a chance to effect real change.
— Pasadena Star News YES ON 77 Editorial
But it does take aim at a Legislature that pushed through an irresponsible and cynical redistricting plan that served incumbents’ interests and not the general public. Look no further than Santa Cruz County. Because of narrow politically expedient interests, Santa Cruz County has been left without the kind of representation in the state Senate that it had enjoyed for decades before.
— Santa Cruz Sentinel YES ON 77 Editorial