I was talking to a state legislator yesterday, and he threw out to me a very disturbing thought.  We’ve all read about the recent passage by Democrats of this bill to place a ‘straw poll’ vote on the February ballot on whether Californian’s support the war in Iraq.  Well, it doesn’t take much thought to understand that this measure authored by Democrat Senate President Don Perata is a cynical plot to drive up liberal turnout for the election on which the Perata/Nunez Career Politician Term Limits Weakening Initiative will appear.  Perata (and Nunez) are completely fixated on trying to blow a hole in the state’s term limits so that they can cling to their prestigious offices.
 
This legislator to whom I spoke was expressing concern that perhaps the Governor would allow this Iraq-vote measure to be ‘in play’ in negotiations taking place over redistricting proposals.  That he might actually be open to signing this terrible and politically-motivated bill.  To this we say that our nation’s foreign policy, and the lives of American soldiers should not be chits in political maneuvers surrounding legislative negotiations over anything, period.
 
It’s actually a shame that I even had to have this conversation yesterday.  Frankly, Governor Schwarzenegger should have made the point at the first press conference he held after Perata announced this ludicrous idea that it would be vetoed if it ever got to his desk.  But I have noticed that this Governor, like Gray Davis and unlike Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian, does not like to weigh in early on legislation.  The latter two were quite comfortable in making it clear early in the legislative process where they stood on bills that they felt were poor public policy.  Davis famously took positions on virtually nothing so that his "cashectomy" network could extract all possible political contributions on every side of an issue before he weighed in.  Arnold just seems to relish having the last word (like when he waited until he was ON the Tonight Show to announce his campaign for Governor, surprising even his most trusted advisors).
 
Governor Schwarzenegger is right to lead negotiations towards a fair redistricting plan for California.  Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines is right when he points out that time is short, and that the plan put forth by Nunez is not real reform.  What is real redistricting reform?  A plan with a truly independent redistricting panel whose membership is randomly selected, nested legislative districts, and one that includes redrawing state and federal legislative lines.
 
That said, off the table should be anything to do with this terrible legislation of Perata’s.  The best way to do that?  The Governor to veto it today.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.