As the ‘post mortems’ have been written about the massive defeat of all of the substantive measures on Tuesday’s special election ballot, most credible observers of California politics have concluded that a large part of the reason that the measures lost is that to the electorate, they represented the results of a consummate “insiders game.” There is no doubt in my mind that these measures, which were more or less designed to try, as best as possible, to maintain the status quo in Sacramento by patching together a number of disparate and, frankly, ill-conceived policy ideas that seemed to have as their one common theme the appeasement of the interest groups that dominate the politic scene (and political financial giving) in state politics.
Voters should be aware of the fact that while they have dispatched most of the terrible ballot measures produced by last February’s ill-fated budget deal, that resulted in massive tax increases but did nothing to solve the state’s structural budget troubles, that there is one more “gift” from Capitol insiders – it is commonly referred to by its proponents and by the main stream media as an “open primary” measure – but as you will read today in two exclusive columns – one from Keith Carlson, the Treasurer of the California Republican Party entitled, Onto The Next Battle – The Battle For Ideas: Rejecting A “Closed General Election” System; the other from Harmeet Dhillon, last year’s Republican nominee in San Francisco’s 13th Assembly District entitled, The So-Called “Open” Primary: Bad News For Democracy; A Limitation On Citizen Choice.
**There is more – click the link**
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 am
Again Flash Report brings up a odd ball diversion when the real issue is the ENEMIES FROM WITHIN….RINOS!
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 am
Odd ball diversion? If Maldonado’s revenge, an open primary, is enacted the general elections in San Francisco and most of the S.F. Bay Area would be between Socialists and Communists or Stalinist. This will end the political party system as we know it and eliminate debate on the issues.
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
Rhinos, like Campbell, should commit Seppuku instead of running for office.
The voters have spoken, CUT THE GOVERNMENT, FIRE THE WORKERS. DEPORT THE ILLEGAL ALIENS.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Howard Epstein: Frankly I do not care what they do in San Francisco. All evil eventually comes to an end!!!!
The Republicans are an odd lot of supply side dreamers, rich guys with time on their hands, hardline tax avoidance and gun loving Bambi killers, social issue fanatics, deceivers and traitors coined RINOS, exploiters of labor ala “free trade”, a few minorities who have assets and want to keep them…so whats the beef Howard…it ain’t too pretty on our side either…
An open primary is nothing to fear. It will make democracy more pure though it is agreed it will be an expensive and alarming exercise but the results will be representative of the broad spectrum of special interests…
If you have great candidates you have nothing to fear, but you cannot expect much when Republicans are terrible at grass roots activism, gritty philantrophy in the ever increasing minority communities…the big boys do not like to get their hands dirty ala Poizner, Whitman and Campbell..pass the Grey Poupon Types!
May 25th, 2009 at 12:00 am
So FOR the open primary we have Abel Maldanado, Bowden Russell and Robert Bosich.
Against the open primary we have
Jon Fleishman and Democratic Party Chairman John Burton.
hmmmm…