Yesterday, wedged squarely in between the legislature passing a tragic State budget package and the start of the California Republican Party’s bi-ennial organizational convention, came two loud-and-clear calls-to-action, in the form of emails, from two clearly differing interests.

The first, from the head of the State Party, with these headlines:

CRP Chairman Ron Nehring Blasts So-Called Open Primary Plan –
Urges state party delegates to oppose measure that would polarize, regionalize political parties

The second message, from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the headline:

The Budget Is Done, Now It’s Time For Reform

The content of the missives, you can read below.  But, it’s the headlines that are so striking, or at least one of them.

The timing of Nehring’s clarion call clearly and rightfully means to fuel the collective energy of reeling and angry Republicans, just sold down the road by a few of their own, as they head into Sacramento for the convention weekend.

Whether the timing of the Governor’s message was somehow comically meant to unify GOP delegates around a call of reform, we can only guess.  

Either way, I have to ask.  NOW it’s time for reform?

It seems the Governor is saying, "I just successfully worked with the Democrats and a handful of Republicans to saddle you, the citizens with the largest tax increase in State history, because I couldn’t find a way to stand up to spending beyond our means, but that was then, this is now.  And, now, it’s time for reform."

I thought it was time for reform during the recall election, when we were told it was time then.

I thought it was time for reform every time we’ve been told it is since then, only to watch budget after budget spend this State to financial disaster, because the era of "post partisanship" was more important than real reform.

Some of the upcoming special election reforms the Governor is touting in his message — the open primary clearly not included — may be needed.  Now.  I haven’t had time to read them.  But don’t blame me for not knowing at this point, since the legislators didn’t have time to read and understand them either, before placing them on the ballot.  We NOW have the time to understand whether they do emcompass true reform.

In the meantime, let’s be honest.  The time for reform was a long time ago.

###

From Nehring:

CRP Chairman Ron Nehring Blasts So-Called Open Primary Plan
Urges state party delegates to oppose measure that would polarize, regionalize political parties
 
SACRAMENTO – As delegates gather for the Republican Party’s state convention, CRP Chairman Ron Nehring today blasted the so-called "open primary" plan slated to appear on the 2010 ballot and will ask party delegates to formally oppose the measure this weekend.
 
"The so-called open primary is no such thing.  It’s the abolition of primaries, replacing them with a general election in June and a ‘top-two’ runoff in November," said Nehring.  "Under such a plan, no Republican legislative or Congressional candidate will appear on the ballot in some parts of the state, while in others no Democrat candidate will appear.  This regionalization of our parties will serve only to further polarize and divide the state."
 
"Our party’s candidates are on the front line with voters, and concocting a system where millions of voters will only have the choice of two Democrats or two Republicans in the November election undermines voter choice and our democratic process," added Nehring.
 
Primary elections were a progressive reform that gave the power to nominate candidates directly to voters who join political parties.  The so-called open primary proposal would reverse that reform, disconnecting rank and file party members from directly choosing party nominees. 
 
"The Republican Party is the party of real reform in California.  We’ve advocated for bold reforms to limit government spending, to give parents more choices for their child’s education, and to give union members the right to decide for themselves whether to fund union political activity.  The key is to be for the right reform, and eliminating voter choices and regionalizing parties isn’t the right reform."
 
Diminishing the role of political parties will create a vacuum in our political system.  The Republican and Democrat parties are broad-based, transparent, and democratically governed.  Once diminished, the resulting vacuum will be filled by special interest groups, 527’s, PAC’s, and independent expenditure committees that are neither broad-based, nor transparent.
_____
 
Ron Nehring in this morning’s San Diego Union-Tribune story, Open Primary Proposal Could Shake Up Politics:
 
"It is a misnomer to call this an open primary," said state Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring, who lives in Crest in San Diego County. "It is not an open primary, it is the abolition of primaries."

The existing primary system, Nehring said, was another Progressive-era reform that shifted the power of nominating candidates from conventions and caucuses to all party members.
The measure, which would take effect for the 2012 elections, also could foster a regionalization of the major parties, Nehring said.

"Under this type of a system, it’s possible that you may not see Republicans on the ballot in San Francisco at all, and you will have parts of the state where there will be no Democrat on the ballot at all."

In those areas, it would mean the views of a major party would be absent from campaigns.

"So you have more elected officials ignoring more issues because they don’t directly relate to their party’s one region, or narrow region of the state," Nehring said.

From the Governor:

The Budget Is Done, Now It’s Time For Reform
 
The Governor has shown tireless determination and serious leadership through six weeks of negotiations to bring Republicans and Democrats to a bipartisan budget agreement and save California from one of the worst economic crises in history. Today he signed that budget into law.
 
Not only does this budget close the state’s $42 billion budget deficit, but it also provides a historic opportunity to fundamentally reform California’s budget by putting Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E & 1F on the ballot for a special election on May 19. These reforms provide short-term solutions to get us through these difficult economic times and long-term solutions to ensure we never again face the type of deficits we faced this year.  
 
In today’s Sacramento Bee, the Governor discussed the significance of this budget agreement and the importance of these reforms for the future of California 
 
Here is what he had to say…
 
With Budget Finished, A New Task Begins
By Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sacramento Bee
 
When it comes to California’s budget, nothing is easy. Even in the good years, when revenue comes in as expected or better, the process of passing a state budget still involves pressures from special interests, fierce ideological disagreements, senseless delays that impact real Californians, and a seeming inability to look beyond the year immediately in front of our faces.
 
Every year, an agreement on the budget is finally reached, but it almost always relies on temporary solutions and gimmicks that allow legislators to get out of town but do not actually solve our budget problems.
 
This year, the problem was historic. We faced a $42 billion hole over the next 17 months. The pressures were equally intense, with protests, petitions and special interests even threatening legislators with censure and recall.
 
The critics and analysts said it couldn’t be done. They said Republicans would never put up the votes for a tax increase, no matter how dire our budget situation. They said Democrats would never go for deep cuts to programs and for a limit on state spending. They know how powerful a role special interests play in Sacramento. And, to be fair, every piece of evidence supported those pundits’ opinions.
 
But I am an optimist, and I never give up. I approached this problem the same way I approached bodybuilding, when I said I would be a world champion but was told I was crazy; and the way I approached Hollywood when the critics said a guy named Schwarzenegger with an Austrian accent would never be a box-office winner. My goal in these negotiations was a responsible budget for California that fixed our system once and for all, so I went for it with that same optimism and determination.
 
Also, I had confidence that legislators would never let California go off a cliff. So, by staying focused, and staying committed, we made sure this year was different.
 
Legislators who voted for this budget plan should be applauded for refusing to repeat that typical mistake of simply pushing our problems into next year, and for standing up to intense political pressure. As a result, we have $42 billion in solutions that represent the best path forward in a very difficult situation and down economy. The plan makes the spending reductions that are necessary, brings in new revenue, improves our business climate and creates jobs, and makes government run more efficiently.
 
The true silver lining in this storm cloud of a budget plan is a meaningful and lasting fix to our broken budget system that will ensure that future governors and Legislatures never again face the kind of catastrophic budget scenario we experienced this year.
 
This is something I promised to the people when I first ran for governor in 2003, and I have been fighting for it ever since.
 
The budget system we currently rely on puts Californians on a wild roller-coaster ride that whiplashes us up toward increased funding one year only to dive into a deficit the next. The state showers schools and human services programs with money in the good years only to rip it away during the bad ones.
 
That’s unfair to Californians who rely on the state. It also doesn’t make any sense because, over time, revenues always increase. If the money we’re bringing in increases an average of 4 percent to 5 percent each year, then why are we cutting billions of dollars in spending and scrambling to find billions more in taxes?
 
Bringing stability to our budget is the single most powerful thing we can do to protect funding for vital programs such as law enforcement, education and health care services. That’s exactly what the Budget Stabilization Account will do. It will calm down those roller-coaster highs and lows by forcing us to put money aside in the very good years for us to rely on in the very bad years, like this one. Had this been in place over the past decade, we would have started the 2008-09 budget year with $9 billion in the bank, but instead we faced a $14 billion hole.
 
Because of this budget agreement, we’ll also have the opportunity to reform our primary election system and encourage more participation in the political process. A more open primary system will bring about more moderate candidates and will stop punishing elected officials for doing what’s right for the people.
 
But just as I have been fighting for these kinds of change for more than five years, those who benefit from the status quo have been fighting against change. And you can be sure they will continue to fight.
 
The only way we were able to get these silver linings on the ballot was through bipartisan cooperation. I formed partnerships with both Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature to place this reform before voters.
 
Now, my goal is to form a partnership once again with you, the people of California, to ensure that this budget fix is passed. We both know that alone, no single one of us can reform our state, but together, we can bring about great change.
 
Just like in 2006, when Californians joined together with me to begin rebuilding our state’s roads, schools, and levees; and just like last year when we joined together to pass Proposition 11 and put the power of drawing legislative district lines back in the hands of the people; now we must partner again to bring long-lasting stability to our broken budget system.
 
Overcoming a historic budget deficit and adopting $42 billion in solutions was just the first hurdle. If we stop here, we will not have crossed the finish line. We cannot rest on our laurels, because those special interests who are not interested in change will fight against these reforms. Remember, what’s good for the special interests is usually not good for the people.
 
So, my message to Californians is this: Our work is not done. We must continue to reform state government. We must put in place the rainy-day Budget Stabilization Account, so that we are never again in the position of cutting school funding, canceling programs and raising taxes all because of Sacramento’s spending habit.
 
I will be campaigning throughout the state, alongside the Republicans and Democrats who helped put this reform on the ballot, standing with you and all Californians and calling out those who only want to make our fiscal problems worse.
 
I’m confident that with some sacrifice, courage and hard work, we will make this state stronger than ever. 

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 21st, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.