Smacked Down in Ca-lee-fornia
Right, so apparently there were other elections last night? First up, that massive waste of $300 million, the California ballot initiatives, which all failed miserably.
The front page of LATimes.com screams, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No.
In a sharp repudiation of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Californians rejected all four of his ballot proposals Tuesday in an election that shattered his image as an agent of the popular will.
Voters turned down his plans to curb state spending, redraw California's political map, restrain union politics and lengthen the time it takes teachers to get tenure. Voters also rejected four other statewide initiatives, including one requiring parental approval for a minor's abortion.
The failure of Proposition 76, his spending restraints, and Proposition 77, his election district overhaul, represented a particularly sharp snub of the governor by California voters. It also threw into question his strategy of threatening lawmakers with statewide votes to get around them when they block his favored proposals.
Also, Schwarzenegger's defeat on Proposition 75 was a major victory for his rivals in organized labor. It would have required unions for public workers to get written consent from members before spending their dues money on politics.
Mwah ha ha. More on Why His 'Sequel' Failed to Captivate.
Also of note were two Props in San Fransisco against guns and military recruiters:
San Francisco voters took a stand Tuesday against military recruitment on public school campuses, voted to keep firehouses open and approved the nation's toughest ban on handguns by making it illegal for city residents to possess them.
Proposition H, which requires city residents who already own guns to turn them in to police by April 1, was winning 58 percent to 42 percent with 98 percent of precincts counted. The measure also makes it illegal to buy, sell, distribute and manufacture firearms and ammunition in the city. Only two other cities in the country -- Washington, D.C., and Chicago -- have similar bans.
The gun restrictions are likely to stay a San Francisco thing, but I'm hoping their military recruitment stand will inspire other school districts to say "leave my child alone".
The front page of LATimes.com screams, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No.
In a sharp repudiation of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Californians rejected all four of his ballot proposals Tuesday in an election that shattered his image as an agent of the popular will.
Voters turned down his plans to curb state spending, redraw California's political map, restrain union politics and lengthen the time it takes teachers to get tenure. Voters also rejected four other statewide initiatives, including one requiring parental approval for a minor's abortion.
The failure of Proposition 76, his spending restraints, and Proposition 77, his election district overhaul, represented a particularly sharp snub of the governor by California voters. It also threw into question his strategy of threatening lawmakers with statewide votes to get around them when they block his favored proposals.
Also, Schwarzenegger's defeat on Proposition 75 was a major victory for his rivals in organized labor. It would have required unions for public workers to get written consent from members before spending their dues money on politics.
Mwah ha ha. More on Why His 'Sequel' Failed to Captivate.
Also of note were two Props in San Fransisco against guns and military recruiters:
San Francisco voters took a stand Tuesday against military recruitment on public school campuses, voted to keep firehouses open and approved the nation's toughest ban on handguns by making it illegal for city residents to possess them.
Proposition H, which requires city residents who already own guns to turn them in to police by April 1, was winning 58 percent to 42 percent with 98 percent of precincts counted. The measure also makes it illegal to buy, sell, distribute and manufacture firearms and ammunition in the city. Only two other cities in the country -- Washington, D.C., and Chicago -- have similar bans.
The gun restrictions are likely to stay a San Francisco thing, but I'm hoping their military recruitment stand will inspire other school districts to say "leave my child alone".