http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/39/dissonance-cooper.phpDissonance
It’s Democracy, Stupid
The people want to vote
by Marc Cooper
Nonsense. Only a populist independent could break up the special-interest logjam in Sacramento. That’s why I’m pulling for Arianna, the most progressive candidate with the broadest appeal. When it comes to solving the state’s economic crisis, the most Arnold has offered is that he will make sure all Californians have “fantastic jobs.” Right.
And Bustamante panders by vowing to roll back auto-registration fees.
Only Arianna has addressed the 900-pound gorilla of California politics: Proposition 13. Her number-one campaign vow is to start collecting fair — that is, radically increased — taxes on commercial (not residential) property. She says if elected, she would take that proposal, along with measures for public financing of elections, and a guarantee of universal health care and adequate education, to the Legislature. If, as expected, the Legislature balks, Huffington says she would place the whole package before the voters as a set of ballot initiatives and would use her bully pulpit as governor to push for their approval. That’s a serious, responsible and plausible outline for deep reform. The only one on that very long ballot. But beware: To be successful, it would require actually trusting the voters.
(yeah, just what we need....more ballot initiatives... Doesn't
Marc understand that people like Arianna don't have to become
legislators to finance and back ballot initiatives that often
just confuse voters and cost the state millions of budgeted dollars
whether there is money or not. Prop. 13 does need to go, so she should say that and work for its end.)
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