By Tim Redmond
It’s no surprise that all of the governor’s measures failedl. The Chronicle is already doing what the mainstream spin is going to be:
The defeat of the measures would put the state that’s already in financial abyss into a deeper hole, but the voter rejection would further confirm Californians’ disapproval of the way Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature are handling the state’s fiscal crisis
And:
The opposition, made up mostly of anti-tax groups and some labor unions, raised about $5 million .
Part one is absolutely true — the governor and the Legislature together have a dismal approval rating, and that just confirms the fact that something major, structureal is going to have to change in California. What the voters don’t like is gridlock. So the question for next year is: Can the Democrats convince the electorate (and the voters in some swing districts) that things would be better off if one party was running the show and could actually get results? Because the only way this paralysis is going to change is if (a) GOP moderates have a resurgence — fat chace — or (b) the Democrats take over the governor’s office and a strong majority in the Legislature and the voters get rid of the two-thirds rule for passing a budget and raising taxes.
That’s a hell of a sales job and will need an Obama-size movement behind it. So far, none of the Democrats running for governor give me much hope.
The second part of the Chron’s analysis is just wrong.
Yes, the money came from anti-tax zealots and some unions, but this defeat is the result of both the left and the right finding the compromise unacceptable. There was as much opposition from people who thought the notion of a spending cap was disastrous for the state’s future as there was from people who don’t want higher taxes.
And while the Democratic leadership tried their best to sell a bad deal to their constituents, the defeat here belongs to the governor, who has become California’s version of George W. Bush.