[Sosfbay-discuss] NO TO SCHWARZENEGGER -- NOW, WILL GREENS GET A HEARING?

[alexcathy at aol.com]

Dear Green Friends,

Just two years after the crazy recall election of 2003, the screaming 
headline on this morning's edition of the San Francisco Chronicle says 
it all:

CALIFORNIANS SAY NO TO SCHWARZENEGGER

Every single one of Arnold's bullshit "reforms" went down to defeat!

A couple of them were not even close. For example, Proposition 76, 
which would have given this madman almost disctatorial powers over the 
state budget was voted down by 60%. Proposiition 77 on the 
redistricting of state legislative and congressional districts and 
advertised as a "reform" of the undeniable gerrymandering whereby not a 
single congressional or state legislative seat changed parties in the 
2004 elections, was voted down by 57%.

Personally, the frustrating thing for me, is that could make a case for 
reform in all of these areas, just as you could make a case for 
recalling Democratic Governor Fyar Davis in 2003, but voters, properly 
in my opinion, saw this as an expensive, gratuitous power grab by 
Schwarzenegger and that good-for-nothing, crazy, rightwing Republican 
Party.

One of the arguments which I made against these propositions in a 
couple of letters-to-the-editor, (which the So-Called-Liberal-Media, of 
course, refused to print), was that anyone could tell the "reformers" 
were phony by the arguments they could have made but DID NOT MAKE for 
reform.

The only thing the "reformers" gave us was the rightwing Republican 
"party line."


PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS

If public employee unions have too much power, then why not use the 
example of the POLICEMEN'S UNION right here in Milpitas? Since the 
policemen's union helped muscle in a 3-to-2 council majority last year, 
the puppet regime has purged boards and commissions of all who might 
disagree and even abolished the ethics board.

And why not use the example of the California PRISON GUARDS UNION that 
successfully bought and paid for both Democrat Gray Davis and 
Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Alas, the "party line" for rightwing bully boys is always badmouth 
"liberal" teachers and nurses; never badmouth "tough guys" in the 
Pentagon, F.B.I., C.I.A., police, and prisons.


GERRYMANDERED LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS

If gerrymandered districts are bad why not use the example of San 
Jose's Asian-American community "where redistricting wiped out a 
potentially Asian seat" in the state assembly, according to the 
December 12, 2004 San Jose Mercury News?

I would have bet real money that there was no way we'd ever get through 
a very long, expensive, and brusing campaign on Prop 77 without the 
disgraceful and possibly illegal manipulation of the "white" vote and 
the "minority group" vote even coming up, but by God, these phony 
"reformers" somehow managed to do it!

Alas, the "party line" says dirty tricks for the sake of maintaining 
White Supremacy is okay.

BIPARTISANSHIP

Finally, if reform has bipartisan support why not use the example of 
independents and real Democrats?

Alas, the "party line" says the only "good Democrat" is a DINO 
("Democrat In Name Only"). Thus, the "reformers" trot out San Jose's 
ex-mayor Tom McEnery, a cranky, crazy guy who, among other things, is a 
well-known Mexican-hater. Proposition 77 was actually endorsed by 
Chellie Pingree, president of Common Cause, an independent progressive 
group. Amazingly, the phony "reformers" never once actually quoted this 
person!  In fact, throughout this long, expensve, and bruising campaign 
we hardly ever heard from anybody who wasn't already a suck-up to the 
Bush-Schwarzenegger Republicans.


NOW, WILL GREENS GET A HEARING?

This was the fourth damned statewide election in California in four 
years (2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005). Folks around here are sick and 
tired of Democratic and Republican PARTY hacks shouting at each other.  
  Now that they've said NO to Arnold, what are California voters to do?  
Give the Gray Davis Democrats another chance to fuck up?

Boy, if I were younger, richer, and better-looking I'd run for office 
in 2006 myself!

Think about it.

In California we've had:

8 Years of Republican Pete Wilson
8 Years of Democrat William Jefferson Clinton
5 Years of Republican George W. Bush
5 Years of Democrat Gray Davis, and now
2 Years of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger

Oh!  And did I mention a Republican Congress in Washington and a 
Democratic legislature in Sacramento?

In 2003 PETER CAMEJO said it very well on national television: "The 
two-party system is dysfunctiona.l"  As Peter painstakingly explained, 
unless something is done, among other things, the California State 
Budget will be *STRUCTURALLY* fucked-up ... well ...  forever!

So, here we are two years later and for all his heat, noise, and smoke, 
Arnold Schwarzenegger has accomplished nothing.

These facts would fit easily on a campaign button or palm card along 
with the Green Party logo and two words:

HAD ENOUGH?


Alex Walker