A Democrat gives thanks--for all the Republican turkeys
--
Special to the Capitol Weekly
(published November 22nd, 2005)
Ahhh, the Thanksgiving commentary column. What a perfect opportunity to provide some insight on the events of the past year and set the stage for the political happenings of the next. Or maybe, if you're cheeky, you can take some gratuitous potshots at political opponents disguised as an essay reflecting on the year's many blessings.
There are so many things to be thankful for this year, such as the Governor's wonderful official/campaign advance staff, who never missed an opportunity to phony up even the most intimate of events, but why dwell on the past?
In the spirit of the season, let's try and Navigate away from the latter. (With one exception: Thank you President Bush for loaning the Citizens to Save California one of his top press aides. That Reed Dickens guy was great!)
Because Team Arnold decided to drag the entire political community down into the swamp in an effort to boost their boss's ego, it's safe to say no one feels like they had a great year. Sure we're grateful we beat back the governor's flawed initiatives, but it wasn't really an election anybody wanted. For the Democrats, however, there are still quite a few things to be thankful for this year.
We give thanks for new alliances. Gov. Schwarzenegger's decision to declare all-out war on teachers, nurses, police, firefighters and state employees brought together a formidable alliance that was unified as never before.
While Schwarzenegger attempted to use his ready access to the media to demonize the leaders of these groups as uncaring "bosses," these folks banded together and fought back to protect the people they serve: students, patients, victims - basically the general public.
Together, the Alliance successfully recast the special election as a fight between the governor's big business special interests versus regular people. If the Alliance remains intact, the governor and his Chamber of Commerce buddies will have a tough time implementing the anti-worker vision they laid out this past January.
The good news for Democrats is that they should have an easier time pushing for an increase in the minimum wage and other long overdue worker safeguards.
We give thanks to the voters for holding Schwarzenegger accountable for his promises. Earlier this year, the Governor reneged on his campaign promise not to mess with Proposition 98. We worked with the Education Coalition to remind people the governor had gone back on his word on this and other education commitments. The centerpiece of the Schwarzenegger "reform" agenda, Proposition 76, would have obliterated voter-approved education funding guarantees.
No matter how much air freshener the folks at the Senator Hotel sprayed around the so-called "Live Within Our Means" act, the voters smelled a rat from the very beginning. They crushed Prop. 76 and saved our schools from future raids by this or any future governor. Education funding was reinforced as a top priority and the governor ignores this voter mandate at his own peril.
Speaking of voters, we also give thanks for the increased clout of the Latino electorate. Latino voter participation has been steadily increasing in California. Fifteen percent of Latino voters turned out to vote in the 2002 California election and eighteen percent turned out nationally for the 2004 cycle. Sadly, we have seen no exit polling for the 2005 special election, but given the attention, paid and otherwise, from both sides I expect Latino turnout continued to improve.
Right now, this bodes well for Democrats because Latinos see Schwarzenegger as (lessee…how shall I put this?)...well, a backstabbing liar. As long as Democrats don't make the mistake of taking the Latino vote for granted, the strength of this voter bloc should bode well for us in 2006 and beyond.
Roger Salazar is a principal with the Sacramento political consulting firm, AcostaSalazar LLC. He was a spokesman for former Vice President Al Gore, and served in former Gov. Gray Davis’ press office.
Special to the Capitol Weekly
(published November 22nd, 2005)
Ahhh, the Thanksgiving commentary column. What a perfect opportunity to provide some insight on the events of the past year and set the stage for the political happenings of the next. Or maybe, if you're cheeky, you can take some gratuitous potshots at political opponents disguised as an essay reflecting on the year's many blessings.
There are so many things to be thankful for this year, such as the Governor's wonderful official/campaign advance staff, who never missed an opportunity to phony up even the most intimate of events, but why dwell on the past?
In the spirit of the season, let's try and Navigate away from the latter. (With one exception: Thank you President Bush for loaning the Citizens to Save California one of his top press aides. That Reed Dickens guy was great!)
Because Team Arnold decided to drag the entire political community down into the swamp in an effort to boost their boss's ego, it's safe to say no one feels like they had a great year. Sure we're grateful we beat back the governor's flawed initiatives, but it wasn't really an election anybody wanted. For the Democrats, however, there are still quite a few things to be thankful for this year.
We give thanks for new alliances. Gov. Schwarzenegger's decision to declare all-out war on teachers, nurses, police, firefighters and state employees brought together a formidable alliance that was unified as never before.
While Schwarzenegger attempted to use his ready access to the media to demonize the leaders of these groups as uncaring "bosses," these folks banded together and fought back to protect the people they serve: students, patients, victims - basically the general public.
Together, the Alliance successfully recast the special election as a fight between the governor's big business special interests versus regular people. If the Alliance remains intact, the governor and his Chamber of Commerce buddies will have a tough time implementing the anti-worker vision they laid out this past January.
The good news for Democrats is that they should have an easier time pushing for an increase in the minimum wage and other long overdue worker safeguards.
We give thanks to the voters for holding Schwarzenegger accountable for his promises. Earlier this year, the Governor reneged on his campaign promise not to mess with Proposition 98. We worked with the Education Coalition to remind people the governor had gone back on his word on this and other education commitments. The centerpiece of the Schwarzenegger "reform" agenda, Proposition 76, would have obliterated voter-approved education funding guarantees.
No matter how much air freshener the folks at the Senator Hotel sprayed around the so-called "Live Within Our Means" act, the voters smelled a rat from the very beginning. They crushed Prop. 76 and saved our schools from future raids by this or any future governor. Education funding was reinforced as a top priority and the governor ignores this voter mandate at his own peril.
Speaking of voters, we also give thanks for the increased clout of the Latino electorate. Latino voter participation has been steadily increasing in California. Fifteen percent of Latino voters turned out to vote in the 2002 California election and eighteen percent turned out nationally for the 2004 cycle. Sadly, we have seen no exit polling for the 2005 special election, but given the attention, paid and otherwise, from both sides I expect Latino turnout continued to improve.
Right now, this bodes well for Democrats because Latinos see Schwarzenegger as (lessee…how shall I put this?)...well, a backstabbing liar. As long as Democrats don't make the mistake of taking the Latino vote for granted, the strength of this voter bloc should bode well for us in 2006 and beyond.
Roger Salazar is a principal with the Sacramento political consulting firm, AcostaSalazar LLC. He was a spokesman for former Vice President Al Gore, and served in former Gov. Gray Davis’ press office.
posted by Roger Salazar & Andrew Acosta at 10:09 AM
1 Comments:
you are a moron.
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