PPP Poll: CA Now Prefers Gray Davis Over Arnold (And Still Loves Ballot Initiatives)

Throwing an untested politician into this swamp just seems counter-intuitive to me. For all his quirks, Jerry Brown is a seasoned, capable guy who gets things done. He's not averse to making deals, and he knows how to operate the levers of power. Choosing Meg Whitman would be like tossing darts at a dartboard to pick stocks. She might like to think operating a state bureaucracy is like running eBay, but it's not.

Simply state, he could not get elected as Dog Catcher at this point.

The way that poll question is worded is incredibly prejudicial. It starts with "Do you think Californians should keep the right to vote.."

Duh.

Arnold wouldn't have won a second term if he and his Wall Street buddies hadn't come up with a bond swindle that was supposed to fix the budget while lining Wall Street coffers. At least the latter part worked. Nice work, Arnold, fucking asshole.

It's unfortunate that Arnold gets hammered so badly, it's not totally his fault the state is in the mess its in.

To his credit, he refused to institute the massive tax increases that the State Senate proposed. The state is in a malaise already, but sales tax/income tax increase would have really hurt the economy.

And to his credit, he denounced Prop 8 and supported Gay marriage. Along with a slew of environmental and social issues that the religious right hate.

So, he has become the poster child of the liberal Republican or conservative Democrat, and now those on the right are going to the extremes of their party because that's where their base of support is.

Davis had a working plan, but it wasn't the Max Power Way*, so at great expense we had a recall and held a special election which was swarmed by freaks, including a giant goon with a penchant for calling anyone he disagrees with "girly man" and snapping giant-prop credit cards in two. Anything, we said. Anything, so long as you don't reinstate the car registration tax or reverse Prop 13, no no no.

I live in a state/country in which well-off people rage over the possibility of paying an extra ten or twenty bucks A YEAR, while schools are being shut down around us.

We got exactly what we deserve. Except the kids. They don't deserve this.

*Homer: "There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way!"
Lisa: "Isn't that just the wrong way?"
Homer: "Yeah, but faster!!"

I don't know why anyone would want to be governor of CA anymore than I know why anyone would want to be pres of the U.S.

It's nothing but a kick me sign. The state is dysfunctional. We want to have our cake and eat it, too. We want services, but we don't want to pay for them.

Maybe if the marijuana initiative passes we'll get the money we need. Short of that, no governor, no matter how good his/her shtick will be effective.

As a Californian, I think a simple mod would bring the Initiative process under control: no one can be paid to collect signatures for a proposition. Citizens didn't go out to get signatures for Valero to overturn SB20's clean air schedule and requirements, Valero paid minimum-wagers to stand in parking lots.
As for overturning the 2/3's rule or getting legal marijuana on the ballot, both were done, or almost done, almost entirely on volunteer work. Initiatives as actually representative of citizen concerns.