California Democratic Party Propositions: State Budget Funding Fight

So I'm sitting here on the final day of the California Democratic Party Convention waiting for the upcoming fight over whether the party will officially endorse propositions 1A-F.  California is essentially fubared--we're being told that we can either blow up the budget or sign our death warrant.  A coterie of elected officials have come out to shill for a decidedly unpopular slate of propositions at the caucuses and events, only to have activists and the brave few willing to stand against the deal the party brokered exhort everyone to vote no. 

What we're really looking at isn't just a political deal, but the financial future of the state.  We can vote for a short term fix (1A-F) that will get us through the current crunch, with no promise we won't be back at the table if things continue to get worse, and with a spending cap that will essentially ham string any future spending.  Colorado only recently repealed a spending cap that had starved the state of investment and threatened to strip funding for education and social services to an extreme extent that even many conservatives could not stomach.  Many grassroots activists view 1A with suspicion, a ticking time bomb California Republicans have placed in the mix to strip the state of its abiliy to fund programs thus far beyond their party's power to remove.

Or we can fight for the long term, and vote down the whole lot.  The risk of course, is that while Dems got Republicans to finally agree to a mix of cuts and fee/tax increases in the last go round, the Republicans might simply refuse to compromise.  The Republican primary system and the extent to which our districts have been gerrymandered mean the Republican party's main power lies in its ability to blackmail and strong arm the state.   They have only enough seats to prevent an easy 2/3rds majority for Demcorats, and tie up the budget process and their Governor is termed out.  It's likely their next candidate will be one of the extreme, right-wing Republicans who are increasingly marginalized in all but the reddest of districts.

Voters need to wake up to the fact that when it comes to their money, their dollars, and the state spending so many more depend on in these tough economic times--an extrememe minority party is essentially in chage until the 2/3rds rule can be overturned.  It seems crazy that the small band of legislators whom fewer and fewer voters send to Sacramento to represent them on the issues, gets to decide how to fund them.

But today the focus is on whether the delegates to the party are going to advise voters to hold their nose and pull the trigger, or simply say no.  The fact that this round of propositions has been greated with such silence by interest groups that nomally take a vocal stance in recommending how everyone should vote, is an indication of how conflicted activists and interest groups feel.  If activists vote not to endorse on 1A, which seems likely, they won't be the only ones.  Get used to the sound of silence, becuase it is hard for anyone to get excited about the options facing voters on May 19th.