What Is the Constituency For Political Reform?
I keep hearing from observers of California politics — all of them smarter and more experienced than yours truly — who have the same question: what do the results of the redistricting initiative, Prop 11, mean?
They don’t know, and neither do I. We don’t even know yet, for sure, that Prop 11 has won. It has a lead, but some 2 million votes have not been counted statewide. And to look at the map of results is to study a puzzle with no obvious solution.
Results of initiative elections typically correlate with other factors: geography, demographics, partisan affiliation. But take a look at the map on Prop 11. None of these factors seem to explain the results on 11.
The results in Los Angeles and Kern Counties are nearly identical — just over 47 percent yes. It lost in some inland, "red," Republican counties (Fresno, Madera) and lost in others (Tulare, Kings). What’s striking is that folks everywhere seemed to be divided: support and opposition fell between 55 and 45 percent just about everywhere.
The Left Won the Contest – Now They Must Lead
This year’s elections brought out some of the worst in people on both sides of the equation, but on the balance the left wing appears to have won the title. This really was an election about winning at all costs to them. And win they did.
First, there were the skirmishes over signs and bumper stickers. My own yard sign was vandalized once, and those of many of my neighbors and friends experienced similar mishaps. Reading the news across the state, there appeared to be many instances of “hate” actions by members of both the left and the right. Perhaps most visceral and visual was the hanging of Governor Palin in effigy and the depiction of Senator McCain in flames. Ironically, similar depictions of Obama and Biden would likely have resulted in criminal action.
Second, there was the rotation of mudslinging and mailbox stuffing. This was bad enough—and probably close to a draw, although as a resident of the 19th Senate and 37th Assembly districts, the mailers ran about 3:1 Democrat to Republican, with many of the nastiest (of the “this guy/gal hates animals and beats/kills innocent children” variety) coming from the Democratic candidates in the district. On top of that, Democratic leaders pumped thousands of extra dollars into my unfortunate district to make sure there were plenty of these to go around.
Right Tools for Escaping Poverty
At most awards dinners, you learn some interesting ideas and hear some success stories, and it all makes a nice, mild impression. But last week I attended an awards dinner in downtown Los Angeles that made me slap my forehead.
The dinner gave awards to non-profit organizations that distinguish themselves through innovation. The winner was KickStart International, which has devised a business model that’s ingeniously simple and wonderfully effective. If more non-profits, and even businesses, followed its lead, I dare say poverty throughout the world could be dramatically and permanently reduced.
KickStart operates in Kenya and other areas of impoverished sub-Saharan Africa. It comes up with sturdy hand-powered tools designed to immediately transform destitute people into money-making entrepreneurs.