Do Editorial Boards Still Matter?
One day back in 2005, when I was reporting a book on Gov. Schwarzenegger and his use of ballot initiatives, Todd Harris, then a political consultant for the governor, greeted me triumphantly.
“36 for 36!” he said.
Harris was talking about Prop 77, the redistricting reform initiative the governor was backing on the special election ballot that year. After many weeks of work, the governor’s campaign had convinced all 36 of the state’s largest newspapers to endorse Prop 77.
The editorials didn’t make a bit of difference. Prop 77 lost.
In recent weeks, when I ask people on different sides of the special election ballot measures what they’re up to, the answer is often: I’m on my way to meet an editorial board.
Looking for Drama at a News Conference
The news conference supporting Propositions 1A to 1F at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce featuring Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, Chamber president Gary Toebben and other business and public sector leaders didn’t promise much drama. But, I attended the proceedings in hopes that some local color or unusual event would set this conference apart.
About forty teachers, business executives and carpenters stood behind the speakers, the carpenters in their hard hats and orange vests adding some color and visual impact for the cameras.
Mayor Villarigosa “humanized” the proceedings by revealing he was lobbied for support by the governor at Washington’s Gridiron Club over two beers and a stogie.
Villaraigosa declared that the propositions were the “only way out of the morass” in Sacramento, criticizing both the left and the right for trying to oppose the package.
Disconnect and the Tea Parties
In normal times, political institutions generally reflect the
members they serve. In theory, a legislative body reflects the
combined wisdom and experience of its elected representatives. And
those representatives, again in theory, reflect the views of the
citizens who elected them. The same can be said of virtually any
organization, whether a labor union or a political party.
But every now and then, those in the leadership positions of
political institutions, for whatever reason, become disconnected
with the very people they purport to represent.
Perhaps the clearest example of this occurred in 1978 with
Proposition 13. It is hard to fathom the depth and breadth of the
stated opposition to the measure. Virtually every organization in
California had taken an opposing position. Virtually every editorial
board, all business organizations (including the California Chamber
and the California Taxpayers Association), all labor organizations
and, of course, the entire academic brain trust from our world
renowned universities campaigned vigorously for the defeat of
Proposition 13.
Somali Pirates: Shootout at the OK Corral
Need a diversion from obsessing over the economy? I have just the story for you.
When we last left off, Somali Pirates, actually ragtag Somali teens and twenty-somethings in flip flops and shorts, armed with automatic weapons, boarded the US flagged Maersk Alabama 300 miles off the East African coast, took it over for a bit, then lost control back to its crew but got off the ship and into a lifeboat, taking the Captain as hostage. US Navy destroyer Bainbridge got to the scene and incongruously faced off against a handful of these Somali Pirates in a lifeboat holding the Captain.
The Maersk Alabama went on to its port in Kenya with its load of food and relief supplies and, back at the scene, at night, the Captain made a daring escape from the lifeboat where the Pirates held him captive, but, a couple of Pirates jumped overboard, re-captured the Captain and brought him back onto the lifeboat. Media covered all of this incessantly and we learned that another UD destroyer was, I wanted to say “steaming” toward the scene a few hundred miles off the humid East African coast, but 21st Century US destroyers don’t “steam” anymore, they have ultra high tech propulsion systems now.