Court Decision Casts More Doubt on Prop 25
Opponents of Proposition 25 have attacked the assertion by proponents that the initiative would only require a majority vote to pass the budget, while tax increases would still require a two-thirds vote. (Full disclosure: I am on the committee opposed to Prop 25 and signed one of the ballot arguments.)
The Attorney General’s title and summary of the measure gave comfort to proponents, declaring the initiative "retains the two-thirds vote requirement for taxes." However, when that phrase was challenged in Superior Court yesterday, Judge Patrick Marlette ordered it removed.
Opponents of the phrase argued that it was false and misleading and the judge agreed. The judge ruled that the title and summary would make voters believe that they would have to vote Yes on Prop 25 to protect the two-thirds vote.
Lessons for Campaigns from Pepsi and Google
This November’s election looks like another record setting cycle, perhaps being the most expensive midterm election in U.S. history. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, campaign spending has already surpassed $1 billion for U.S. Senate and House campaigns nationwide, with forecasts that it will top out somewhere around a whopping $3.7 billion for those races alone.
Of course, California is leading the way in reaching new heights at the state level. With more records set in the June primary, highlighting the fact that the California elections are keeping pace with these broader national trends. It seems that the name of the game continues to be how much money can be raised and spent, with little regard to how effectively these funds are be used.
If recent campaigns can be counted on as providing reliable clues for how campaign dollars will be spent, then it is almost a foregone conclusion that the vast majority of spending will once again be on traditional media, especially television. Major evolutions in technology, however, call into question the wisdom of spending advertising dollars predominately, if not exclusively, on traditional media. And, this year should be the year when those who invest their dollars in political campaigns demand more for their investment.
The San Francisco Declaration on Direct Democracy
Greetings from San Francisco and the 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy.
We are from all corners of the world and from all walks of life. Among us are scholars, journalists, activists, petitioners, philanthropists, artists, elected officials, election administrators, non-profit managers, lawyers, businesspeople, and farmers. We are members of dozens of political parties – a truly transpartisan group.
We have met for five nights and five days to discuss direct democracy at a forum that was free and open to anyone in the world who wished to attend.
Kindle and the Business of Self-Publishing Today
On a busy New York street a young man stops an older passer-by. "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
The older man puts a hand on his shoulder. "Practice, my boy. Practice."
Old joke; just as true today.
More titles are available than ever before, thanks to affordable self-publishing, and print on demand ("POD"), among other technologies. This is a great blessing for both those who read and those who write: there are no longer just a handful of gatekeepers at the entrance to bestseller Heaven. That doesn’t mean, though, that You Can Become a Rich and Famous Novelist without Really Trying.