The Democratic Party’s Problem with White Folks
Demographics cuts both ways. While numerous commentators have skewered Republicans for alienating Latino and other minority voters in 2012, and the GOP is paying a huge price for it, there is another important demographic story: the collapse of the Democratic Party among white voters throughout America’s heartland. That collapse cost Democrats control of the House […]
California Election Count Keeps Getting Longer
If you haven’t noticed, California’s election isn’t over yet. Two weeks after election day, Secretary of State Debra Bowen is reporting that there are still about 1 million ballots still to be counted. Since about 12.2 million ballots were cast this November, that’s about 8 percent of vote that’s still out there. Now local government […]
Silver Lining for GOP Legislators?
Irrelevancy may not be so bad. California Republicans are still smarting from their ignominious meltdown at the polls on November 6, but for many Republican legislators, this may be a liberating turning point. For at least a decade, Republican Caucus unity was used to deny the Democratic majority the ability to increase taxes or make […]
Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Two-Thirds Requirement
The California Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to significant aspects of Proposition 13, prosecuted by former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young. Earlier this year, the 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed with attorneys representing the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association that Young’s suit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 13 lacks merit. Since his retirement, […]