Author: Harvey Englander

Money used to be the “mother’s milk of politics,” today it’s water.  Understanding the labyrinth of water systems feeding the desert that is southern California requires a divining rod with GPS.  The politics, however, are a lot simpler.
 

An interlocking directory of competing interests continuously moves the water game around the map like a rugby scrum.  The feds, the state, individual water agencies, agriculture, enviros, business, developers, NIMBY’s, et. al., notwithstanding, Nature is still the ultimate ref in this do-or-die struggle for the life-blood of our future. 
 

The politics of water in our state is pretty much a reflection of the politics in our legislature, everybody gets just enough to keep on going while the loudest complainers compete over marginal shifts in the distribution of valuable resources.  But standby, the water whiners are about to grow in both size and volume. 
 

There’s a report in USA Today about communities all over America printing their own “currencies” to help their citizens ride out the recession. The paper they pass around with nicely designed pictures of local icons, represents hours of community service people can trade for goods and services, or special discount coupons for local only businesses and residents.

Sounds like something California should take a look at:

1) Arnies – Jumbo-sized large bills with Mr. Universe statue, lightning bolts grasped in one hand and the other open-palmed looking for a handout. Bills can be used to buy California bonds to be redeemed in the next life or stuffed into paper bags to pay new higher taxes.

2) Jerrys – Crumpled old pieces of paper with side-by-side pictures of Linda Ronstadt and Mother Teresa. Usable to purchase historic Grateful Dead tickets. Motto to read: “Who me, Jerry?” New edition to be released shortly features Jerry smiling.

Democrats may divide and conquer among their own, but Republicans seem inclined to pull the pins on their grenades and then hold onto them too long; witness the current war between Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and State Senator Abel Maldonado over passage of the budget ballot initiatives.

Maldonado’s been loaded for bear ever since Poizner started taking swipes at his GOP credentials. The swipes have become swings since Maldonado became a deciding vote in favor on the initiatives. The question of the day is, “When will Poizner go up with spots attacking the governor’s package and promoting himself as the can-do candidate to replace him?”

And where’s Meg Whitman? Can she afford to watch from the wings as Steve and Abel duke it out? Not likely.

Even with the poll numbers for passage under water for five of the six propositions, the air war for the Republican gubernatorial nomination is about to begin. It is a vacuum that demands to be filled.

I readily admit that I am old enough to remember the day in 1967 when Ronald Reagan signed a bill as governor of California supporting public funding of abortion for women in poverty.

While in the White House, Reagan assumed the required pro-life positions in order to keep and expand his base on the Christian Right. However, he never had a meeting in the White House with any of the pro-life organizations. They would have to stand outside at the foot of the Washington Monument, often in the rain, while Reagan spoke to them by telephone over a public address system. He was just a couple of blocks away in the Oval Office, but he understood the distance required between church and state.

The alleged Reagan Republican disciples who currently make up the Orange County Board of Supervisors decided a couple of weeks ago to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood; not for abortions, but for sex education programs in both public and private schools. Forty years later and the supes still haven’t gotten the message from their leader.

Watching Antonio Villaraigosa whirling his way to the center of the political universe is like watching him work a room. His sensors are out for every quiver, and twitter, coming from the crowd. He’s a master of risk, survival, and sometime success. And his latest iteration is rapidly evolving into a virtuoso display of staying ahead of the curve.

When you get 55% of 15% of the vote that bothered to turn out, you can bet it’s the hard-core complainers who are voting to settle a score with someone, anyone. Among that crowd, 55% should be considered a landslide.

The public is in such a panic at the moment that there is no time to focus on policy or politicians. It’s all about not being one of the pieces of falling debris when the whole thing comes tumbling down.

When you hear that budget bugle call for help, the best cavalry out there that could come to our rescue is made up entirely of Indians, members of the California Tribal Gaming Association and their associates. They could have more direct impact on the outcome of California’s economic future than any other group because they’ve bought the legislature several times over at a cost of many millions. They have real clout and it’s in their best interest for the state to recover and succeed quickly so they can once again fill up those blackjack tables and get The Wheel of Fortune spinning to a fare-thee-well.

The evils of gambling could save us all from a fate far worse than hell, bankruptcy.

Sure, the tribes are hurting like everybody else. They’ve made a huge investment in California with their massive increase in ever fancier and more lavish hotel casinos. They may not have as much money as they had just a few months ago, but they’ve got some and they can get more. After all, the only real business comeback you can count on is sin. Alcohol, tobacco, and gambling are our oldest growth economies and the tribes will want to make sure they get their fair share back when the cycle comes around.