Dave mentioned a bit of what Sen. Steinberg said last night, but I thought this was worth while video.
In the end, we learn a few things. First, that Arnold was negotiating in bad faith. He refused to budge, and then piled on additional grand policy changes.
But, Steinberg starts out with 2/3. It’s worth transcribing…even if I miss a few things.
The 2/3 requirement that we have in this state. I know it’s a tired old saw. But when you really think about, that is the cause of so much of the dysfunction in the legislature. you have a minority party that obviously worked in tandem with the governor that cost the state 6-7 billion dollars tonight for no good reason. To somehow improve your negotiating position. It is without question the most irresponsible act that I have seen in my 15 years of public service…I hope that the significance will truly capture enough attention that the people will decide it is time to change the system that allows the minority to essentially rule the day. That’s not just the Senate Republicans, it was the Governor too, who was apparently out to prove a point. And he proved a point.
At one point, you can really see the emotion in his voice. Check out the video, it’s worth a few minutes.
Think about it. IOU’s (essentially 80 cents on the dollar) for everyone–prisons, cops, firefighters, local governments, etc (except education and bondholders). These stakeholders will howl (unlike the poor, who are expected to die silently or move to another state and die there). Anger at the man who made it all possible–Schwartz. Replacement by a candidate who promises to sign the majority rule fee swap/oil/cigarette/millionaires tax.
The petitions are qualified. Let the State Democratic establishment show some gumption for once.
It was pathetic during his townhall when he talked about how 2/3 could only go to the ballot via signatures (duh) and maybe sometime people would start collecting and it would be on the ballot in June or November. Yet not realizing the deadline has passed for June. Pretty clueless about the cause of the entire problem.
Too bad he won’t demonstrate leadership on this as he has enough Cash on Hand to put majority vote on the ballot.
How about both. Realistically, the recall makes more political sense in that if qualified, it would constrain Arnie’s actions during a campaign.
Arnie fancies himself to be a modern day Ronald Reagan, in reality he is turning himself into Jessie Ventura. Let’s help him see the reality.
It’s not just now, when the stakes are high, that 2/3 hurts us. Indeed, it has been creating the problem for at least a decade, when Republicans insisted on lowering/rebating taxes when times were good, and in the medium years, when things were turning and they still insisted on avoiding the problem, still cutting taxes and then doing that ridiculous bond issue to clean up a bit of debt.
EVERY YEAR the 2/3 requirement has contributed to late budgets, and to pork produced by a handful of holdouts who cared more for what they could do for themselves than for what was best for the state as a whole.