2006 June Primary Election: November 2005 Archives

In today's Sacramento Bee, Dan Walters takes a grim look at next year's race for Governor, suggesting that Schwarzenegger could still win, despite abysmal approval ratings, if he sufficently slimes his opponent. Walters points out that this is what happened in the past two gubernatorial elections, when the incumbent was suffering from low popularity due to poor decisions and leadership. He also notes how easy that could be this year, given the exciting news from the Field Poll that a majority of Californians have no idea about the leading Democratic contender, Phil Angelides.

Walters also is so kind as to give the Republicans a suggested head start:

But as the Field Poll indicates, [Angelides] has a very indistinct image in the larger voting public, and as he advocates billions of dollars in new taxes, he risks being defined as a tax-and-spend liberal in a state whose voters are not particularly keen on expanding government.

Okay, first of all, Angelides is not a "tax and spend liberal," because such a person doesn't actually exist outside of the right-wing conservative talking points. And the only reason he "risks" being labeled that is because of the right-wing smear machine, which includes biased columnists like Walters. And while voters have been told for years, again by people like Walters, that they aren't "keen on expanding government," poll after poll has shown that they are quite keen on doing whatever is necessary for improving public education, increasing access to higher education, upgrading the state's transportation system and rescuing the state's health care system from complete implosion.

Unlike Walters' beloved Schwarzenegger, Angelides is showing the kind of real leadership that will bring our state in a position to actually resolve these challenges that lie ahead. He is telling Californians the truth: that we cannot provide the services we want for all residents if the wealthiest people in the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country in the history of the world do not pay their fair share. That saving our state means a drastic revolution in the status quo -- the kind of revolution that moves us forward, beyond the narrow way of thinking that appeals to the most selfish instincts in people. One that says we are all one California family, and in a state that generates $1.3 trillion in wealth each year, we have the means to ensure that people are given a chance to provide for their families the kind of security that we all dream of, and that we all deserve.

So this Thanksgiving, I will be giving thanks that there are leaders out there, like Phil Angelides, who share that broad and positive vision, and who are doing something about it.

Cross-posted at PowerPAC.org:

Gov. Schwarzenegger this year vetoed eight out of 18 bills that would have helped to advance equity for people of color in California, earning him a "D" grade on the Applied Research Center's annual Report Card on Racial Equity released Wednesday.

The report card, which evaluated the governor and the Legislature on five issue areas -- educational equity, economic justice, health equity, civil rights and criminal justice -- found that Schwarzenegger rejected policies that would have provided significant structural changes in California. Among the most stark examples were AB 772, the Health Access for Kids bill, and AB 48, the Fair Minimum Wage Increase. If signed, these bills would have improved the plight of millions of Black, Latino, Asian Native American, immigrant and poor communities across the state.

In examining each issue area, the report also documents glaring disparities that exist for people of color in California, highlighting very clearly why these reforms that were vetoed are so needed.

• Educational equity: Only one in four high school graduates of color is college-ready in California, compared to 40 percent of whites.
• Economic justice: Blacks and Latinos are nearly three times more likely to live in poverty than whites. Half of Latinos, 43 percent of Blacks, and a quarter of Asians live in or near poverty in California.
• Health equity: Seventy-one percent of California's 6.5 million uninsured are people of color.
• Civil Rights: Since 1995, there have been 12,000 hate crimes in California motivated by race and ethnicity, making up 60% of all hate crimes.
• Criminal justice: California spends more to keep people of color in jail than to provide them with a higher education.

And yet despite the existence of these historical and persistent racial disparities, Gov. Schwarzenegger's veto list reveals a disturbing pattern of resistance to addressing them. For the second year in a row, he vetoed a minimum wage increase and AB 13, which would have simply required public schools to ophase out the racist term "Redskins" in reference to team mascots. He also struck down AB 89, the Employer Health Coverage Disclosure bill, showing a pattern of denying racial disparities by refusing to collect data that may expose those inequities.

The report shows that more work is needed in the Legislature as well. The Assembly received a "C" score, and the Senate a "D," although 40 lawmakers, all Democrats, were listed as "honor roll" members for earning a perfect 100% score on all the bills.

Nevertheless, the report shows that "colorblind" policies have failed California dramatically. Race-based reforms are needed to ensure that all people of this state have an equal oppportunity to learn, live in safe and healthy communities, and earn a living wage.

Right now, Governor Schwarzenegger clearly lacks the courage and political will to address the needs of California's growing majority.