- HOME
- About
- Topics
- Angelides
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- California Attorney General Race
- California Congressional Races
- California Democratic Party
- California Governor Race 2010
- California Legislative Races
- California Lt. Governor Race
- California Secretary of State Race
- California State Budget
- California State Controller
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Campaigns
- Cell Phones
- Children and Families
- Consumer Rights
- Corporate Accountability
- Criminal Justice
- Death With Dignity
- Disaster Preparation
- Discrimination and Civil Rights
- Economy/ Economic Crisis
- Education
- Elections and Voting
- Electoral College
- Energy
- Environment
- Farm Animal Cruelty Ballot Measure
- Flood Control
- Food Safety
- Gas Prices
- Governor's Election Race
- Gun control
- Health Care
- Health Insurance
- Hiram Johnson's Corner
- Housing
- Human Rights
- Humor
- Immigration
- Infrastructure
- Initiative Reform
- Insurance Commissioner Race
- Labor
- Language and Politics
- Legal System
- Media and Communication
- Minimum Wage
- Open Government
- Pharmaceutical Companies
- Politics
- Preschool
- Presidential Election 2008
- Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act Prop
- Prison Reform
- Privacy
- Privitization
- Prop 11-Redistricting/Reapportionment
- Prop 12--Veterans Housing Bond
- Prop 1A--High Speed Rail
- Prop 2--Treatment of Farm Animals
- Prop 3-Children's Hospital Bonds
- Prop 4 Waiting Period and Parental Notification
- Prop 5--Non-violent drug offenses
- Prop 6--Police and law enforcement spending
- Prop 7 and 10-Alternative Fuel and Energy Bond
- Prop 8 and-Marriage Equality
- Prop 85 Parental Notification
- Prop 86 Tobacco Tax
- Prop 87--Alternative Energy
- Prop 9 Parole
- Prop 90
- Prop 91--Transportation Funding
- Prop 92- Community Colleges
- Prop 93--Term Limits
- Props 94-97--Tribal Gaming
- Props 98 and 99
- Racial Disparities
- Responsible Lending
- Retirement Benefits
- Site of the Day
- Solar Initiative
- Structure of California Government
- Taxes
- Toxic Chemicals
- Transportation/Transit
- Water
- Westly
- Workers' Compensation
- Stories
- Proposition 1B: Restoration of Education Funding – NO
- Cavala: Jack D. Maltester – Exemplar of Public Life
- Cal-Cobra Premium Assistance Passes Senate Floor With Bipartisan Support
- Senate Approves Sen. Romero’s Bill Increasing Transparency in Education Policy
- Proposition 1A: State Budget Stabilization – YES
- Local School District Receive Solar Grant
- $634 Million Coming To California For Special Education
- Essay Seven: Props 1D, 1E and 1F
- Running the Show with Wonks and Gurus
- California Needs Propositions 1a-1f to Protect Schools, Health Care And Public Safety From Devastating Cuts And Layoffs
- 33rd California Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony: With Duty and Honor
- Essay Six: Props 1A, 1B and 1C
- Directory
- Donate
- Contact Us
RSS Advertise Here
Deliver your message to thousands of readers every day.
Our readers are influential opinion makers - politicians, journalists and activists.
Our latest headlines
- The Black-White Fallacy of Public Option
- Targeting Obesity Remains A Priority in Tough Budget Times
- Thousands Speak Out Against CA’s Costly and Broken Death Penalty
- Cuts Would Jeopardize Well-Being of Many Disabled Citizens
- Fully Fund Our Schools
- Same Governor, Different Goals
- Assemblymember Evans Sets the Record Straight
About Us
David Greenwald, Editor. (Contact David.)
CFC Education Foundation, Publisher. (Contact us.)
Got a news tip? Want to write a guest column?
Contact David here.
About California Progress Report.
Founded by Frank D. Russo (Publisher and Editor, 2006-08).
Sponsors
Books
Cavala: Republicans Kill Reform Bill That Hurts G.O.P. Chances While Democrats Support ‘Reform’ That Hurts Their Chances
By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento
Legislative Republicans killed another effort to extend voting rights to young people yesterday. Legislation that would have allowed young people to “pre-register” in high school if they would hit 18 years of age by the following election received no Republican votes in the Assembly (again).
Republican opponents derided the measure as favoring Democrats because, “young people are liberal”, becoming conservative with time and experience.
Now whether that is true or not, one would have to give credit to the Republicans for defending the interests of their party in the face of MSM (Main Stream Media) coverage that is critical in nature. Republicans have never pulled punches about playing by Marquis of Queensberry rules in politics. Republican politicians believe in the ideology of their party, and have shown a willingness to bend rules and fight “bare knuckled” to further that ideology.
Progressive Democrats, however, seem overly affected by traces of Marxist historicism most of the time. The truth will out, justice will prevail, history is on our side. The sad truth is that none of that is true. Progressive victories will only occur by beating Republicans. In that context, we need not accept handicaps.
When Democrats win a majority of the votes in the Legislature, they win the right to deny Republicans a majority on all policy committees and to retain all chairmanships and most of the policy staff for themselves. Is that fair? Shouldn’t Democrats change the rules to give more power to the Republicans?
Republicans think so.
Republicans also favor “redistricting reform” – and for the same reason. Behind all of the rhetoric about fairness, legislative conflicts of interest, and a desire to make seats more competitive lies a single motive: Produce a configuration of seats that makes a Republican Speaker a possibility.
Shouldn’t Democrats change the rules to make this possible? Republicans think so. So do Common Cause and the League of Women Voters – two groups who don’t think it matters whether Democrats have a majority or not. They try to shame politically correct Democrats into suicide in the interest of fairness to Republicans.
What has Common Cause done to further the interests of the poor? To advance Civil Rights? To fight bigotry? Both these “good government” groups supported the effort to enfranchise young voters. But testimony at a committee hearing is quite a different thing than lending the prestige of your group with the media to a Republican-financed effort to change the rules of redistricting to hurt the Democratic Party.
Democrats who go along with this travesty should look up the word, quisling.
Bill Cavala was Deputy Director of the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services where he worked for over 30 years.
He attended undergraduate and graduate school in the 1960’s and received a doctorate in political science at UC Berkeley. He taught political science at UC Berkeley during the 1970's while he worked part-time for the State Assembly.
Cavala left teaching at UC Berkeley and went to work for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown in 1981 until his tenure as Speaker ended in 1995, and he has worked for his five successors as Speaker up to and including Speaker Fabian Nunez.
Mr. Cavala manages election campaigns for Democratic candidates.
Comments
If the only reason Democrats have a majority is because of gerrymandering, then something is seriously out of whack. The Democrats will continue to have a majority whether or not they are drawing the lines, the one difference with redistricting reform is that they will more justly have a majority
Posted by: Ben at June 9, 2008 04:25 PM
Post a comment
Commenters: You must preview your comment before posting. And please only hit "Post" once; it may take a while, but your comment is being processed. Thanks.
Get Email Updates
Want the California Progress Report by email? Once a week, we'll send you the latest and greatest headlines.
© 2008 California Progress Report Our copyright and fair use policy.
Powered by Mandate Media. Logo design by Jane Norling.
