Perhaps I am showing my age, but there is something wrong with my Democratic Party.
When a guy like Steve Westly–who may have made a great governor of California–spends 20-million dollars of his own money for a losing primary bid, I wonder–Why didn’t he just go out and buy 5,000 families health insurance, instead?
There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, and believe me, I have met just as many poor jerks as wealthy one’s.
However, in politics, there is obviously too much money trying to attract too few voters.
I give the Republican Party a pass on this one, because they are supposed to be wealthy and venial, and play to the corporate class.
California–A Democratic State of Mind.
California is such a Democratic state, that even the Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is in bed with the Kennedy’s.
With that in mind, I have tried to figure out a way to reduce campaign expenditures, and the fund-raising, which creates all kinds of conflicts of interests.
–Los Angeles Times Columnist, George Skelton, has proposed for years, a taxpayer supported system of campaign financing. As someone who has grappled with this problem as a knowledgeable journalist on the political scene since the 1960’s, he has a lot of credibility, pushing for such a system.
–Jesse Unruh, the “Big Daddy” of the California Legislature, during the 1960’s, proposed a Unicameral legislative system, where a spotlight could be put on one house, and make it easier for the public to follow legislation. Of course there was a sinister edge to this proposal, since he really wanted control of the State Senate, as well as his tight fisted control of the Assembly. Reportedly, when a Life Magazine correspondent interviewed Unruh in an empty Assembly Chamber, and asked, “Which seat is yours?” Unruh responded with a clenched fist, “They are all mine!”
The British Solution
Since the Republican Party will probably control the legislature when the Chicago Cubs win the World Series, we might as well control campaign spending and get legislation we want–such as Sheila Kuehl’s statewide health insurance which was vetoed by Schwarzenegger–by imposing a full parliamentary system for the California Legislature.
Under such a system, we wouldn’t need a separate campaign for governor, where 100 million dollars are spent statewide on television commercials.
The Speaker of the Assembly would, in fact, be the Executive, nominated by the majority party.
While it is true that tremendous power would be invested in one political party, it is also the fact, that the people have a better chance of tossing them all out on their ear, so to speak, when they don’t do the people’s will.
Since we can’t get National Health Insurance, most Californian’s, I am sure, would have welcomed a full statewide solution. If it didn’t work, under the Democrats, for example, the voters could put in a different political party to do it right.
The personality of the Governor is such that he can veto health insurance, and spend so much money on television during campaign time, that it will override most issues.
Other than splitting the State of California into two or three separate states, I see this as the best political solution.
Campaign financing would be reduced, as I envision this process, because the party would be purchasing time on which legislation they will promote, as a group, rather than promoting individual personalities.
Personal attacks would eventually diminish, because it would be the party, as a whole, which would be running for office. While the individual Assembly members would still run for office, the same old fashioned way, the emphasis would be on the programs being pushed and not necessarily on the personalities.
Thanks for Reading.
Republished with the permission of Bob Kholos. This originally appeared on his blog, Saigon Bob.
Khoulos was the first press secretary to LA Mayor Tom Bradley, Sen. Frank Church(D-ID), Sen. Harold E. Hughes, (D-IA), McGovern for Pres, Unruh for Gov, George Brown for Senate, Bradley for Mayor, Jerry Brown for President(1980), and Sen. Alan Cranston (1969), among others. He also served as Assistant to the Director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. He is a Vietnam Vet-4th Inf. Division-Cambodian border/Central Highlands-1966-67.
