Republicans will lose if Special Election is about Partisanship
On Wednesday night, as I attended the Central Committee meeting of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, my worst fears were confirmed–the Special Election called by Arnold Schwarzenegger was being cast as a partisan issue.
“Republicans will benefit from redictricting,” we were told. “Democrats will be the big losers if paycheck protection passes,” another continued.
If that is the message that voters hear between now and November, the ballot box will be as bloddy as the last chapters of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
No, what voters need to hear is talk about the issues on the ballot, so that they don’t think this election is partisan warfare but something which affects peoples’ lives.
Prop 75, for example, will allow teachers and nurses, not their union bosses, to determine whether they want their paychecks spent on political ads or, say, classroom supplies.
Prop 76 will give more control to our elected officials to make sure that Sacramento doesn’t spend more money than it takes in.
…and so on. If the battle is Democrat versus Republican, the numbers are not in favor of the Governor’s reform agenda. But if each of us can convince a few Democrat friends that just one of the reform initiatives is worthy of their vote, the differences in Party registration will melt away. But we have to start talking about the issues–not the politics–to win the hearts and minds of our fellow Californians.
Initiatives Qualified for the November 8, 2005, Special Statewide Election Ballot [SoS]
Be interesting to see how many people concern themselves with the issues as opposed to taking the partisan approach. I know both Reps and Dems seem to be taking a partisan approach, but that’s just the vocal ones that are…well….partisan! Wonder what percentage of the population doesn’t vote along partisan lines?
One good sign, though, is that the fastest growing voting group is the Decline To State, at least if I memory serves me correctly.
Comment by Fred Mangels — July 23, 2005 @ 7:02 am
“Wonder what percentage of the population doesn’t vote along partisan lines?
One good sign, though, is that the fastest growing voting group is the Decline To State…”
And therein lies the power - the Decline to State voters typically are more than the difference between the Reps and Dems.
However, most elections are decided by “passion” and “organization”. Whenever the Dems hold a less than 8-10% registration edge, the Rep candidate will usually win because his core voters are more “passionate” (meaning they, in fact, vote) and the Republican Party GOTV effort usually beats the Dems.
Bruce
Comment by Bruce Albert — July 23, 2005 @ 5:56 pm