Here is the link to the website for No on Prop 8:
It explains everything you need to know about fighting the discriminatory Proposition 8 which threatens to take away the hard-won right of equality in marriage. Please read it, study it and use it.
Republicans and Conservatives may also visit and support, REPUBLICANS AGAINST 8 at:
http://www.republicansagainst8.com
Passing Proposition 11 will change the way legislative districts are drawn every 10 years and make our legislators more accountable to their constituents by taking away their authority to draw their own district boundaries.
What is important is that it will break the gridlock of safe seats. Now I know a lot of Democrats and Republicans like to have their winners picked at the Primaries and start the transition teams soon after but who does that benefit.
The current redistricting guarantees safe seats for both sides and those safe seats tend to bring out the more extremists in the parties. These safe seats also fail to account for new emerging minorities.
As populations shift and with it demographics, what is occurring is that the current redistricting formula fails to take this into account. It is potentially racist because in certain circumstances it might deprive an emerging minority (that might have enough votes to win if the boundaries were drawn to include a particular city) from being elected. It may not be happening now but it may in the future.
Also, what is so bad about the democrats and republicans moderating their views so that they appeal to all of their constituents at a general election and not just the ones who vote in primaries? This just seems fair — plain and simple.
California Voters have the opportunity to finally end the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed state government and prevented us from effectively addressing our most pressing issues such as the state budget, health care, education, the impending water crisis, and the environment by passing this measure in November.
A broad, bipartisan and growing coalition of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, good government groups, business organizations and many others led by campaign co-chairs Gov. Schwarzenegger and former State Controller Steve Westly has come together to support this measure.
Politicians Accountable has been established as a ballot initiative committee with the California Secretary of State (SOS) and the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for the purpose of passing the California Voters First Act. The committee is governed by a Board of Directors that approves the activities of the campaign and provides direction and oversight to the committee’s consulting team.
Rick Claussen of Goddard Claussen Strategic Advocacy, a leading ballot measure management firm in the country, and Adam Mendelsohn from Mercury Public Affairs are managing the campaign. Under the direction of the committee’s Board of Directors, an experienced team of professionals has been assembled to conduct the campaign including Democrat consultant Steve Smith, Republican consultant Wayne Johnson and Tom Ross from Meridian Pacific.
Sure, there are loopholes but all of us have to be vigilant in our rights and call the politicians on them if (or when) when they play games with the formula. Proposition 11 is not perfect but it is better than what we have.
A June 2008 voter research shows that after hearing a battery of pro and con messages, support for the measure is in the 60% range and opposition is below 30%.
Having a “yes” vote in this range and 2-1 margin of support over opposition makes
this campaign winnable.
I am hoping that it will not be business as usual in California come November 5th.
Vote Yes on November 4th on Proposition 11.
In 1978, when the Briggs Initiative threatened to take away the fundamental freedom for all Californians to teach in Public Schools, Governor Ronald Reagan stood up and opposed it. Today, another Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is fighting for the rights of all Californians once again.
As soon as attorney general’s office changed the wording of the initiative to now state truthfully that it seeks to ‘eliminate the right’ of same-sex couples to marry, Jennifer Kerns, speaking for the proponents of Proposition 8 said the initiative’s wording could prejudice voters.
The Protect Marriage group said they will file suit to block a change made by California Attorney General. Jerry Brown to the language of the measure’s ballot title and summary.
In prior BLOG Cabin blog entries and pieces in the Met-News, I wrote about whether the proposed amendment was an amendment or an initiative. It is my strong believe that is an improper Constitutional revision masquerading as an amendment.
At this stage it is important to note that Petitions circulated to qualify the initiative for the ballot were circulated prior to the Supreme Court’s historic ruling finding the right to marry a fundamental right older than the constitution. The Supreme Court wisely ruled that the right to marry “has independent substantive content, and cannot properly be understood as simply the right to enter into such a relationship if (but only if) the Legislature chooses to establish and retain it. “ It further explained that this fundamental right “in not properly viewed as simply a benefit or privilege that a government may establish or abolish as it sees fit, but rather that the right constitutes a basic civil or human right of all people.” The petition merely stated that said the initiative would amend the state constitution “to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
But after the May 15th ruling, the entire initiative may be invalid if viewed as retroactive (which the proponents appear to claim) because as to marriages entered into prior to November 5th, it could be argued that it is (1) an ex-post facto law, (2) it would void the contract entered between same gender spouses (See Former Civil Code § 55, [marriage is “a personal relationship arising out of a civil contract. . .].) and (3) constitute a taking under the 5th amendment regarding community proper rights and similar property rights, and clearly violate due process because the individuals affected would never be given their day in Court. Last week the attorney general’s office changed the language to say that Proposition 8 seeks to “eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.” Logically and legally, this is the only way Proposition 8 could precede. (NOTE- if passed, expect an equal protection challenge by those who were not married by November 4th because the law would arguably violate equal protection. The law would arbitrarily treat those married after Election Day differently be prohibiting those same gender couples to marry.)
Jennifer Kerns, in a Los Angeles Times story called the new language “inherently argumentative” and said it could “prejudice voters against the initiative.”
Protect Marriage want voters to see the same wording even though the law changed on May 15th. This is nonsense because the prior wording stated that it does not change California law. I am not sure what wording they even want. I am taking the position that they are in a no-win situation. If they use the prior language, it may very well spell doom for the entire amendment. It may doom all of it because IT CONTAINS NO SEVERANCE CLAUSE. If they even attempt to claim that it invalidates all current same gender marriages in California, it would most likely doom the entire amendment. If they allow it to proceed with the revised language, the Prop 8 supporters would only have to worry about violating the Equal Protection rights of same gender couples who wish to marry after Election Day assuming it even passes. (Which I doubt.)
What Proposition 8 now does is only eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry and speaks PROSPECTIVELY and not RETROACTIVELY. According to the Los Angeles Times, analysts agree that the language change will make passage of the initiative more difficult.
The proponents are swimming up stream and trying to swim to a sinking shop. Thousands of same gender couples all over California are now married and the Constitutional protections California provides that this fundamental right cannot be taken away by a mere poorly thought out, homophobic initiative.
I, like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, believe that the people of California are beyond this issue. It is time for the proponents of hate move on and find another enemy to hate. California has withdrawn its “Welcome Mat.” It is the Beginning the End of the Evangelical Age and we are witnessing the Dawn of the Age of Reason.
The new Field Poll came out at 6:00 AM this morning and I was surprised that 77% of those polled were unaware of it while 23% were.
Proposition 11 is the redistricting measure. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been fighting for redistricting reform since he took office in 2003. Many of us believe the people of California want to bring competition and centrist leadership back to our state.
WE believe that WE need a system where voters choose the politicians not where politicians choose the voters. If passed by voters in November 2008, will return power to the people.
Proposition 11 will create a 14-person independent citizens commission comprised of five Democrats, five Republicans and four individuals not registered as a member of either major party to draw district boundaries for the Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization.
Proposition 11 is “Good Government” because it creates a more open and transparent redistricting process, takes the power to draw district lines out of the hands of lawmakers and puts into place a non-partisan process that requires respecting existing city boundaries, county boundaries and communities.
However, out of those intending to vote, 42% support it, 30% oppose, and 28% are undecided. At this early stage in the game, anything less than 50% with a high number of undecided voters mean that the results can swing after Labor Day and more so as we get closer to the election.
The redistricting measure makes sense because it redraws districts so that they follow logical paths and are not drawn to favor one party or another. In fact, the redistricting guidelines favor following boarders of cities etc.
With districts redrawn so that elections are not decided in the primary but at the general election, moderation will prevail in many areas. In primaries the people of California, whether it is one party or another, elect extremes, in many circumstances. By making the races competitive in November, the hope is that more rational voices will prevail on both sides of the spectrum.
Those that lose are the far right and the far left but the majority of Californians are progressively moderate (look at the 51% in support of gay marriage with only 7% undecided at this early stage in the latest Field Poll on Proposition.
True, the redistricting measure does not apply to members of Congress but neither does term limits. While it would have been nice to redraw these districts too, it is not politically feasible in today’s climate.
But Californians have a real opportunity to make their voices heard by supporting Proposition 11. With Prop 11 in place, hopefully sound voices in both parties will prevail and combined with term limits, perhaps the November State Senate and State Assembly races will be competitive and true representatives of all the people will be elected.
California will be a better place with the passage of Proposition 11.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other California Congressional Democrats this week declared their opposition to Prop 11, the redistricting reform initiative on the state’s November ballot. Yes, the initiative’s prospects are bleak, but this particular endorsement is worth examining. Pelosi announced her opposition in a letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger, a major backer of the initiative. That letter (posted here on the California Majority Report, a Democrat site that also opposes the measure) is highly — and unintentionally — revealing about Pelosi, her thinking and the out-of-touch mindset created by California’s gerrymandering, which protects incumbents of both parties.
One line in Pelosi’s letter stands out in this regard. Pelosi writes that “Proposition 11 will create, arguably, the most powerful political commission in the state.” The commission she’s referring to is the citizens’ commission that would draw district lines under the measure. But her myopia and mindset are revealed by the words “most powerful.” Only a politician who sees California as little more than a place that serves her political career could even think such a thing. Earth to Pelosi: To those of us who live here, there are any number of boards and commissions more powerful than anything that would be cooked up by Prop 11. The State Board of Education, which oversees the most important government program (and half the state budget), immediately comes to mind. There’s also the Air Resources Board, which is in the middle of producing new regulations to combat climate change in our state. (The state ARB has had to take this leadership role because of the total absence of leadership in Washington on this issue). California has an extraordinary powerful Public Utilities Commission. And for those of us who treasure the ocean and the beach, there’s the Coastal Commission. I could go on. But you get the point.
The opposition of Pelosi and other California Congressional Democrats to this measure is frustrating, in large part because its drafters tried to avoid that opposition. Prop 11 does not change the method for drafting Congressional districts; it only affects state legislative districts and the districts of the state’s Board of Equalization (which, it says here, is also a more powerful political body than the redistricting citizens’ commission that would be created by the initiative). In an effort to convince Pelosi and others members of Congress not to oppose the measure, the initiative exempts them. And now they oppose it anyway. I hope a lesson has been learned by Common Cause and the other goo goos behind this: It does no good to feed the animals. They’ll bite anyway.
On Tuesday, July 15, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger again showed his strong commitment to our men and women serving in our armed forces and their families, by signing legislation to put Prop 12 - The Veterans Bond Act of 2008 - on the ballot.
I am generally against bond initiatives but I will have to give this one a closer look for two reasons. Those reasons are our governor has promised that the measure will use $900 million in Veterans General Obligation Bonds to fund approximately 1,300 low-interest loans for California veterans without impacting California’s general fund. So the general fund will not be impacted and the governor will be helping our veterans. Assuming this is true, it appears to be a worthy vote.
Schwarzenegger said, “The Veterans Bond Act will help California’s veterans achieve the American dream of homeownership. I’m asking voters to say yes in November so that veterans who risked their lives in places like Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan will be eligible to join the more than 420,000 others who have bought a home with a CalVet loan – at no expense to taxpayers.”
I hope this a clear initiative and not like the Federal G.I. bill that basically made our service men and women indentured servants in order to attain the benefits the revised GI Bill offers.
(NOTE-one has to stay in a long time to reap the benefits under the new G.I. Bill. Basically, no more 4 years and out with your choice of schools. Now you have to stay in a longer time to reap those rewards. Of course, service personnel will be older and it is unclear how many will actually use the benefits of the new G.I. bill.)
California still does not have a budget, one month after the deadline, two weeks after the start of the fiscal year.
We must step up our efforts. Your voice can, and will, make the difference.
Email your legislators in Sacramento today - ask them to work together on a sensible budget plan for California.
Current economic conditions and California’s chronically broken budget system have made this a very difficult year. Yet, Gov. Schwarzenegger has put forward a responsible budget and proposed real budget reform.
Now it is time for the Legislature to deliver a budget.
Take action today to help move the budget and budget reform forward by sending an email to your Legislators.
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