As you can tell, I'm a conservative. I was very disappointed by the results of last night's election. I may not be in tune with Governor Schwartzenegger from a social standpoint, I am in sync with him on the public policy agenda.
He supported four very good pieces of legislation and they all when down to defeat.
The problem was that the propositions in and of themselves were good and smart ideas. They just happen to go up against people we should admire - Teachers, Police, Firefighters and Nurses. All four groups deserve a lot of respect. Unfortunately, they were made the targets of these propositions, when the real targets should have been the unions they belong to.
Proposition 74 - I love teachers and they deserve to be paid more, but at the same time, a principal should be able to fire bad teachers. Bad teachers should not be allow to hide behind tenure. The issue is not what's in the best interest of bad teachers, it's what's in the best interest for our children.
Proposition 75 - I love teachers, police officers, firefights and they deserve to be paid more. Their unions on the other hand should represent their members. If they did, there would have been no reason to even have this proposition on the ballot. The unions spent $100 million on political campaign. If the liberals think the money on the Iraq war should have gone to inner cities, then money to political campaigns should go to the membership, instead of raising dues to pay for ads.
Proposition 76 - I love schools and it's important to educate children no matter race or economic position. But at the same time you can not hamper a state's budget with guaranteed funds. If the state is going through an economic crisis, the governor and legislature should be allowed to reallocate funds as necessary. This makes sense to me. Otherwise the only alternative is to raise taxes.
Proposition 77 - Who do I trust to draw district boundaries? Politicians who want to keep their jobs or an independent council of judges and the people of California. Think about it.
I feel better now.
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