Propositions                      Yes Votes   Pct.   No Votes   Pct.

  73 N    Minor's Pregnancy          3,122,261  47.4   3,453,893  52.6  Map

  74 N    Teacher Tenure             2,979,933  44.9   3,650,243  55.1  Map

  75 N    Public Union Dues          3,085,601  46.5   3,538,152  53.5  Map

  76 N    Spending/Funding           2,516,553  38.0   4,101,434  62.0  Map

  77 N    Redistricting              2,667,371  40.5   3,906,991  59.5  Map

  78 N    Rx Drug Discounts          2,711,777  41.5   3,810,710  58.5  Map

  79 N    Rx Drug Rebates            2,516,134  38.9   3,939,405  61.1  Map

  80 N    Electric Regulation        2,182,333  34.3   4,170,416  65.7  Map

      Y - Proposition is passing
      N - Proposition is not passing

you call this a victory? There weren't barely any propositons on the ballot that people liked. Most of the proposition were backed by big businesses.

A real victory would have been propositions brought in the ballots by the people. A victory would have been a YES on all those woulb be propositions that we never saw.

That's what elections are now; a defensive response by the "left" or "center" to the attack by big businesses on the people.

That's a shame to call this a victory. This is just the end of democracy.

Just to respond to the player haters above, this was a "victory" for the liberal democractic side of politics, given that more people did come out and vote than anticipated. Of course, the conservatives, neo-cons, union-bashers, racists, right-wing christian wackos (wait, ain't all of these retards the same s#$t?) came out early in absentee balloting and electronic voting and got a head start, but when the rest of the real working and voting population of Califas
got off work at 5pm and went to the polls, they set the record straight.

To complain about the low turnout is petty bitching, since most people of voting age don't vote unless they feel it impacts them personally. That's just the American condition (its all about me), unlike in foreign countries where people do vote because they know it impacts them and their community (unless they have a corrupt goverment that highjacks their election--whoops! I was talking about the U.S. right, or other foreign countries, what's the difference these days. So the fact that voter turnout was about 45% with alot of union-motivated working people is a good sign, and was good enough to offset the simple-minded christians fascist contingent that the fuhrer tried to tempt with a slab of meat called prop 73. The fact that voter turnout in Orange Country was so low proves that the conservative constituency was probably insulted that the fuhrer treated them like the animals that their far right contingent is. Other than that, the upper middle class votes for its own self interests with respect to corporate control of state policy and legislation, so they're gonna vote for their business-oriented, conservative agenda. These are the same people, along with the right wing, that was kissing the firemen's ass after 9/11 and then had the nerve to follow the fuhrer's lead on prop 75. So
this suggests where those 30-40% yes votes came from.

Prop 79 and 80's defeat is a blow to liberal politics, but just shows that the people mentioned above with the corporate connections were more effective in bamboozling Californians to screw themselves on their prescriptions and power utilities bills. The distraction created by the fuhrer's propositions enable that. Oh well.

Yes, this election is not a victory against capitalism to be sure, but it struck a major blow to the fuhrer, showing that he is "bonerabull" as he would say. Glad to see that some Californians have finally gotten of the crackpipe of the fuhrer's cult of personality and have saved California somewhat from becoming California Uber Alles.

NOW LET"S KICK THAT F$%KIN NAZI OUT OF THE GOVERNOR"S OFFICE,

AND BUSH IS NEXT...

Chicano831,

When do elections ever get more the 50% turnout?

Just because this is a liberal state doesnt mean that anything that is "liberal" is going to win by a landslide, nor does it mean that "conservative" measures are going to loose by landslides either!

And which propositions were supported by the "liberals"? The liberals i talked to were against all the intiatives. Why do i get the feeling that the "liberals" you are refering to, are as "liberal" as you are "chicano"?

I'm just happy that 73 failed...

In the spirit of Magon,
CX

Given bottom lines dellusions is there any question who has been holding the crackpipe

I must add that Californians did "lose" in a sense, financially--the special election was a waste of 44 million dollars that could have been spent on public works and schools.

All the more reason to kick out the fuhrer, and work towards changing the system beyond liberal politics. So yes, I'll give that one up to my radical comrades. La lucha sigue.

I didn't vote for the fuhrer, did you? Pass the pipe to the conservative to your right, and wake up.

From this:

Just to respond to the player haters above

to this:

NOW LET"S KICK THAT F$%KIN NAZI OUT OF THE GOVERNOR"S OFFICE,

AND BUSH IS NEXT...

One can only get dizzy being in close proximity to such intellectual flatulence.

"absolute staggering brilliance of hippie sewage"

oh, we are so articulate ourselves. Who do you write for, SWANK magazine or FRONTPAGE?

Now, we have to tell people the best candidate for the gubernatorial election on 2006 is Peter Camejo. we cant afford a democrat or a republician to win.

I can count the good Republicrats on the fingers of my hand. This is for the entire nation.

The initiative process was created so that citizen groups could change the law. Unfortunately, the courts ruled that *paid* signature gatherers could be used to qualify initiatives for the ballot. That ruling needs to be overturned, so that the initiative process would be open ONLY to volunteer gatherers.

The reason that paid gatherers were justified was on the basis that they were just collecting the opinions of the people. The proof is in the pudding -- it unfairly privileges the wealthy.

It was around 30% in my neighborhood. People said that was OK because it's a special election with no candidates really pushing for votes.

Nazi Schwarzenegger got the defeat his $70 million special election deserved, and his defeat was led by labor, as it must be. The anger was so great at this unnecessary, viciously anti-labor special election that the voters defeated all of the state propositions with a Bingo NO!

As we watched the results, we cheered through tears at 11 p.m. when finally Prop 75 was defeated, and Prop 73 remained defeated, but still on edge. We started singing Solidarity Forever/Solidaridad para siempre at 11:30 p.m. when the heavily populated counties of Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties showed serious results as the workingclass vote rolled in. At midnight, we breathed a sigh of relief as finally the No vote on Props 73 and 75 vote increased to safety and labor's strength held firm.

Let this narrow victory be a lesson to labor: The labor organizing must be expanded with all deliberate speed, and labor must unite with its natural allies, the pro-abortion women's liberation movement which led the defeat of anti-abortion Prop 73, as well as all other causes that benefit the workingclass, which it did not do officially in this election, although its supporters did urge a No vote on Props 73 through 78 anyway, every chance we could, even on the labor phone banks. Labor must also stop supporting death penalty, pro-prison, pro-capitalist, pro-private utilities governors like that good Democrat Gray Davis, who was ousted by the equally pro-death penalty, pro-prison, pro-capitalist, pro-private utilities governor Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. Peace & Freedom Party and the Green Party are always opposed to the death penalty and prisons, support public power, and P&F is socialist, and labor must support candidates from both of these parties and NEVER support the Democrats or Republicans. The reason Prop 75 almost passed was because people are outraged that labor's money supports the capitalist, reactionary Democrats. Most of labor's money should be spent on labor organizing, not on elections, and certainly not on Democrats or Republicans. Until that change is made, we will continue to have nightmare elections like this reactionary special election.

In a state of 27 million adults, where 12.5 million people voted in the high voter turnout presidential general election of November 2004, some 6.7 million people voted in this special election.

The numbers who voted in this election will increase somewhat after the provisional ballots are counted, to 7 million. The fact remains that most of the workingclass never votes and did not vote in this election. That can only change with serious labor organizing.

The county honor roll for voting No on Prop 73, the anti-abortion measure, is:
80% San Francisco
75% Marin
72% Santa Cruz
69% Alameda
69% Mendocino
67% Sonoma
66% San Mateo
66% Humboldt
63% Santa Clara
63% Alpine
62% Contra Costa
61% Yolo
61% Napa
58% Mono
57% Monterey
57% Los Angeles
55% Solano
55% Lake
54% Santa Barbara
54% Trinity
52% Sacramento
51% Nevada
51% Del Norte

The county honor roll for voting No on Prop 75, the attack on labor's financial support of electoral politics, is:
77% San Francisco
70% Alameda
66% Marin
66% Santa Cruz
65% Humboldt
64% San Mateo
64% Mendocino
61% Sonoma
60% Los Angeles
60% Napa
59% Contra Costa
59% Imperial
59% Santa Clara
59% Solano
59% Monterey
58% Del Norte
57% Yolo
56% San Benito
55% Lake
52% Sacramento
52% Alpine
52% Lassen
51% Trinity
50% Merced

I agree with Marcus who started this thread. It is not a victory, but it is not a defeat. It means that the right hit a wall and got stopped in their tracks. Now its time to push them back. Then we can start to see victory.

The real gains will be Nov 2006. But getting Reps out of congress and Dems in is no victory for the left, but it’s a start maybe.

Don't forget the Democrats are the enemy of the left too.

int a related article

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Labor Movement's Decline
Dean

Today's Wall Street Journal notes the steep and ongoing decline of labor unions in America. They note many reasons for this, including the fact that they're wedded to one political party, that they pour more money into political campaigns than membership drives, and more. But for my money the real explanation is in this part:

What's missing on both sides, however, is a vision of economic opportunity that might actually make workers want to join a union in the first place. Tactics aside, both factions continue to believe in the idea of unions that arose in the Industrial Age: Greedy management versus the exploited working man, seniority over flexibility, fixed benefits and strike threats over working with management to keep a U.S.-based company profitable and innovative in a world of growing competition.

I absolutely agree with that. We live in a world where most young people--by which I mean under 40--don't want cradle-to-grave security, do not view "management" as a monolithic adversary, do not want to work at the same job for their entire lives, actually enjoy things like owning stocks and having our own retirement portfolios, would like to have health insurance portability, and so on.

Most people aren't hostile to the idea of collective bargaining or being a member of an organization that helps provide a safety net. But most of today's trade unions are so badly stuck in the past it's ridiculous.
Posted by Dean | Permalink | 1 Trackbacks
(link)
Scott Kirwin (mail) (www):
I couldn't agree more.

Unionization simply doesn't make sense in today's economy. Most people don't see the world as haves and have nots. They see it as haves, have less and have mores - and nearly all want to become have mores.

The AFL-CIO devotion to the Democratic party makes even less sense. While the unions put all their efforts into getting them elected, the Democrats repaid them with NAFTA. The Republicans have made it clear that they support globalization and laissez-faire economics. The Democrats would put on a public face about offshoring and "fair trade" but in the end they had no interest in backing policies supported by the unions.

In short, the unions got screwed by the Democrats.

While the unions are dying, the need for collective action remains. However there are alternatives to unions: associations and other lobbying organizations geared around single issues.

Support gay rights, gun ownership and wildlife preservation? Then belong to National Gay &Lesbian Task Force, the NRA, and the Sierra Club.
Against abortion and work in the IT field? Join the National Right to Life and the ITPAA.

Welcome to the Free Agent Nation - where everyone is on his own and is free to support a bevy of organizations tailored to his exact needs.

I agree with everything that guess says, but what can't unions be one of those associations? No closed shops in CA. No one has to join. They just have to pay for the services they get if they don't join, and opt out of the political campaigns.

Here's the real deal:

The Republicans are the good guys. The more offices they hold the better. I really do admire George W. Bush. He may be our best ever President. He has a backbone (a quality that was absent in Bill Clinton).

The Democrats are the bad guys. Just looking at Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, or Barbara Boxer makes me want to puke.

The ultra-left (Socialists, Communists, Anarchists, Lesbians, Al Queda members, Tarot Card Readers, Tattoo Parlor owners, and Insane Asylum Inmates) is simply irrelevant. They actually admire people like Noam Chomsky and Ralph Nader. What a laugh! They have no influence, no standing, and no potential for any influence. They're what's known in the trade as "losers." They're actually 'mega-losers.'

It's interesting to speculate on the next Presidential election. Who will win the next round. I'm hoping for Newt Gingrich (a brilliant man with a lot to offer and someone of true Presidential stature). Condoleeza Rice has been a great Secretary of State. Imagine the first woman and the first black President being a Republican. I like it!

And who, pray tell, will the Democrats put forward? I hope they nominate Hillary. That would guarantee their biggest defeat since Hubert Humphrey. I suppose they could go back to a proven loser (Al Gore or John Kerry). That would be OK too. Why not nominate Cheech & Chong as dual Presidents (it would be an upgrade for the Democrats).

It only feels like a "Free Agent Nation" because industrial production has moved offshore. American companies are heavy with managers because so much production is offshore.

There are still worker needs in the Free Agent Nation.

Health care is the main thing people are getting rooked on. There are also all the other things that you have to do collectively, that government usually does.

Also, global labor exploitation can't go on forever. We'll eventually get hated, and then, eventually will get nuked. Just as easily as the workers set fire to their own factories, against the owners, the workers of the world will have no compunction to set fire to the wealthy Americans. Then, once the owners are dispatched, they'll expropriate the factories.

So Tom, are you the guy from Pasadena who sued CTA? Good for you! They screwed up. Any institution will.

But I'm joining CTA so they can have my $$ for their political work, after 4 years of bowing out. You see, I support what they've been doing to protect my working conditions and benefits, even if they aren't as strong as AFT. I'm not a Dem, I don't have much interest in electoral politics, but a union is just that--an association (sadly hierarchical) of common interests. Sometimes we have to give up our individual desires for the collective good. Are unions always right? No. But where would workers be without them? Teachers would still be labeled as "professionals" with no collective bargaining rights, no redress, and no respect as real professionals, in education or outside it. Such was the situation of my aunt thirty-five years ago, when my father tried to convince her that by unionizing she'd lose that all-precious and illusory "professional" status.

I don't support closed shops, but that's not a problem in CA. I don't support duress from anybody. But if I have to make an unhappy choice between pressure from a union and the kind of retribution management has over the solo worker, I'll stick with the union. I'd prefer something more cooperative, more grassroots, but it's the best there is. Someday maybe I'll try to change that, but not today.