Actually, maybe everyone--citizens and legislature alike--might just be happy that it's over. But though the session is over, the state's problems, and citizen dissatisfaction with our politicians, remains.
Eric Bailey in the Los Angeles Times sums up the sad record of this year's legislature:
Amid a crumbling economy and a canyon of government debt, state lawmakers seemed to spin their wheels through much of the year -- and the final days were little different.
They bickered over how to end the state's multigeneration water war. They balked at tough changes to relieve prison overcrowding. They grimaced over a sex scandal that last week brought the resignation of Assemblyman Mike Duvall (R-Yorba Linda).....
Looming like a storm front was the prospect that lawmakers might soon face a public revolt. Business leaders are pushing a constitutional convention while a conservative group is mounting an effort to make the Legislature part-time....
The Times story goes on to detail how issues from clean energy mandates to prison crowding and costs remain unresolved for future sessions.
Details from the L.A. Times on polled citizen discontent with our legislature:
...according to a poll released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California...overwhelmingly, Californians believe their state government is servicing the few -- say, those represented by lobbyists -- over the needs of the many.
Only 20% of Californians, and only 15% of regular voters, felt the government elected by the people and for the people had any interest in the people, broadly speaking. And the poll was taken before the scandal involving Republican Mike Duvall broke.
The only good news in the poll, if there was any, was its demonstration that we have finally become the unified, "post-partisan" state that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been advertising: Everyone distrusts government, or at least huge majorities of all political groups do.
Full details on the Public Policy Institute poll.
The image associated with this post was taken by Flickr user Andrea Moretto. It was used under user Creative Commons license.
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Make Your Mouth Water
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Gov. Brown Sworn In, Faces Tough Job
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Empty
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Why Does it Take 20 Years to Build A Shopping Center in South Central?
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Paul says :
“Family Values” California state assemblyman representing Orange County, Republican Michael D. Duvall, resigns for apparently not cheating on his wife with a lobbyist or two. Well you have to take his word for it, or maybe believe that hypocrisy has been bred in. In my opinion the Republican Party has been taken over the most extreme religious right (people who love to push their beliefs on others while trying to take away rights of those they just hate) and that’s who they need to extract from their party if they real want to win. Good Luck, because as they said in WACO, “We Ain’t Coming Out”. He is just another name that can be added to the list of “Republican 2009 Summer of Love”: Senator John Ensign (NV), Senator Paul Stanley (TN), Governor Mark Stanford (SC), SC Board of Ed Chair, Kristin Maguire (AKA Bridget Keeney). But let’s get back to the real problem of political corruption, does anyone think this will get investigated and that things he voted on will need to be affirmed by the remaining members or will nothing happen? Do I hear Tammy Wynette, “Stand By Your Man” playing in the background? I remember not so long ago that other Orange County song favorite, “Stand By Your Tan” (for Tan Nguyen). But that’s another Orange County fool.