Prop 14
Prop.14, partisans and 'pragmatists'
June 11, 2010 Filed in: Elections
Column: George Will, The Orange County
Register Under
the current imperfect administration of the universe, most new
ideas are false, so most ideas for improvements make matters worse.
Given California's parlous condition, making matters worse there
requires ingenuity, but voters managed to do so Tuesday. Actually,
8.9 percent of eligible voters did. By a margin of 54.2 percent to
45.8 percent, they passed Proposition 14, the Top Two Candidates
Open Primary Act. Proponents outspent opponents 20-1. Of the
approximately $4.6 million spent promoting the measure, $2 million
came from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's political committee. He
seems to consider this reform his defining achievement, which, in a
sense, it is. The percentage of Californians who approve of
Schwarzenegger is a number beginning with 2. But now California has
adopted a candidate selection process that is intended to nominate
candidates like him...
Prop. 14: Open invitation to bland candidates
May 07, 2010 Filed in: Elections
Editorial, The Orange County Register
Prop. 14 does little to
change the status quo. Electoral districts in California are so
gerrymandered – drawn to give overwhelming advantage to one party –
that the eventual winner often is chosen in the primary, and the
general election doesn't matter. What supporters of Prop. 14 miss
is the need for the electorate to have clear choices among
philosophical visions for California. Creating an open primary this
way, thus encouraging moderate, middle-of-the-road candidates,
essentially amounts to elections between candidates with few policy
differences where personality trumps substance. If you seek to
encourage more candidates like Arnold
Schwarzenegger to run for office in California, vote
for Prop. 14. Otherwise we invite you to join us in opposing Prop.
14.
Prop. 14: Reshaping the political battlefield
Columns: Dan Walters, The Orange County
Register The
gerrymander rendered the November elections irrelevant by
designating the party ownership of all 120 legislative districts,
thus making primary elections in Democratic districts the only ones
that really matter. Typically, business would support a relatively
moderate Democratic candidate in the primary while the Big 4 would
back a more liberal Democrat.
The game would change again if Proposition 14, creating a "top two"
primary election system, is approved by voters in June. The top two
vote getters in the primary would face each other in the November
election, regardless of party. That means, in theory, two Democrats
or two Republicans
could wind up in a November
runoff…
Prop 14: A year of desperate measures
May 04, 2010 Filed in: Elections
Columns: Debra Saunders, The Orange County Register
California desperately needs lawmakers who can
work together. Enter Proposition 14: This measure on the June 8
ballot would end the party primary system by putting the two
candidates who garner the most votes on the general election
ballot. The measure would apply to all state and federal races
except the presidency. Its goal is to elect more moderate lawmakers
from both parties. But can it deliver? To tell the truth, it's a
roll of the dice…
Jon Coupal: What's really behind Prop. 14
Column: Jon Coupal, The Orange County
Register A
free-for-all primary system would result in higher taxes.
Promoters of Proposition 14
on the June ballot say they want an "open" primary. "Open" makes it
sound so inclusive, so liberating, so egalitarian – what could
possibly be wrong with that? If you pay taxes in
California,
the answer is: plenty! Prop. 14 is the result of collusion between
an ambitious politician, newly appointed Lt. Gov.
Abel
Maldonado, and
entrenched Sacramento
spending interests. A year
ago, then-Sen. Maldonado, a Republican,
sold his vote for the most massive tax increase in the history of
all 50 states, in return for an agreement to place a measure on the
ballot that would make it easier for him to run for statewide
office. That measure is Proposition 14…