Why I Went to Work for Arianna

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Cash from the punishment industry has so thoroughly corrupted the California Democrats that it now stands to the right of the GOP on prison spending.

For a fee, Democrat Davis has sacrificed an entire generation of blacks and Latinos. Ditto for our irreplaceable old-growth forests.

On the campaign trail, Davis promised he would ensure that "all old growth forests are spared the lumberjack's axe." But shortly after being elected, Davis held a fundraiser at the second largest timber company in the country, Sierra Pacific Industries. There he raised more than $100,000. He then promptly appointed two corporate timber reps to the Board of Forestry. Since then, the state has rubber-stamped practically every timber plan put before it -- including plans vigorously opposed by the state Water Quality Board, National Marine Fishery Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Today, clear-cut logging is rampant in the precious Sierra Nevada. Imperiled watersheds are being destroyed. Democrat Davis let the fox pay him for the right to guard the henhouse. And now California's wealthy "timber foxes" are getting fatter by the day.

And that's not the end of Democrat Davis' environmental sins. He vetoed two important bills designed to mitigate toxic hazards that especially hurt people of color. One bill would have kept radioactive waste out of dumps near low-income communities. Another would have added a $10 surcharge on each computer sold, to help safely recycle them. But Davis sided with big business against the needs of the most vulnerable. The list goes on and on.

And yet, despite this awful record, Democrat Party loyalists say we must defend him at all costs, even stooping to cheap scare tactics. They say that if Arnold Schwarzenegger wins the recall in 2003 (by a small plurality, at best), then a majority of Californians will (for some reason) vote to re-elect Bush in 2004. To beat Bush, we must save Davis.

Huh? Who thought that one up? Most Californians aren't going to vote for Bush, no matter who our governor is. Even when we have Republican governors, Californians reliably vote for Democratic presidential candidates. But these "panic button" arguments are being used to frighten and manipulate people.

Let's get serious: California is in a major crisis. We can't just ignore the record, ignore the facts and give knee-jerk support to whomever has a "D" behind his name. That won't solve a single thing. It's time for progressives to take a rational look at the sources of the present train-wreck. And then, based on rational inquiry, fight uncompromisingly for real solutions.

Fortunately, real solutions abound. We can fix the state finances. Right now, the state's tax revenues come disproportionately from income and sales taxes, which fluctuate wildly. That means we are super-flush during economic booms, but then super-broke during busts.

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