Moderates Matter: Five Tips for California Democrats

Many elected Democrats seem to love to mock, ridicule, and express hatred for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Delegates at the recent L.A. Convention cheered wildly at each insult, enjoyed Howard Dean’s imitation of the governor’s accent, and roared approval when Assemblywoman Judy Chu “declared war on him.” Surrounded by fellow activists, many party delegates seem convinced that this negative strategy will unite their party, inspire the grassroots, and lead to victory.

Don’t bet on it. President George Bush and Governor Pete Wilson also created equal, if not greater levels of contempt, among progressive activists and won decisive electoral victories. Here are five tips for activists if they really want the support of alienated moderates.

Don’t Demonize: Favoring a balanced budget doesn’t make Governor Schwarzenegger a racist; wanting to cut state agencies doesn’t make him a fascist, and calling legislators “girlie men” doesn’t mean the Governor hates homosexuals. Attorney General Bill Lockyer might collect applause at the convention, but he won’t replace Schwarzenegger by wailing about “the odor of Austrian politics.”

Schwarzenegger won, decisively in a historical expression of popular dismay against Gray Davis, an incompetent Governor, and a political leadership that continually dodged difficult issues and created a $30 billion plus deficit. Schwarzenegger’s election as a moderate outsider businessman focused on a platform of balanced budgets and political reform. He’s following that clear mandate. Criticize his tax policies, attack his budget proposals, document his inconsistencies ¯ but don’t demonize the man.

Nor will continually demonizing President George W. Bush as a “war monger”, or “religious fanatic” If passionate progressive Democrats and Assemblywoman Chu want to declare war, I’d suggest an Islamic fascist named Osama Bin Laden ¯ especially during wartime. Bin Laden, by the way, really does hate you, has murdered thousands of your fellow citizens, and wants to murder you, impose rigid Islamic law and execute “infidels,” “homosexuals” and probably your family. Note this important distinction. If you have to hate someone, why not make it a real enemy of your family and country?

Many moderate voters, including myself, find it difficult to listen to, let alone agree with, candidates and activists that seem more motivated by their opposition to Schwarzenegger, Bush, Christians, or Republicans than support for any coherent philosophy or practical programs. So if you’re discussing politics with a neighbor, please skip the personal attacks and just focus on policy issues.

Acknowledge Mistakes: How can California provide quality public services at an acceptable cost to the majority of voters? How can California balance its budget? How can California residents lead more comfortable, less stressful, and better lives?

Inquiring minds want to know. Democrats need concise, consistent, and real responses to these pertinent questions. Voters clearly rejected the once-fashionable premise that there was no crisis among Democratic leaders from Gray Davis (recalled) Kevin Shelly (resigned under investigation), and legislative leaders. Let’s remember that former Governor Davis claimed, with a straight face, that he misjudged the size of California’s deficit by a mere $25 billion just days after winning re-election.

Davis’ defense, essentially total incompetence, didn’t build trust. Nor were voters reassured when so many elected Democrats absurdly lined up behind Davis. The budget fiasco, the culmination of numerous poor decisions taken to appease special interests and mega-donors, should never have happened. Democrats have to acknowledge their mistakes before expecting mainstream voters to forgive them.

Balance the Budget: Perhaps Democratic leaders have forgotten Thomas Jefferson’s warning that “I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers.” Do state Democratic Party leaders still live in denial about the danger and irresponsibility of continually running multibillion dollar deficits? Why should anyone listen to California Democrats justly criticize President Bush for grossly irresponsible fiscal policies if we can’t provide fiscal solutions here at home?

Let’s level with voters. If we favor tax hikes, then let’s find tax increases that the public supports. Can’t California at least tax on oil drilled in California at the same rate as Texas? What about restricting Prop 13 to residential property under a million dollars? Perhaps we should expand the “sin” taxes currently placed on alcohol and tobacco to include junk food and gasoline? What about a small sin tax on violent video games or pornographic materials? Other possibilities include a higher sales tax on luxury goods, a flip tax on stock sales above $10,000, and restoring the higher income tax rates for multimillionaires. We might also remember Senator Russell Long’s remark that “Tax reform means: Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that fellow behind the tree.”

If the public won’t support adequate funding to maintain, let alone expand, government services, then Democrats must find more efficient ways to deliver underappreciated yet vital services. Let’s find way to reinvent government procedures, using technology, to cut administrative costs. Encourage suggestions from state employees. Schwarzenegger has demonstrated that selling off surplus government property brings in significant revenue.

The bottom line remains Californians must either raise taxes, reduce costs, or reform procedures. We can’t just live on borrowed money at increasing interest rates. The previous status quo wasn’t acceptable, sustainable, or inevitable. California can’t remain a high service, moderate tax state. Davis bamboozled voters, with the help of $80 million dollar campaign and media indifference to numbers, winning re-election by denying the deficit existed. Yet Davis soon lost his job ¯ and so will Democratic gubernatorial candidates Controller Steve Wesley, Treasurer Phil Angelides, and Lockyer if they can’t balance a budget.

Learn the word compromise: California faces real, deep, and systematic problems from chronic deficits, and dysfunctional public schools to the lack of affordable housing and millions of uninsured citizens and millions more underinsured residents. The status quo doesn’t work, many well-intentioned state government programs fail to deliver, and voters want real reform. Democrats must provide voters with viable options ¯ and take back the word “reform” from Schwarzenegger and the Republicans instead of merely protecting incumbent legislators and their lobbyist allies.

Support Election Reform: Given the 2000 Presidential election debacle, election reform should be a slam dunk issue for Democrats. Californians want every legal vote to count. But, here again, extreme pandering throws away a great issue. Democratic legislative leaders defend the gerrymandered districts which re-elected every single incumbent and they oppose Governor Schwarzenegger’s popular proposals to have impartial judges draw district lines.

But it gets even worse. Humboldt county delegates want to change California’s initiative process to limit popular conservative ideas; legislative leaders object to asking voters to show IDs with photographs, and many minority delegates want convicted felons given back their right to vote. Simple translation: Democrats fear voters in a fair election, want illegal immigrants to vote, and think convicted felons would vote for them. Does that sound like an enlightened policy? Do you doubt that Governor Schwarzenegger and Common Cause will convince voters to take district map-making away from legislators with a clear conflict of interest in favor of impartial retired judges?

California faces many real problems, and Democrats can and should help revitalize the California Dream. Following these five tips will reach out to moderate voters, lead to better state policies, and smarter politics. Democrats might even win back the statehouse.

Eric H. Roth, a former Congressional aide and political journalist, currently teaches at the University of Southern California.

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