Ramona Ripston, ACLU of Southern California Executive Director
Taking the Initiative Back
Arnold's taking the initiative.
On the heels of his overwhelming success in promoting and defeating a slate of ballot measures in the November election and a similar record of success in the March primary, Governor Schwarzenegger has introduced a host of measures he intends to place on the ballot in a special election that will probably take place in November 2005.
Arnold's new slate is designed to advance the agenda of moneyed, powerful interests, to shift California's political center of gravity away from its current centrist resting point, and to diminish the legislature's and labor's ability to counter his agenda. A group closely allied with the governor has already submitted dozens of measures for possible circulation, including measures related to redistricting, budget caps, revisions to Proposition 98 (the school funding guarantee that voters passed 16 years ago), converting public employees' pensions from defined benefits to 401k plans, a ban on public employee unions' use of member dues for political purposes, and a measure to limit trial lawyers' fees.
What does Arnold's growing confidence in using the initiative process to advance his agenda mean for progressive Californians? What do his successes in 2004 tell us? And how can a progressive agenda compete against the powerful, moneyed interests that the Governor has been able to consolidate and mobilize through the California Recovery Team and "Citizens to Save California," a new committee founded to evade stricter fundraising rules?
Emboldened by his ability to attract fantastic sums of money to push a conservative agenda, the Governor has adopted a new, more pugnacious tone and a distinctly more partisan posture.
In November, Governor Schwarzenegger played a crucial role in defeating Proposition 66 (Three Strikes reform), Prop. 68 (non-tribal gaming) and Prop. 70 (tribal gaming). He also threw his weight into defeating Prop. 72 (health care) and passing Prop. 64 (restricting citizen lawsuits) and Prop. 69 (DNA database expansion). He raised unprecedented sums of money, played an anchor role in leading others to donate, and leveraged his celebrity to great effect. In 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger's California Recovery Team received nearly $20 million in unlimited contributions. Final figures are not yet available. On Proposition 66, the Governor's Recovery Team donated over $2 million of the $5 million spent by the opposition.
All this money and media influence, unmatched by any force as powerful and unified on the progressive side, led to a near sweep for Arnold's agenda in November. Proposition 63, the mental health services initiative, stood out as one of the few bright spots.
Despite being funded by real estate developers and the banking and finance industries (his two largest donor sectors), and despite receiving more than 40 six- or seven-figure contributions in 2004, Schwarzenegger has styled himself as the voice of "the people" taking politics back from "the special interests." Not content with consolidating California corporate financial interests behind his agenda, he recently announced his intentions to reach out nationally to corporate and conservative donors to raise $50 million in 2005. The effort to reconfigure public employees' retirement accounts has piqued Wall Street's interest, for obvious reasons, but will also no doubt find eager backing from corporations that are chafing at the aggressive pursuit of shareholder democracy and corporate accountability by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).
Schwarzenegger's conservative "populism" is, in truth, nothing new in the field of initiative politics in California. Moderates and progressives have rarely contributed as much as conservative forces to initiatives, a pattern that Governor Wilson exploited in the 1990s, resulting in a string of successful measures hostile to civil liberties. Right-wing politicians, backed by business, know how to push majoritarian, anti-civil liberties measures in the name of the people. It's a potent and dangerous mix, but, however corrupted the initiative process is by cash and power, progressives cannot shy away from initiatives.
We do need to fix the loopholes allowing Governor Schwarzenegger to receive virtually unrestricted contributions to a committee that is, for all intents and purposes, controlled by him, but we also need to come together to build a force capable of fighting him.
To do so, we'll need a more unified strategy, political leaders who will prioritize the battleground of the initiative, and our own positive agenda. The time has come, in other words, for progressives to take back the initiative.
FEBRUARY 2005
Download Issue as PDF
Governor Proposes Budget with Deep Cuts, Harsh Real-Life Consequences
High School Students Fight Back Against Hate
LAPD Officer Shoots and Kills Youth in South Los Angeles
California Expands Domestic Partnership Rights
Civil Rights & International Human Rights Advocate to Lead ACLU/SC
State Legislative Preview: Beyond the Budget
ACLU Takes Aggressive Stance on Torture and Detentions
