As reported at American Thinker, three college Republicans in Orange County managed to collect 85,000 signatures on a recall petition against freshman California State Senator Josh Newman. In less than three months, these young Republicans have forced Newman into a recall election. Newman was the pivotal vote needed to pass a $52 billion gas tax increase. He’s in trouble.
The gas tax hike takes effect in November, and Thomas Lifson hopes for “recall petitions all over California.” But there’s a better way — recall them all by dissolving the entire legislature.
In eight states it is realistic politically to amend the state Constitution by initiative. California is one of them. A constitutional initiative requires signatures from 8% of the votes cast in the most recent Governor’s election. Around 7.3 million votes were cast in the 2014 election, so a shade less than 600,000 signatures would be needed.
In one state senate district three college kids collected one seventh of the number required to propose a constitutional amendment. If the college Republicans of California were organized, 600,000 is in reach.
The amendment would declare that the legislators elected in 2018 would hold office for no more than 90 days, during which time new legislative elections would take place. No sitting member of the legislature would be eligible to run, in this election or any other legislative election in the future.
I doubt the Lieutenant Governor would approve of such an initiative, so suit would have to be filed to force the issue. That will require money, which such a noble venture surely would attract.
The time to act is now, getting the legal challenges out of the way before the gasoline tax takes effect on November 1st. That will be the time to collect signatures.
California has a long and distinguished history of legislation by constitutional initiative. One of the few protections California taxpayers have is Prop 13, the Jarvis-Gann Amendment of 1978. This law, enacted as a constitutional initiative, had saved Californians from paying $528 billion in property taxes, as of 2009. Today the total savings are probably 3/4 of a trillion dollars.
There is no member of the California legislature currently serving who is worth keeping. California legislators make $104,000 a year, and when they leave the legislature they arrange to be appointed to boards and commissions where they keep the gravy flowing. The entire political system of California is corrupt, a natural result of extended one party rule.
California Democrats have no more use for our state legislators than Republicans do. They’re a worthless bunch. Let’s throw the bums out.
reaganproject.com 