In the L.A. Times, Andrew Malcolm writes, “Of the day’s six fiscal propositions…all went down — and hard”, which helps to explain why Gov. Schwarzenegger was on the other side of the country today:
Well, he may have had a grand day in D.C. schmoozing with the Democratic president and exchanging warm words of mutual praise about car exhausts, but Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got a different kind of message tonight from California voters.
Not that many came out to vote in local races and on six statewide propositions, as we reported earlier Tuesday. But the ones who did were resoundingly defeating the governor’s budget proposals, as opinion polls had predicted.
Which is probably why the Budgetnator was far away in Washington during the day, instead of being photographed voting locally and then sitting on a hotel room couch watching results roll in during a Sacramento photo op.
Of the day’s six fiscal propositions — the rainy day fund, education funding, lottery modernization, children’s services funding and temporary reallocation of mental health funding — all went down — and hard. The results were roughly 60-40 against.
The only proposition to sail through was one preventing pay increases to top elected state officials during years of budget deficits. That one was being approved about 76-23. Take that! (That doesn’t affect Arnold, of course, because he’s never taken a state salary.)
Click over for links to additional analysis.
Michelle Malkin adds, “California did itself in. It deserves to suffer the consequences.”
In the meantime, Andrew Malcolm concludes:
California is again coming first in this resistance to more taxes, threats and budget deficit games, then next year’s midterm national elections, historically bad news for the party controlling the White House anyway, might mean some hard slogging for congressional Democrats who’re so quickly and overwhelmingly approving the current deficit spending.
Indeed. Let’s hope for some change in 2010.
(Via Tammy Bruce on Twitter.)
Update: But of course: “ABC Regrets California’s ‘Unwillingness to Raise Taxes.'”
More: The Rhetorican rounds up further legacy media reaction to yesterday’s election; needless to say, the media that has never seen a tax hike it didn’t approve, of is not happy. Futher thoughts on the California legacy media’s reaction here.
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