All but one of Governor Schwarzenegger’s ballot measures fail.
As expected, the liberal establishment will characterize voters as tantrum-throwers. When initiatives go their way, voters are wise, smart, discerning citizens. When initiatives fail miserably, the electorate is a moronic mob.
Veronique de Rugy on Schwarzenegger’s legacy:
In the end, the Terminator’s tenure as a governor of the Golden State will be remembered as a disaster flick which ends with high taxes, failed promises, and gigantic spending. For instance, not only did he bail on his promise to destroy the car tax, cut spending, and bring unprecedented prosperity to California, but he also caved to the unions and now wants voters to pay for the mess he caused.
California always seems to be about 2 weeks away from completely imploding, yet somehow it manages to lurch onwards.
But what to do with Cali? Megan McArdle:
There is a surprisingly sizeable blogger contingent arguing that we have to bail them out because however regrettable the events that lead here, we now have no choice. But actually, we do have a choice: we could let them go bankrupt. And we probably should.
I am not under the illusion that this will be fun. For starters, the rest of you sitting smugly out there in your snug homes, preparing to enjoy the spectacle, should prepare to enjoy the higher taxes you’re going to pay as a result. Your states and municipalities will pay higher interest on their bonds if California is allowed to default. Also, the default is going to result in a great deal of personal misery, more than a little of which is going to end up on the books of Federal unemployment insurance and other such programs.
John Cole quotes this and agrees.
Ezra Klein, yesterday, quotes Stan Collender from Capital Gains and Games. Ezra:
California’s legislature is in a strange position: It needs a two-thirds vote to raise taxes but also has to fund ballot propositions that require a simple majority of an uninterested public. The majority party in the legislature, in other words, can neither control how much money it raises nor how much money it spends. That’s not a sustainable state of affairs.
Mark Steyn at The Corner.
I’m sure more will follow.
UPDATE: Matt Y
Rod Dreher on McArdle
Jennifer Rubin in Commentary
Joshua Culling at The Corner
UPDATE #3: Michael New at The Corner
UPDATE #4: James Joyner
Kevin Drum again.
UPDATE #5: Ed Morrissey
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