"The Cossacks are coming....where is Warren Beatty when we need him?"
This post is part 4 of an ongoing call-to-action designed to mobilize you to urge as many voters as you can to vote against Proposition 90, one of the most deceitful and damning initiatives to appear on our California ballot in decades.
Prop 90 feels like we are being invaded in California. Who cares if they are Cossacks in suits or aliens, the point is the right wing extremists have extended their reach into the blue waters of liberal California. That is a very bold move particularly in an election where the winds of change are blowing at the national level. And what's more important there is a great deal at stake. Is it the tyranny of a few over the multitudes in California in 2006? Or is there a bigger scenario being plotted while we are dazzled with hope?
It was standard fare to seize property rights in days past when a conqueror entered a country. But this is the home front, and we don't do that here, or do we? Not to over dramatize, but the implications are startling if one pulls back the curtain. Prop 90 like initiatives, in California and the three other states, in 2006 are deeply troubling. They may reveal a deeper strategy in play. It is like watching a movie in slow motion. The proponents of Prop 90 and the others in Arizona, Idaho and Washington are out-of-state, moneyed, land owners that want to strip the people of their property rights while promising the reverse. Shame on them! This is 2006 and we are living in America. One might ask what is really happening.
Yes, that is the bottom line. Let's read between the lines because all of the "takings" initiatives (as they are called), did not suddenly appear out of nowhere. This plan was put in play many years ago and funding was lined up. The bigger picture is right here if you look very closely and carefully. This is all about fundamentally challenging the way our government functions on a state-by-state basis. If it is successful in California and some of the other states, what is to prevent it from being adopted across the country?
Do you want to take the chance that this might be true? Can we afford to be distracted and deceived yet again?
Remember, this is a campaign that rallies around fear and deceit. Nobody said they had to tell the truth. Haven't we all been here repeatedly for the last several years? Again, the bad guy is living within the boundaries of the United States and the playbook is classic. Pick an emotional issue. Tell people you will protect them and get them to support the bogus propositions. Homeownership and property are sacred in our culture. Then charge forward with plans to erode even the most basic protections -- that prevent liquor stores near schools, urban sprawl that consigns families to hours of commute, and laws that allow polluters to reign.
This is no mistake. Prop 90 in California was certified for the ballot in June at the eleventh hour after a very contentious and brutal Democratic Primary. Activists were exhausted and drained of energy, focus and money. The coffers were dry. Then whip up the hopes and dreams of the progressive community with the promise of taking back the Congress. The drums began to beat for massive fundraising throughout the country and distraction prevails. Mix in a little more commotion from North Korea and the continued horror of the war in Iraq -- and the recipe is almost complete for Prop 90 like initiatives to slither in virtually unnoticed to any state that has a proposition process. The plan was on the shelf and the money was already in the bank. It was just a matter of timing.
On the eve of the Election, there is even more commotion. The pundits are screaming about robocalls and dirty tricks. It is confusing, noisy and distracting. Even Saddam is rolled out and sentenced. The timing is perfect, but we need to be smarter. We cannot let these things slide in under the radar as we turn our attention to perceived more important issues. What will it take for us to maintain the focus? If we figure it out and stay the course, we will protect ourselves. We need to send Prop 90 and its sister initiatives back and prevent them from ever arising again.
I know that this is one more thing to worry about this election cycle - but it is the real deal. If you agree with the discussion above, please send this link to ten others and link to this article. Let us not be fooled again.
Links: Huffing ton Post, Calitics: Soapbox California: Prop 90: A Battle we MUST Win and The Left Coaster: Deceptive Initiatives Designed To Blackmail Your Community and TomPaine.com Monster Stomping The States; and Carla Morenci from SF Gate, and The Nation: Rich's Stealth Campaign