THE BOSTICK REPORT-The expectations were high in 2013 when Democrats opened the California state legislative session. They hadn’t just won a majority in both the California state assembly and state senate, they had secured a veto-proof, supermajority that could pass anything – even tax increases and state constitutional amendments – without worrying about the partisan politics that stymie progress in Washington.
To clarify exactly what that means for those of you playing at home, a supermajority vote is a 2/3 vote. Specifically, there are 80 assembly districts and 40 state senate districts in California. After the election cycle of 2012, the Democrats held 55 assembly seats and 28 state senate seats – both supermajorities.
What could we have achieved? The possibilities are limited only to how far Democratic Governor Jerry Brown would go, really. To be fair, he’s struck a really centrist tone, but the potential for enacting some good old-fashioned social justice in education, public safety, tax-policy, and any other vein of the Democratic Party’s platform was titillating.
It’s almost painful to talk about the progress we could have made on fracking or the schools to prison pipeline. Best not to even talk about it right now.
Because it has all disintegrated like sands shifting in the desert below our feet.
It started with the election of Roderick Wright, Democratic State Senator from SD 35, who ran for office in a district where he didn’t live. He was eventually convicted of voter fraud and perjury earlier this year after being indicted in 2010. He is now on leave with pay, of course.
While the specter of Wright’s eventual conviction has haunted his entire term in the state senate, the FBI raids that culminated long-running investigations of corruption, bribery, and a general disregard for moral compass by State Senators Ron Calderon and Leland Yee caught us all off-guard.
Thanks for ruining the supermajority, guys.
Because you didn’t just ruin the mathematical configuration that is the supermajority status for the rest of this term, you marked the concept of one party rule with your utter lack of character, integrity, and resolve to represent us as champions of a fair society. You have made it so toxic for our party that it will take another decade (or more) before the potential good outpaces the shadow of your self-serving, immoral ethics and actions.
You have ruined the supermajority. Utterly and absolutely.
I firmly believe in the Democratic Party platform and its larger ideals. I believe that our commitment to balance a healthy economy with social equity is the best focus of our government. Our government exists to serve the people and ensure that our capitalistic economy does not trample the soul of our electorate. Politicians are the voice of reason in an otherwise order-less world and they are there to guide us towards a healthy balance.
The worst part of these corruption scandals is that they play right into the false dichotomy Republicans spin on Democrats. Historical GOP arguments against our party are that we undermine the wholesomeness of the “American Dream” and our “overly-permissive” social norms denigrate the American mythology. Basically, they’ve always painted us as weirdoes who encourage people to go seedy.
The truth is that the Democratic Party is no more the party of degenerates than the Republican Party is the party of greedy monsters eager to sell us all into economic slavery. We just have different ideas of how government should work. Admittedly, theirs is basically wrong and ours is right – in my opinion – but that’s the perpetual debate of elections.
Neither party is inherently evil or inherently corrupt. Both parties have been embraced by people of the highest morals and character driven be a desire to promote the American Dream. Both parties are used by those of low-character and self-serving morals to gain power and abuse their positions for personal gain.
But, I am a Democrat and the recent scandals in my party that have taken away our supermajority strike at the core of what I believe. They’re actions are disgusting to me and I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t acknowledge that these people have sullied the concept of supermajority rule and embarrassed the Democratic Party that I hold dear to my heart.
Those people don’t represent Democrat ideals. They are the exception, not the rule. And I am very sorry that they rose to a position of power in the Democratic Party. It is absolutely vital to the success of the party’s ideals that our spokespeople reflect the highest morals and most impeachable character. That is what I support.
(Odysseus Bostick is a Los Angeles teacher and former candidate for the Los Angeles City Council. He writes The Bostick Report for CityWatch.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 27
Pub: Apr 1, 2014