Clarence Page says the Democrats should stop their panic and go the Wizard of Oz route:
Please send the Democratic Party what they need most these days--a heart, some courage and brains.
November 2002 Archives
Neil Peirce explains how the budget crises facing many states, and resulting state budget cuts, are hurting the national economy.
Alice Rivlin, former OMB director and vice chair of the Federal Reserve system, has recently proposed a way for the federal government to assist the states. Pierce describes her plan:
Right now, she said, the federal government could provide immediate fiscal relief to the states by sending money specifically to cover budget gaps. Alternatively, it could temporarily increase the federal matching formula for Medicaid -- the Medicaid bear that's now consuming about 20 percent of state budgets.Of course, this would be easier to implement if the federal government were not in the midst of its own fiscal meltdown.Federal relief would ease the mega-cuts many states now face, and surely be anti-recessionary. It makes sense because Washington can borrow to cover its deficits, while the states can't.
For the long run, Rivlin favors a system of "counter-cyclical revenue sharing" -- a formula for special federal support for state budgets that's triggered by rising joblessness or other indicators of a seriously weakening economy. The aid would phase out as the economy recovers.
The Los Angeles Times weighs in on partisan-protection redistricting:
This cynical deal may serve the pols well, but it's bad for California. It becomes virtually impossible to hold lawmakers accountable at the next election. The Legislature is increasingly polarized between Republican conservatives and liberal Democrats. In spite of their majorities, Democrats need some GOP votes to pass the budget and any other fiscal bill. That's why this year's budget was deadlocked for two months beyond the deadline.Yes, I am going to continue to harp on this subject. There are many reasons why voter turnout is down. The fact that there are so few competitive races is one of them.It's in the public interest to have clear lines of opinion and vigorous debate. But the Legislature is so fractured now, it's virtually impossible to reach a compromise on any major issue, particularly on spending and taxes. The result of Tuesday's election will be even more gridlock.
Mike Barnicle writes a tribute for assassinated U.S. diplomat Larry Foley. Foley was murdered while going to work for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Amman, Jordan. Barnicle explains:
He was simply the real spirit of America, the true heart and soul of the most generous nation in the history of humanity, the ultimate representative of who and what we actually are - and there are a lot more just like him out there working for small rewards and little attention, even when they die in the line of a noble duty.
While the rest of the world focuses on Iraq, Trudy Rubin wonders about the job undone in Afghanistan.
Back in April, George W. Bush pledged a reconstruction program for Afghanistan on the order of the Marshall Plan.I have argued for months that the failure to stablize Afghanistan will haunt us. We have an obligation to come through on our promises.Nothing of the kind happened, as U.S. efforts focused mainly on boosting warlords who might help chase down remnants of al-Qaeda. Rebuilding has barely started, and the lag has undermined the central government of Hamid Karzai.
Things have reached such a point that top U.S. military commander Gen. Richard Myers suggested this week that our forces might do better by switching from combat operations to "the reconstruction piece in Afghanistan."
Plus, this precedent does not make one confident about the Bush Administration's plans for stabilizing Iraq after our potential invasion to remove Saddam from power.
No, not in Congress. In its state Assembly.
Sacramento Bee Deputy Editorial Page Editor Mark Paul explains that California's Assembly and Senate districts are simply too large. (A California State Senate district, for example, is larger than a Congressional District.)
Here's the kicker: The average lower house member in other states represents 46,600 citizens; California Assembly districts are nine times bigger. And remember, Assembly districts are the small ones. California Senate districts, with around 875,000 residents apiece, are now a third bigger than U.S. House seats and almost seven times larger than the average Senate district in other state legislatures.He is right. California needs more politicians.The idea of representative government is that the person we elect is supposed to mirror our concerns and those of our neighbors. But how does any single legislator, no matter how talented, adequately represent 437,000 persons, let alone 875,000?
While we are at it, it is time to consider whether 435 federal Representatives are really enough to effectively govern a continental nation of more than 280 million people.
Our previous post explained why party-protection redistricting hurts representation in the House of Representatives. As the San Jose Mercury News's Phil Yost explains, the situation also causes problems in many states. Yost examines the situation in California:
In 68 of the 80 Assembly districts, the winner received at least 60 percent of the vote. Only three races were really close -- two at 2-plus percentage points separating winner and loser, and one a virtual dead heat.Term limits in California make winning an Assembly seat a virtual six-year guaranteed job.In the Senate, same story. Of 20 races, only three winners suffered the insult of a margin of less than 20, including one Senate cliffhanger.
Huge victory margins don't augur well for keeping members attentive to their districts, or for inclining them to compromise on legislation.
Our legislatures should not be guaranteed job programs. We should not underestimate the damage partisan redistricting is doing to our government.
The Washington Post today makes the novel argument that the once-a-decade redistricting process should not protect those already in power. The editorial instead contends that:
Redistricting, which redraws congressional districts following the census every decade, ought to be designed to make districts more competitive and to make incumbents more accountable. Yet in practice, state legislatures proceed with two aims in mind -- protecting incumbents from challenge and maximizing partisan advantage.The Post goes on to celebrate Iowa's nonpartisan redistricting system that created competitive races.
Under our system of government, the House of Representatives is supposed to be the chamber in our legislative branch most responsive to changes in public opinion. Gerrymandering has left most Americans without a real choice come election day. That needs to change.
It is time to start working to spread the Iowa model across the nation so it can be in place before the next redistricting process begins following the 2010 census.
Now that the Democrats have been removed from the foreign policy game after their election debacle, Thomas Friedman says the important role of opposing the Bush Administration's hardliners now falls to the "de facto" Democrats: Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Where the Bush hard-liners are out of step is that many people here and abroad don't believe these guys really want to invest in making the world a different place, or that they have any imagination or inspiration to do so. The reason the De Facto Democrats are so important, and have a future, is that people trust that they see the world as it is — but also aspire to make it a better place. That is where the soul of America is.
Maureen Dowd writes of her recent experience with the Saudi religious police. It really is unacceptable to have allies such as this.
