Campaigns are up and running throughout the state to place an initiative on the California ballot for majority rule- that is for democracy. The campaign is particularly strong on U C campuses and is seeking to spread to CSU and Community college campuses as well as to the general public. Volunteer field directors and county coordinators are distributing petitions and organizing a structure to gain 1 million signatures by April 3,2010.
The California budget is in deep trouble for the next several years , and the problem is aggravated the anti democratic limits on the legislature’s ability to pass a budget. George Lakoff sent to the Attorney General a ballot proposition for the 2010 ballot called The California Democracy Act, which simply says,
All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote.
It’s just this one sentence. It would change two words in the Constitution, turning "two-thirds" to "majority" in two places.
Democracy is the main issue in here. More democracy is required for progress on the budget. The two-thirds rules have an anti-democratic effect. Our legislature is currently under minority rule. One-third plus one -- only 34% -- of either the Assembly or Senate can and do block the will of the majority.
Readers of the California Progress Report know well that minority rule has produced a stalemate in the legislature and regressive and punative budgets. Changing the vote requirement to a majority for budget and revenue will allow the budget to meet the state's needs and be passed on time.
Qualifying this initiative requires a serious campaign making the case for democracy and allowing the voters to see that minority rule is the root of the problem. The campaign needs volunteer county and precinct workers, campus volunteers, fund raisers, and media workers.
Duane Campbell,
Sacramento County coordinator. Majority Rule Campaign
www.choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com
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