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“People who have more money should be free to buy more cars, more homes, more vacations, and more gizmos than the rest of us. They should not be able to buy more democracy." -Bill Moyers |
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Fundraising Hypocrisy - Arnold Seeks Funds to Support His Initiative Agenda From Opponents of Initiative Process and Redistricting Reform From May 20-23, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is traveling around the country for a series of fundraisers for his California Recovery Team ballot committee. Schwarzenegger is looking to raise an additional $30 million on top of the $20 million he says he has raised so far to pursue his ballot agenda through the special election he has threatened to call this year if negotiations with the Legislature don’t go as he wants. Stops are scheduled for Florida (Tampa, Orlando, and Miami), Chicago, and Dallas. While Schwarzenegger and his ally the California Chamber of Commerce embrace the initiative process, Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida Chamber of Commerce have been trying to curtail Florida’s initiative process, saying that it is susceptible to abuse by wealthy out-of-state interests who “place their pet projects into Florida's Constitution through well-financed ballot initiatives”. As Bush and/or members of the Florida Chamber will very likely be attending Schwarzenegger’s Florida fundraisers for his ballot agenda, it begs the following questions: Why is Governor Schwarzenegger raising funds for his ballot agenda from people who oppose the ballot initiative process? Why are Governor Bush and members of the Florida Chamber engaging in the very carpetbagger activity they complained of in pushing their anti-initiative agenda? California Schwarzenegger’s ballot agenda is an extension of his political philosophy, which can best be summed up by a line from his 2005 State of the State Address: “Trust the people.” In another speech, he has described the initiative process as one of “the tools to take back their government” that the people have available to them. He is actively campaigning for three initiatives right now (redistricting reform, state spending cap, teacher tenure changes) and is considering campaigning for a fourth (requiring annual written approval from members of public employee unions before the unions can use dues for political campaigns – also known as “paycheck protection”). Bankrolling and backing Schwarzenegger’s efforts is the California Chamber of Commerce, a staunch Schwarzenegger ally from the outset of his political career -- Schwarzenegger was the first candidate ever endorsed by the Chamber in California. The Chamber continues to help him bankroll his ballot agenda through the Chamber-backed Citizens to Save California (CSC), which has raised more than $10 million this year (Q1 and late filings) to support Schwarzenegger’s agenda. On the front page of CSC’s website is a photo of Schwarzenegger and the following quote: "I get up every morning wanting to fix things here in Sacramento. And today I ask you: Help me fix them." Schwarzenegger’s involvement with CSC led TheRestofUs.org to file a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission that CSC was effectively controlled by Schwarzenegger and should therefore have to abide by the contribution limits for candidate-controlled ballot committees. CSC and Schwarzenegger joined in filing a lawsuit against the regulation the FPPC complaint accused them of violating. The CSC lawsuit is pending appeal, putting on hold a lawsuit by TheRestofUs.org against Schwarzenegger and CSC for campaign finance violations. While the financial support for Schwarzenegger and his ballot agenda has to date derived almost exclusively from a small cadre of very wealthy donors – 60.5% of California Recovery Team funds raised in 2005 have been raised in amounts of $100,000 or greater; 66.1% of the Citizens to Save California funds raised in 2005 have been raised in amounts of $100,000 or greater, 74.3% of the funds have been raised in amounts of $50,000 or greater – his expressed preference is to trust the people to make the call on tough decisions facing the state, a philosophy backed by the California Chamber of Commerce. Such is not the case with their counterparts in Florida. Florida Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida Chamber of Commerce have thrown their weight behind several bills this year proposing to limit the ability of Florida citizens to use the initiative process to amend the state constitution. Only one, upping the requirement from 50% to 60% for any initiative to pass, made it through the Legislature onto the 2006 ballot. The bill HJR 1723, ironically only requires 50% of the vote to pass. Two other proposals would have limited the issues that initiatives could deal with to a narrow range of “fundamental” issues and required a two-thirds approval for any initiative that levied or raised a tax or caused significant spending. Last year, the Florida Chamber backed and won an initiative requiring signatures for initiatives for the November elections to be turned in by February. Supporters of these proposals have argued that the Florida initiative process has been corrupted by out-of-state interests that finance wealthy campaigns. Mark Wilson, senior vice president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, described the Legislature’s efforts to limit citizen ability to use the initiative process: "For two years now, (the Legislature) have realized how broken our constitutional amendment process is and it's literally for sale." On the Florida Chamber’s website, it states that the limits on the initiative process will “Eliminate the ability of special interests and out of state organizations to place their pet projects into Florida's Constitution through well-financed ballot initiatives.” The Chamber has even started up its own website - VoteSmartFlorida.org - on which it tells voters to “Beware of Signing Petitions” and that contrary to popular belief, “most signature gatherers are paid professionals who travel from state to state, following the money from special interest groups and disappearing as soon as the last dollar is spent by the campaign.” Governor Bush is scheduled to attend at least two of the fundraisers. Many members of the Chamber of Commerce will likely attend these parties to toast Governor Schwarzenegger and to pour out-of-state cash into his ballot coffers, despite their organization’s attempts in Florida to curtail the ballot process. While the hypocrisy from both Schwarzenegger and his Florida crew is evident, a look at the issue of redistricting exposes further cracks in this cross-country fundraising coalition. Legislative Redistricting The difference between the approach of Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Chamber of Commerce to redistricting reform in California and that of Governor Bush and the Florida Chamber of Commerce in Florida is stark, highlighting the inconsistencies of Governor Schwarzenegger’s holding fundraisers in Florida with Governor Bush and members of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. In California, Schwarzenegger has rightly decried the lack of competition resulting from the 2001 Legislature-drawn redistricting plan as he has campaigned for a nonpartisan redistricting commission. No seats in the California congressional delegation or in the State Assembly switched parties in 2004. While Schwarzenegger has negotiated with the Legislature on the issue, he has recognized that the self-interested legislators that drew up the incumbent-protection map in the first place may not be the best way to achieve his goal, which has led to his support for the redistricting initiative. In Florida, Governor Bush has not supported efforts for a nonpartisan redistricting commission, nor has the Chamber, although it has highlighted the redistricting initiative as an example of the problems with the Florida initiative process on its VoteSmartFlorida website. Some have even suggested that some of the anti-initiative efforts in the Florida Legislature are aimed at a signature-gathering effort underway in Florida for an initiative instituting a nonpartisan redistricting commission. In other words, Governor Schwarzenegger is in Florida to seek money in part to support his ballot efforts to transfer the power of redistricting away from the California state legislature to a nonpartisan redistricting commission. He is seeking those funds from people who are fighting to hobble the initiative process in Florida on the basis that out-of-state interests have corrupted the process with money, motivated in part by the desire to prevent the transfer of the power of redistricting from the Florida state legislature to a nonpartisan redistricting commission. Recap:
Questions for Governor Bush
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