Luke Ford

From DennisPrager.com:

Many of you have asked how I’m voting. Since I live in California, here’s my list and my reasons for California candidates, propositions and judges. Non-Californians may wish to read this for my thinking on similar propositions on other state ballots.

I. Candidates

All Republicans. No exceptions. The notion that one votes “for the candidate, not the party,” may have once been valid. It is no longer. Unless you are a leftist, there is every reason to vote Republican. The Democratic Party in California is no more than an adjunct to the unions in California. One of the most prominent Democrats in California told me this in private years ago: “We do what the unions tell us to do.” It is worse today. The result is that the Democratic Party is ruining what no one ever believed could be ruined, the State of California. To reward these people is an act of self-destruction the likes of which have rarely been seen in democratic societies.

II. Propositions

Prop 19 — Legalizing Marijuana – NO

This is a classic case of liberal Stage One thinking. The results will be nothing like liberals envision. Nothing good will come of this (certainly not “the billions” they claim it will generate in tax revenue) and the quality of life in California will further deteriorate. When government sanctions something, people engage in more of it. Do we really want to encourage Californians to smoke more pot?

Prop 20 – Redistricting Congressional Districts – YES

I would prefer that there be no human involvement in drawing Congressional districts. It escapes me why computers can’t simply calculate population figures and draw our districts that way. Well, actually, I do know the reason: politicians would have to pay attention to a diverse electorate to get elected. Redistricting lets them draw the political map to assure themselves safe seats. That is a major reason the California Democratic Party is so Leftwing: most Democratic congressmen don’t have to compete in their perfectly-designed-for-Democrats districts. This measure takes the power out of the state legislature’s hands and gives it to a neutral committee. I still prefer computers, but this is better than leaving the way it is now. I might add that I oppose the way it is now even in those states where Republicans control the state legislature.

Prop 21 — Annual Vehicle License Surcharge – NO

They have to be kidding.

Prop 22 – Pumbaa and Timon should be on the state seal (or something like that)– NO

The highly complex Prop 22 sounds reasonable once one begins to understand it; and the fact that the Teachers unions and the SEIU oppose it makes it painful for me to also oppose it. But listen to what a conservative Lew Uhler, President National Taxpayer Limitation Committee, says: “Prop 22 locks in protections for redevelopment agencies that take over 10% of all property taxes and use them to enter into billions of dollars of long-term debt without voter approval.”

It’s the abuse of eminent domain that makes me oppose Prop. 22

Prop 23 – Suspends implementation of air pollution control law AB 32 – YES YES YES

Prop 23 would suspend California law AB 32 until the California unemployment rate goes does down for four consecutive quarters. As George Will, who does not live in California, writes in his latest column, AB 32 is a “loopy” “economy-suffocating” law “that preposterously aims to cool the planet by requiring a 30 percent reduction of carbon emissions by 2020.” He then adds, “If Californians reject [Prop 23] that would suspend this law . . . this latest act of self-impoverishment will be a (redundant) reason for making Californians clean up the mess they have made.”

Prop 24 — Repeals legislation that would allow businesses to lower their tax liability – NO

One would think that voting no on Prop 24 is as obvious a recommendation as possible given how hostile California already is to business. But for the Left, taxing those who make money in business is a greater good than enabling those who make money in business to hire more workers.

Prop 25 — Changes legislative vote requirement to pass budget from two-thirds to a majority – NO

One of the only things stopping California’s Titanic-like economy from sinking like the ill-fated ocean liner is that Democrats in Sacramento must take Republican objections on spending increases into consideration. If Prop 25 passes, there will no reason for Republican legislators to leave home. The Democrats will pass their union-pleasing budgets without one Republican’s vote. Which is why the unions are so supportive of Prop 25.

Prop 26 — Requires that certain state and local fees be approved by two-thirds vote — YES

I would support a change to a four-fifths vote, but two-thirds is fine.

Prop 27 — Eliminates state commission on redistricting – NO

Prop 27 ensures that state legislators continue to draw congressional districts. The proposition should be renamed “Ensure Democrats run for Congress in districts with little or no Republican opposition.”

III. Judges

I finally found a reliable guide to electing judges in California: Guide to Judges