Thursday, January 29, 2004
Page 7
IN MY OPINION (Column)
Mr. Really Liberal California Politician
By RAY HAYNES
(The writer represents the 66th Assembly District which includes portions of western Riverside County and northern San Diego County.)
It’s Super Bowl time, when all the new commercials come out. Have you seen those Real Men of Genius/Real American Hero series of commercials, celebrating Mr. Way Too Much Cologne Wearer or Mr. Giant Taco Salad Inventor? Well, they missed one.
So, to help out those Madison-Avenue types who missed this obvious set of geniuses, I offer a salute to those California legislators we can affectionately refer to as Mr. Really Liberal California Politician.
Hey, Mr. Really Liberal California Politician. We know that you are a real genius. You, who took a thriving California economy and turned it into a job-killing machine with your taxes and regulations. Only a genius could figure out how to take such a powerful economic engine, and shut it down in just two short years.
You know that you are smarter than the rest of us, that is why you spend your time trying to enact great government programs you learned about in college while in the middle of some chemical-induced stupor, and actually think that they will work in real life.
There aren’t many people in this world who could take a $12 billion surplus, and turn it into a $35 billion deficit, but you did it. Amazing. Even more amazing, even though you had record majorities in both houses of the legislature and controlled all the levers of the government, you managed to blame Republicans for the deficits.
You, Mr. Really Liberal California Politician, can increase spending by 40% while tax receipts only increase by 25%, and then say that low taxes caused the deficit.
Only you can tax law-abiding California citizens to pay for law-breaking foreign nationals, and call the citizens racist for objecting.
You took a state with beaches, mountains, deserts, forests, Hollywood and perfect weather that had attracted Americans for over a century, and made it so intolerable that more citizens are now moving out of California than are moving into California.
Only you, Mr. Really Liberal California Politician, can pass a law that says a man can show up for work dressed like a woman, even if the boss objects. You then pass a law that says the boss has to pay the employee if a customer makes fun of the employee for dressing up like a woman.
And you think that choice is important, unless it’s a choice in education, health care, self-defense, social security, or any other government program you control.
You were there, Mr. Really Liberal California Politician, when the governor of the state of California did everything you wanted, and you still complained. You pushed him even harder to do more liberal things, and he did them. Then, when he was recalled for doing what you asked him to do, you blamed him.
That is because, Mr. Really Liberal California Politician, you are smarter than the rest of us, and you know it. You know your programs don’t work only because we are not spending enough money on them.
You know that the special interests, like the unions, that you pass your laws to protect are destroying the economy, hurting employees, taking the employees money without the employee’s permission, but who cares, they are giving that money to you so you will stay in power.
You know the trial lawyers are destroying jobs and the economy in this state with the laws you pass for them, so they can make more money, but who cares, because they are giving you that money so you can stay in power.
And that is what it is all about, Mr. Really Liberal California Politician, keeping you in power. Because if you weren’t in power, you know that people would pay less in taxes, have more freedom, and live much more happily. And not being able to force people to do your bidding anymore would cause your precious self-esteem to plummet.
And that would drive you crazy. So we salute you, Mr. Really Liberal California Politician, because without you, we probably wouldn’t have anything to complain about.
And that would be a shame.
Copyright 2004, Metropolitan News Company