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some on the phone it is a pleasure to help them uh... david danna
now the writer of long for my magazine pieces that you can find in such places
as the new republic uh... and uh...
the american prospect and others
uh... david welcome back to the program
kaplan yes uh...
and nothing's really changed the
so relaxed yeah now the iraqi uh... the daily grow
dove blogging
yeah racket
the definitely in
a new frontier
uh...
you know
i have left the state but i think more about it i guess
yes and uh... you're speaking to us now from uh... the beaches are right
them out outside parallel
all right let's start uh... uh... i wanna get to obviously uh...
uh... these these stories about the uh...
the
congressional action finally it is well
i mean i don't want overstated but uh... on the
uh... foreclosure review settlement i want to talk about the uh...
and simply suit that was announced that i guess today officially
and uh... will touch briefly on this uh...
on this justice department memo uh... for drum strikes if you have anything to
say that they know that something you also uh... covered but but first let's
start with this story
uh... that you did for the new republic
outlining abhi
california comeback is that uh... that a fair assessment of what's happening in
california
yell at them
so i i um...
you know it refused if you go back
to that the dept
spoke the gray per session
uh... californians
pay had rules that were completly unprepared
or uh... i've a crash at the economy and a major aero financial collapse
um...
because up the rules were such
that sexually there was a minority the dl
over the entire process and lease
sought during the very recession
one hostage taking situation after another over the budget
are
where minority republicans wed barely more than one
heat in the state legislature
all would over and over again
their priorities onto the agenda
uh...
reject
uh... using taxes
they get out of a mac
uh... budget all which was at one point of high sixty billion dollar cut first
state if you believe that
uh... and
uh... we
basically the schools of minority obstruction were up very large in the
area
uh... and and they probably had uh... uh...
a lot of a resonance for people who are watching
washington over the last couple years
where we've seen these profit-taking fifth were delivered over there and and
and
and beats minority obstruction
uh... events
uh... perfectly round about it
so how to california
change that's how did we flipped the script
uh... and it turns out it really was
uh... the use of the progressive movement
here include state that uh...
or whatever was to coming
it was at the fact that we have an initiative process that can
you know up pretty easily and and efficiently change
area
uh... a constitutional
amendments and think like that uh... obviously helped
uh... what happened was in two thousand and
uh... it used to be that you need a two-thirds vote
just up at the budget
uh... which means they're republicans
that effectively blocked any budget that they want it
uh... in two thousand and there was abode
to make it a majority vote budget
however there's still a two-thirds vote
uh... if you want to recruit taxes rap apple budget right now things uh... you
have spending side we have revenue side
and you couldn't increase revenue out without a two-thirds vote which means
republicans held a flop on that process and obviously they were willing to do
that
and then instead
knew that california is and has a fairly narrow or it did in the routier
continues i guess had a fairly narrow
set of revenue raising tool
roles because of the over deus proposition thirteen which was passed
and back in the late seventies and i know this only because lhasa choose
suits about not only because but um... massachusetts
adopted a similar thing uh... i think we call the prop three in massachusetts
in the early eighties and i just remember
my high school uh... basically having to cut uh... virtually every nonessential
program including mike phys ed cynthia and arctic and uh... just about
everything that would make a a well-rounded educated citizens and uh...
da sign the product out
chairat prop thirteen bata
the two thirds rule for taxes
uh... it also product
so that property tax rates that are amazingly well specially for commercial
property
up basically
your property taxes are frozen at
and nineteen seventy-eight rates
uh... that property get three attachment and
businesses have been very skillful at insuring that he met they transfer the
property it doesn't get reassess so most businesses around here
are paying nineteen seventy-eight levels of property tax
which are very artificially low
wants are there that means s
brewing for their a hiring and passing on those savings to their customers
operator now
so
out
and the other thing is that even local uh... tax measures
needed addictive
crop that two-thirds fresh threshold
also because of popup working
and what it uh... aquatic here through the state
so how
how work progress level of mobile are taking place
they they put these things on about the change the rules and then and then in
two thousand twelve it was a
big tax measure
um...
that uh... raise
that would raise a number of uh... up
mostly income taxes a little bit itself back
and um... to vote that specifically for public education
uh... and public safety
so
was able to sort of break this tax revolt which is held in california since
the late seven
anti everything really change the electorate
and uh... their work up a lot of that were passed one for online voter
registration which was extremely critical
uh... one million people
registered online with state of california in just the last month
before the election of two thousand twelve
and the vast majority of them were democrats
and the vast majority of those that registered
actually voted
relative to than normal
us where people register only burn election it with a much higher
percentage of those
voters that actually went to the polls
uh... in addition there were massive voter mobilization in infrequent voting
communities
uh... in uh... the uh... low-income communities in immigrant communities
all over the state there was a coalition network
uh... the umbrella group was named re plane california's future
little satellite offices all up and down the state
particularly in these areas
empty really changed the complexion
of the electorate
uh... we had a redistricting process obviously because of the census
and the expectation was that there was no way
that california could never get at two thirty maturity
uh... in the legislature under the
the district lines that were drawn
after two thousand that and it turns out that the they changed the shape of the
electorate
so much
through online voter reg through mode voter mobilization perturbation
that day dot biz two-thirds majority than something that democratic
operatives didn't expect they related
opportunity to get a two-thirds majority particularly in the state assembly
to be idea pope bobble winnie alabama
and it turned out that obama did win alabama as buchanan in california at
least
uh... with respect to that
uh... they also won the tax picture by double digits
uh... and eight date
change the nature of the electorate such that
uh... they were able to change these rules
and take away the tools of minority obstruction
and now the governor came out said a january that we have
uh... a balanced budget
in initial projection
other january um... revenue returns
uh... were actually five billion ahead out his initial projection the estimates
or uh... the the month of january
so things are probably going better then
even expected
uh... and now the big
body the debate in in the state of california is
how many of these
spending issues that were cutback
during the great recession over and over again
uh... will be restored because we have this new landscape where the structural
deficit is largely been wiped out
uh... and that
yet let me let me just not the intended for we get to this sort of
viewed to to wear
earth progressives have been able to sort of change what the uh... the
playing field is i guess but how is it i mean what would
is there a sense i mean i i am agin and over the past couple months when diese
organizations
looked back on what they did
correctly in terms of voter mobilization i mean the as
the we have a standard algorithm from what we can expect for people who
register in the plot of the month prior to the election you can anticipate a
certain percentage of them uh... which is generally lower than the the those
who register before then will actually vote this was higher uh... the online
registration provided at a higher yield if you will they were able to mobilize
in such a way that they overcame this as structural
problem in terms of the way the districts are drawn what what accounted
for that was it simply anne an effort that would have been unparalleled in
terms of organizing on the ground is it is there something too
you uh... voter registration being made easy
easier which somehow
i mean it's counter-intuitive that that
easier voter registration would lead to app ko heart that would vote more
or and if so what what accounts for that
i think a couple uh... first of all with respect to voter registration
yes it would be easier but it was also something pet individuals could seek out
for themselves it seemed like maybe they were more invested and rather than they
were caught on the street and to get away from somebody they registered to
vote uh... it seems that way that that when you
when you get people with tools
and they're able to do it quickly uh... and any easily
band they follow through with it the other thing we have here in california
is old uh... large segment of the population vote-by-mail
and i think it blowing every single here
and uh... expo almost fifty percent of the wave of the electorate votes early
by mail
and that ultimately easier for people the booklet you make it easier for
people to register easier for people about they tend to follow through on it
with respect to the localization
uh... i think this is something that wasn't really eight point of emphasis
particularly within that state democratic party
until a couple years ago and it certainly wasn't a point of emphasis
or the progressive communities on the ground
and i think what was done here it was really taking sort of obama bottle on
applying at the california
is that they'd work inside these communities and they walked these
and they paid it but people calling where their neighborhoods
under people will not be on their doors with our neighbors
uh... and it was up buried lock oblak
strategy
odd bat
utilize
um... a great deal of volunteers tens of thousands of legal volunteers
uh... in order to hot highlighting target these communities that were
infrequent
boating community and so
i think there was a lot of
stepping on the part a progressive groups and the democratic party to get
involved in this
uh... within that went well cycle ought to really target these communities that
had a richer mallet democratic votes
uh... and and turn them out and the read the other thing that i was told
uh... from people who engaged in this effort is that if you give people
something to vote for
uh... idbi peter
x measure that was on the ballot
critical for public schools
uh... and that brought out students
in record numbers
uh... to come out and vote
and also the volunteer and ensure that the tax measure passed and if you if
people
something to vote for
at that was political to art community power who would be the first in line for
cuts for their schools
for students for all eating for two voter news
bill not only but the way you want on that main issue
but i'll tell you about the way you want
dalbello right
and
that's one ended up happening
now that the paradox here it is that yes
d uh... in terms of of the ability to replicate
this model
uh... in other states
and
to replicate this model in an off-year election is that on one hand you had of
president obama running this is obviously a presidential election
uh... cycle and that tends to drive more voters out particularly it seems police
democratic voters
but the the paradoxes of course it it's very hard to find another state
where and they had
the the stakes of voting in the presidential election is lower because
of course there was never a question as to whether or not california would end
up voting for president obama
art
that's definitely true spars how-to
uh... associate this the what's happening at the national level i mean i
think
out one of the the
early things that
democrats frankly in washington flop
is filibuster i mean if you want to take away the tools that minorities
uh... minorities parties can use to obstruct
progress
about the first thing you have to say is that you you take away that tool that
makes
sixty votes
senate and they failed to do that and that so that i think with 'em
yelling the word last word california when we had this majority wheat we
changed the role
and come up in the second thing is ours
and and forget that second thing is that
once you get rid of those structural barriers that uh... allow for
obstruction at such a uh...
massive scale
bility to propose in meaningful per meaningfully
uh... and issued is that then the voter feels like they have some influence over
if they actually go out and vote as opposed to you know what we have what we
see in the senate now at least uh... that you know we can hear proposals from
uh... from senators but we know that they have an impossible bar
uh... to which to to actually realize those initiatives
that's absolutely true and correct heightening the second thing is that the
voter engagement was based around
odd you know i actually getting something out of the voting process you
know um... acquitted three probes came to the following liberalism as freedom
prop
what's rosary
you know the you actually get something tangible uh...
or your participation in the political process
and that was what was
was highlighted here in california and edit you do remove those structural
out tools of obstruction and you actually campaign on things that are
tangible what i can actually happened and that provide tangible benefits
to uh...
uh... devoting communities
then uh... it's much it's much easier with
to get those infrequent voters out the vote
uh... for for very specific reason and so
that is another way that you can sort of associate what happened here in
california than the national level it's not perfect obviously there at their
different dynamics
out between the statement and had a national election but uh...
uh... it does offer something of a road map into lessons
or how you can
make this work
uh... in california is always been sort of the harbinger what happens here
apples
you know all over so i thought that that
that's a possibility and again you know not to put too fine a point on it but
this was a uh... the sort of a double win insofar is that the uh... the
ability to pass a budget
became
debilitate has a budget with only amid a simple majority it was realized
simultaneously uh... in unexpectedly like you say
the need for that reform at least in the short term was needed because
you had sachin overwhelming victory
by uh... democratic state legislators
exactly and that
bring tears to sort of where we're at today is that you have this two-thirds
majority so uh... democrats in the legislature could propose uh... new new
taxes because i think the taxes that were passed aren't unlimited
we still have this
the structural issue with prop thirteen
uh... huh
somewhere down the line you're going to have to
uh... figure out how better tax system for the state
uh... and
we happen billy dale anti-democrat abbeville the do that and propose that
impact
the youth a ***
participation of democrats
uh... they also have the ability to rippers a lot of the austerity cuts
that we sought during the great recession money did have to sort of
uh... bring republicans and
the process and when they couldn't raise taxes their billions and billions of
cops major cuts that uh... really need to be restored to will probable
communities
and uh... terrified of that
essentially the governor jerry brown double really want to do that
uh... he he has cautioning against
but we're storing a lot of these cuts he's trying to pay down
uh... what they called wall of death a lot of that that it's just sort of
on the one part of the budget that are owed to another part of the budget it's
not clear to me why you have to pay all down right now when there are a few
communities and and think like child care mata cal
uh... that better underfunded uh... welfare to work
and like that
and so it'll be interesting to see where this battle goes in the next year to
whether democrats in the legislature actually put up a fight again for
governor and say no we have to restore some of these thing
uh... it's it's critical to our communities
uh... or if they will not essentially use the power granted to them body
the people of california
uh... uh... in in in their legislative session
and of course it also be interesting to see if uh...
uh... these groups can replicate the effort in an offer
election year and then my canada governing capacity to write baking
forced the issue
output governing not and and and use
sort of perfect pic
the stick out the next election the force that democrats in the legislature
to really take note
i will let saddam and elicit
hope springs eternal california like to say which starts in california often
makes it uh...
uh... sweeps across the country uh... those of us who i am uh... watch the
uh... wave of um... inline skating and uh...
and roller skates hide you know it's pretty clear
says
up out of your shoes are back in the uh... early snet seventies at know this
uh... to be the case fit
but politically max
sample indeed
weapon mention uh... skateboards x cetera excedrin