Referendum
What if They Held a Referendum, and No One Showed Up?
It happened this week in Broward County, Florida, offering the world more damning evidence that Floridians aren't to be trusted in matters of democracy. The referendum was to decide whether a 200-person neighborhood would become part of the community of Tamarac. But not one registered voter showed up. One lesson: small communities are better off holding town meetings than formal referenda.
Could Frankenstein Die?
Your blogger married a Wisconsin girl, who requires an annual summer trip to the Dairy State (Chippewa Falls, hometown of Annie Hall and the DiCaprio character in Titanic). As a result, he has had many occasions to marvel at the wonders produced by the state's Progressive tradition.
One not so Progressive fact of life in Wisconsin is the so-called "Frankenstein veto." Governors are permitted to delete individual words and combine phrases in legislation, thereby creating law that the legislature never intended.
A measure on the April 1 ballot gives voters the chance to do away with Frankenstein. Here's a look at how the current governor used the measure to increase transportation spending all by himself.
WEDNESDAY ROUND-UP: There Will Be Blood
The best evidence of this is in Arkansas, where politicians of both parties are competing to raise the severance tax. Gov. Mike Beebe is using the threat of a ballot initiative -- his aides say he is drafting one -- to demand that the severance tax on natural gas be raised. He wants the funds used to fix state highways. (Under severance taxes, states typically tax the market value of natural gas or oil at the time of extraction).
A National Referendum on Affirmative Action?
Well, not quite a national initiative. (Establishing such an initiative remains the cause of former Democratic presidential candidate, former Alaska Senator and former neighbor of your Blockbuster blogger Mike Gravel, but that’s a story for another day).
But five states -- Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma -- are expected to vote this fall on the same ballot initiative: a measure banning affirmative action in public schools and other government projects. (They’ve got the signatures in Oklahoma, but not yet in the other four states)
Such multi-state initiatives have become a common political tactic -- and a big moneymaker for those in the blockbuster democracy biz. Opponents of same sex marriage and eminent domain rights have fielded quasi-national initiatives by qualifying the same measure in multiple states. Proponents of legislative term limits have done the same.
Big Defeat in Hungary Referendum
At one point, it appeared that Californians might vote this fall on a plan to finance changes in the health care system. But the accompanying reform plan failed to pass the Senate.
Well, it turns out the Golden State is not the only place where health care taxes... er, fees are unpopular. This weekend, Hungarian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum striking down a plan to charge $1.72 in fees for doctor and hospital visits. The Reuters story is here.
Map & Directions • Additional Contact Info
