"Asleep at the switch? Or lulled into contentment with visions of the Democrats returning to power in the House?"
It's almost too cliché to say it, but when it comes to Proposition 90, California's progressive community has been asleep at the switch. The reasons are many, perhaps some would even say justified. We've been dreaming of a Congressional takeover. Counting dollars for clean energy programs. Empowered by former Vice President Al Gore and his vision of hope. And right under our noses, one out-of-state right wing extremist has planted the bomb that threatens to destroy California and set us back decades.
WAKE UP! THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION ...
Proposition 90 is the single most dangerous threat that has been leveled at California and our environment in recent history. Under the guise of "protecting homes from eminent domain abuse", Prop. 90 would change the California constitution to radically alter the current definition of regulatory takings. This means, Prop. 90 would require taxpayers to pay for any new law that someone has claimed caused them "substantial economic loss". This means anything from minimum wage reform to protecting open space and the environment. Prop 90 takes away power from the people and places it in the hands of the courts.
Sounds fairly innocuous, right? Decide for yourself. Here's what Prop. 90 means in the real world.
* If a city tries to stop a polluting business or factory from locating in a neighborhood, the polluter could sue the city for their "economic loss" today and in terms of future earnings. So the business will win and the neighborhood loses.
* If the state or a local government acts to restrict development to protect wildlife or preserve open space, the developers can sue for a huge subsidy for their economic loss today and in the future for what they "weren't allowed to build." So open space will be compromised.
* Rent control ordinances and affordable housing requirements will trigger new lawsuits from landlords who claim an economic loss, thus jeopardizing housing for seniors and low-income families. Hence, we destroy the legacy of affordable housing projects in California.
* Worker protections like mandatory breaks, increases in the minimum wage, overtime laws and family leave become impossible to implement because businesses could claim they resulted in an economic loss. The impact is direct to the part of workforce that needs us most.
* Consumer protections like privacy laws, restrictions on telemarketing or lemon laws would all trigger new compensation requirements. Our basic consumer protections are erased.
* Even future regulations to implement California's landmark legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could be subject to new lawsuits from companies who could claim "economic loss". So, the inconvenient truth is 90 will set us back in our efforts to lead the world in reducing harmful emissions.
And the list of potential Prop 90 horror stories goes on... and on... and on.
Of course, the practical impact of 90 will be to make basic laws that protect us all too expensive to implement. And that's exactly what the anti-government zealots backing Prop. 90 are counting on.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, one man -- a New York Real Estate Developer and libertarian extraordinaire -- is funding more than 92% of the Yes on 90 campaign. Howie Rich (yes, that's his real name) has placed similar measures on ballots throughout the West, trying to prey on people's disgust with eminent domain abuses to sneak these far-reaching anti-government provisions into state constitutions.
There's no way he could get away with this scheme in California, you say?
Think again. While the environmental community has done an honorable job leading a campaign and sounding the alarm bells, the rank-and-file progressive movement has largely failed to take up arms at the grassroots level like only we can.
It's true that one of the most diverse coalitions ever assembled has lined up to oppose Prop 90. Groups like the NAACP California, the Western Center on Law and Poverty, ACLU, California Labor Federation and the California Chamber, the Sierra Club and the Farm Bureau, the California Coalition for Civil Rights, League of Women Voters, California Taxpayers' Association and California Police Chiefs Association are all opposing Prop 90.
But what's missing is that special brand of progressive activism that can send our community into frenzy. The one-on-one net-roots, grassroots, heck any-roots campaign that we need - and NOW - to start educating the electorate.
This one is really bad folks. Don't get caught asleep at the switch. It's time to take up arms and send this extremist back where he came from. It's time to rally the troops to defeat Prop. 90.
You can start by visiting noProp90.com or checking out our television ads on youtube.com.