California Alliance for Jobs Adopts Untrue “Legislature Only” Theme
I love the California Alliance for Jobs. They have done great work in the past on helping to secure support for desperately needed infrastructure jobs in this state.
That’s why I am so disappointed to see them promote the untrue and unfair meme that the Legislature as an entire institution is doing nothing to solve the state budget crisis in two new radio ads. These ads feature the great Will Durst and “blast the legislature” for inaction on the budget crisis.
Almost as if the Democrats had not gone out of their way to cut programs dear to their constituents, or come up with an $18 billion budget package without Republican support, or they — and not Governor Schwarzenegger — vetoed that plan, or signed a non-negotiable pledge with uber-Washington radical conservative kingpin Grover Norquist to take one necessary part of any balanced solution to the state budget off-the-table, or been advocates of plans to starve the public sector.
Perhaps this is just a failure of the 30-second radio ad. That does not provide a lot of time for nuance. But blaming the Legislature as a whole — and not mentioning the Governor at all or trying to point out that while one side is compromising dearly the other has drawn a solid and unmovable line in the budget sand — will ultimately backfire. Buying into this frame, rather than trying to educate the public, will move us no closer to a budget solution.
The California Alliance for Jobs’ ads say that “We need real negotiations and real compromise – a budget that balances major cuts AND revenue increases. . .and we need it now.”
Um, yes. We absolutely do. And one political party is trying to get there. But the Governor has yet to get a single Republican vote for any plan. And the Republican legislators have shown no willingness to talk about the revenue increases the California Alliance for Jobs demand.
Yes, the nuance may be more difficult. But these ads solve nothing. They move us closer to the fiscal Armageddon they are supposedly trying to have our state avoid.
Other than that — good work.
