Prop 19: When Worlds Collide.  NO.   If this simply allowed people to cultivate and smoke marijuana themselves and left the rest of us alone, it would be worth considering.   But it goes much further and provides that “no person shall be … discriminated against or denied any right or privilege” for pot use, inviting a lawsuit every time an employer tries to require a drug test, for example.  If you want to smoke pot in your own world, I don’t care.  But don’t bring it into mine.    

On the Propositions:

Prop. 13.  Seismic Retrofits. YES:  Earthquake proofing your house shouldn’t trigger a tax increase until you’re ready to sell.  Any questions?

Prop. 14. Distorted Primary. NO: This was the result of the corrupt deal for the tax increase engineered by Abel Maldonado that included this measure to by-pass party primaries in a manner Maldonado believed would enhance his future election prospects.  Instead of voters of each party putting their best candidate forward, this jerry-rigged system is designed to disguise the difference between the parties and force those pesky third parties off the general election ballot entirely. 

Prop. 15. Taxpayer Funded Elections.  NO: The real purpose of this measure is to allow the legislature to tap taxpayers to finance political campaigns.  Jefferson said it best: “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”

Here is Rep. McClintock's recommendations for the May 19th Special Election.

Prop 1A:

Extend the Tax Increases.  NO.  This is the fig leaf that hides certain deficiencies suffered by the legislators who caved into pressure for the biggest tax increase in California’s history.  This measure EXTENDS the tax increases for up to two ADDITIONAL years in exchange for a spending limit that doesn’t limit spending. The “spending limit” is laughable – it requires placing “unanticipated revenues” into a special fund that is then to be spent for a variety of additional purposes including education, debt service and health care.  And since all funds are interchangeable, this merely allows funds spent for one purpose to be shifted for another.  The bottom line: If you were against the tax increase, you’re against Prop. 1A.

Prop. 1A High Speed Rail Bond.  NO: This is the most outrageously expensive boondoggle in California’s long history of outrageously expensive boondoggles.  The ultimate cost of this project could end up exceeding $90 billion – or $10,000 per family – all for a train that goes from Los Angeles to San Francisco in two hours longer than it takes to fly.  It’s brought to you by the same folks who botched Boston’s “Big Dig.”  (I’m one of the official opponents of this measure.)