Contributors
Carol Platt Liebau - Columnist

Carol Platt Liebau is editorial director and a senior member of the CaliforniaRepublic.org editorial board. She is an attorney, political analyst and commentator based in San Marino, CA, and has appeared on the Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, Orange County News Channel, Cox Cable and a variety of radio programs throughout the United States. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Carol Platt Liebau also served as the first female managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. [go to Liebau index]

The Story Behind the Story
A Word of Appreciation For Legislative Nonvoters
[Carol Platt Liebau] 9/20/04

At first glance, it elicits something between a snort of exasperation and a sigh of resignation. That’s a rational reaction to the results of a study recently released by graduate students at USC’s School of Policy, Planning and Development, which found that on average, more than one-third of legislators were not voting on the bills that ended up being defeated in the California legislature. The study, which focused on the 2001-2002 session, found that 68.9% of the time, the number of nonvoters was significant enough to have affected the bill’s outcome.

Serving in the legislature is nice work if you can get it. In a state where average annual wages were $41,419 in 2002 (the last year for which figures were available), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, legislators earn $100,000 per year. It’s amazing to contemplate that even with the generous taxpayer financed salary and the perks that they enjoy, legislators might simply find themselves unable to perform the responsibilities they were sent to Sacramento to discharge.

As even The Los Angeles Times was forced to concede, all fifteen legislators with the worst nonvoting record are Democrats. And of the fifteen legislators with the best records of voting, all but three are Republicans. It seems the story might be just another tip-off to voters that they are not well-served by a legislature characterized by such overwhelming Democratic hegemony.

But there’s something more behind this simple narrative. Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the top nonvoters tend to be moderate Democrats – who are caught, on the one hand, between their left-wing colleagues representing safely gerrymandered districts, and the interests of their own constituents and even (gasp!) the business community, on the other. Nonvoting, which counts as an undeclared “no,” actually allows them to oppose detrimental left-wing legislation without openly declaring war on the lefty legislative titans.

Consider some of the bills that were left to wither on the vine, either in committee or on the floor. AB 1468 would have required a 15% reduction in gasoline use by 2020 – a mandate that would have resulted in increased gas taxes and higher prices for goods. SB 1168 (sponsored by Deborah Ortiz of proposed “soda tax” fame) would have established a biomonitoring program that could have led to the elimination of certain chemicals, even though they were not even scientifically proven to be harmful, and (of course!) without any consideration of the economic consequences. And AB 1397 (proposed by Martha Escutia, who has led the fight against “junk food”) would have imposed new fees and emission targets for railroads operating in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties – another recipe for higher prices and fewer jobs.

In fact, the content of the bills defeated through nonvoting suggests that the nonvoting Democrats may deserve the thanks of California’s voters, not their censure. But the fact that they don’t feel free to oppose openly the lunatic legislative ideas propounded by the left-wing of their party speaks volumes. It’s a grim reminder of the extent to which the Democrats have been captured by their most extreme legislators – people who represent only the most liberal sliver of California’s voters.

The moral of the story? Reform would help to eliminate the culture that has produced a legislature so completely dominated by the left fringe. The best way to re-enfranchise moderate Democrats is to restore more balanced legislative districts through a fairer, more disinterested reapportionment process. And make the legislature part-time. Less time in Sacramento means fewer opportunities for the left-wing to come up with legislation that even their own party members can’t support – and can’t afford to oppose.CRO

Columnist Carol Platt Liebau is a political analyst, commentator and CaliforniaRepublic.org editorial director based in San Marino, CA. Ms. Liebau also served as the first female managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. Her web log can be found at CarolLiebau.blogspot.com

copyright 2004

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