"Arnold pulls an open primary rabbit out of his hat." This can't be good.

[Cleita]

All the attention this morning is on Sen. Abel Maldonado, the Santa Maria Republican who cast the critical vote for California's budget package just hours ago.

But no matter how much you blame him for the state's budget mess, you have to hand it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He helped engineer the final deal, and got something he wanted in the process -- a 2010 ballot measure for an open primary.

It's hard to overstate what a radical change this could be for congressional and legislative races in California. If it passed, candidates for all parties would run against each other in the primary, with the top-two vote getters moving on to a runoff. That would open up chances for the Green Party to win in the Bay Area and Libertarians to win in conservative districts. It could rewrite the political map in our wacky state in ways we can't even imagine.

more at: http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/the_swarm/2009/02/019785.html

I can't see any positive in this especially since it comes from REPUBLICAN Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[depakid]

1. Oregon handily defeated an open primary initiative in November

Californiians will probably defeat theirs, too.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. I hope so. We couldn't defeat Prop H8. n/t

[depakid]

10. Oregon couldn't defeat their version, either

That's why their legislature created domestic partnerships with very nearly the same effect- but without calling it marraige.

That managed to derail the bigots, who now can't even get enough signitures on a ballot measure to try to overturn it.

[Cleita]

12. This is why open primaries would be a disaster.

The idea of a primary is for each party to elect the best candidate to run against the best candidates of other parties. If you want a Green or a Libertarian in an office then you need to do run off voting after the candidates have been selected, in the general election. In open primaries, Republicans would be able to vote for the most conservative member of another party and vice versa and we would never actually get the best candidate for the job.

[bottomtheweaver]

2. Heard that. Talk about playing politics.

All that sturm and drang -- and meanwhile 55 of my actual neighbors lost their actual jobs Tuesday night by a local city council vote -- and Arnie is fucking around with the election system.

Man this state is corrupt to the core.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. We used to have the open primary system...

And I liked it. People have to work harder to get elected, and that's a good thing.

:shrug:

[bottomtheweaver]

4. The problem I see is that it allows repukes to use their money advantage

to knock out less well financed Dem opponents in the primaries. And you know if Arnie's pimping for it, it's part of some some corrupt repuke trick to help them steal elections.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. This is true...

It's also a compelling argument for getting the special interests out of campaign financing.

The clean money campaign is the way to go...

[bottomtheweaver]

6. I still can't believe they got away with putting that ape in the statehouse.

They didn't have ANYTHING on Davis, nothing. And remember how they ran Kevin Shelley out on a rail a few months afterward? I have serious doubts about the integrity of that whole switcheroo.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. I believe the election was honest...

People were starstruck, no kidding.

They couldn't wait to vote for this famous guy...

:shrug:

[bottomtheweaver]

9. I thought so too at the time.

I also thought Dukemejian beat Bradley fair and square. Turns out Bradley won the election, just like the pollsters predicted and the exit polls showed--until the absentee ballots were counted, then surprise, "Bradley effect." These last eight years have pretty much cast doubt on every repuke victory in the last thirty, maybe more. Don't forget Nixon came out of California too.

[Cleita]

11. I never thought it was honest.

There was too much chicanery going on behind the scenes. It's also rumored that out of state money from the same crowd who bankrolled the swift boat veterans were behind the recall of Grey Davis. There is no way Darryl Issa could have bankrolled the recall from his car alarm business. There's a lot that needs to be investigated.