In Plain Sight: The Rise of Corporate Democrats in California

[Glia]

Something to keep in mind when you are filling out your ballot, especially for the state Senate and Assembly positions. If you do not like any of the candidates whose names are printed on the ballot, you have the option of writing in a candidate more to your liking. Personally, I'm writing in Lucy Van Pelt for the state senator slot.

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The following story was reported by Capital and Main as part of its California Exposé investigative series, and published here in collaboration with The Huffington Post.

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Marin County is one of California’s most liberal regions and, with its iconic redwoods and stunning coastline, it is also a power center for environmental activism. And so, when a bill to give the state Coastal Commission authority to levy fines against shoreline despoilers came for a vote in the state Assembly in 2013, it was taken for granted that Marin’s new Assemblyman, Marc Levine, would vote for passage. That didn’t happen. Instead, the San Rafael Democrat sat out the single most important vote for his constituents that year – which helped doom the measure.

But Levine was not finished. In Sacramento he would abstain or skip votes on bills helping farm workers and creating a bill of rights for domestic workers. He has also voted against legislation requiring economic impact reports for big box stores and requiring more rate-increase disclosure from Kaiser Permanente. That Levine keeps at arm’s length the progressive values of the 10th Assembly District, which includes much of equally liberal Sonoma County, should come as no surprise. During his two Assembly campaigns he has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from some of the state’s largest business interests.

What is baffling is that Levine, who declined to comment for this article, is neither a DINO (a conservative who is a Democrat in name only) nor a farm belt centrist. He remains a committed suburban liberal. One, that is, who happened to attend a local Mitt Romney rally in 2012 and who felt at ease appearing at a Republican Lincoln Dinner last year. Levine is also no aberration. Rather, he is part of a new breed of Democrat, one exceedingly attentive to big business while tone-deaf toward the Democratic Party’s traditional base, which includes union workers, environmentalists and public school advocates. ...
continues at https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/15/california-corporate-demo_n_5154200.html

[dominus]

The earth doesn't "belong" to proprietors. The earth is humanity's birthright. The concept of ownership is preposterous yet this idea is so embedded in our thinking that, while everyone might agree with this, people are compliant enablers with few questioning the legitimacy of the systems that exist today. Geopolitical battles will become even more fierce as people are pitted against business interests. Unless a new paradigm emerges in which stewardship is at the helm, the insanity will continue.

Something to keep in mind when you are filling out your ballot, especially for the state Senate and Assembly positions. If you do not like any of the candidates whose names are printed on the ballot, you have the option of writing in a candidate more to your liking. Personally, I'm writing in Lucy Van Pelt for the state senator slot.

********

The following story was reported by Capital and Main as part of its California Exposé investigative series, and published here in collaboration with The Huffington Post...