August 25th PPIC poll results

New PPIC poll results are out. Plenty of media coverage: e.g., see SFChron, LAT.

The take home news: Gov. Schwarzenegger's approval ratings are at its lowest point, 34%, a number even lower than Pres. Bush's 38%.

Checked out the source material (pdf), something I recommend every person should do once in a while. Sometimes, things can get lost in translation; trust me, I've seen too many interesting analyses, though I see it more in education reporting.

The creepiest thing: PPIC's wording of the initiative process makes the hair stand on the back of my neck. Do they have to keep saying the intiative process is a way for the public, the citizens, to be directly involved in government?

Yowser. If anything, this election is showing us how corporate money is influencing Sacramento via the initiative process.

And the bad news: Prop. 75 (the Norquist anti-union initiative) 58% yes, 33% no

Unfortunately, Gov. Schwarzenegger, now that he is officially radioactive, is staying too far away from Prop. 75.

Out of all the items on the ballot, I consider Prop. 75 a Trojan Horse.

If the corporate/conservative crew get Prop. 75 past a sleeping electorate, their future battles will become much easier.

It's very clear Prop. 75 will essentially castrate the only set of organized opposition fighting corporate/conservative interests in CA state government. In my view, if the corporate powers/conservatives can get their initiative passed, the special election would be worth their time and money even if this is the only one that gets through. Bad news for the real People of California.

Please vote NO on Prop. 75. And please support the Alliance for a Better California so that they can get the word out on Prop. 75. This isn't just about unions, it's about trying to sustain opposition to corporate power in Sacramento.