"CALIFORNIA IS THE GHOST OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUTURE"

Matt Welch is right. More from his piece on the CA tax revolt:

On May 19, California voters went to the polls to decide whether to pass a package of six tax-and-gimmick ballot propositions....

Those who believe that either money or the media determine political outcomes should pay close heed to what happened next: Although opponents were outspent by more than 7 to 1, they trounced the state’s political class, rejecting five of the six measures by an average of 30 percentage points.

So what did the political media elite do? They had a bitchy hissy fit, scolding what they see as the stupid little people that voted it all down. The dumb hicks!

The Los Angeles Times headlined its morning-after news analysis, “California Voters Exercise Their Power—and That’s the Problem.” ...

“Good morning, California voters,” The Sacramento Bee’s post-election editorial began. “Do you feel better, now that you’ve gotten that out of your system?” The Bee, which (like the Times) had endorsed four of the five losing measures, came under immediate attack for its heavy-handed, citizen-blaming sarcasm. (A sample: “So, now that you’ve put those irksome politicians in their place, maybe it’s time to think about this: Since you’re in charge, exactly what do you intend to do about that pesky $25 billion hole in the budget?”)...

San Diego Union-Tribune editorial writer Chris Reed called it “staggeringly juvenile, arrogant and revealing,” ...

Arrogant leftists calling those who refuse to be stolen from "arrogant." Beautiful! Surprised they weren't called "racist" too. After all, they did the same thing that those "stupid racist rednecks" at the tea parties are calling for!

Rarely has the chasm between elite political discourse and grubby popular opinion been displayed in such sharp relief. The implications of this citizen revolt—and the hostile reactions to it—stretch far beyond Nevada’s western border. California is the Ghost of Federal Government Future. ...

The good news?

Faced with a political class that ignored bureaucratic inefficiency, that demanded higher taxes, that filled the newspapers with scare stories about people who will literally die as a result of budget cuts, the citizens of one of the bluest states in the nation collectively said we just don’t believe you anymore. If even California’s famous fruits and nuts can call the statists’ bluff, there may be hope for the rest of the country.

If people can wake up in California, they can wake up anywhere. Lets hope.