Readers nominate the best and worst politicians of the year

Goodness, we’ve got some feisty readers and angry taxpayers out there.

In my Dec. 18 Talk Back feature at latimes.com, I noted that Californians had borrowed a stunt from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and dropped a wrecking ball on his approval ratings, which have fallen to 27%.

Gray Davis must walk around smiling all day.

State legislators fared even worse, with only 17% of those polled giving them the thumbs-up. It made me want to know a little bit more about what’s behind those ratings, so I asked readers if they’d like to weigh in on the worst and best politicians of 2009.

Nearly 200 readers responded, and most did not have nice things to say. The vast majority, in fact, did not even bother nominating a “best” politician.

As for the worst?

“It’s a tie,” wrote someone under the name Ferenc.

Between whom?

“The Republican politicians and the Democrats.”

Which ones?

“All of them. No exceptions.”

I see.

Among those who were singled out for repeated beatings were Schwarzenegger and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. It got so ugly that reader David O. Rodriguez was compelled to stick up for them in kind of a back-handed way.

“I’m going to defend Schwarzenegger and Villaraigosa for entering their jobs with good intentions and attempting to lead at a time when it has been impossible to succeed (given the current economic state of the past few years).”

Rodriguez was shouted down, though, by other readers.

Raul Gomez called Villaraigosa “Mr. Absent on the job,” and Robert Ades asked, “What campaign promises has he fulfilled?”

Schwarzenegger took this shot from a woman named Beverly:

“Worst politician in the State EVER -- not just 2009. . . . He is a bad actor and worse governor/politician!”

Ouch.

Ron even dragged in First Lady Maria Shriver, saying she and the governor “have no idea what ordinary people need to live on.”

Ron did, however, cast a rare “best” vote, for state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got one too.

But from other readers, each of them got their share of put-downs.

The mood of the day was cynicism: “Your question assumes there is a California politician who does not fit the definition ‘worst,’ ” wrote Michael Kennedy. “It’s pretty hard to choose when you see a failed state. Who is the worst politician in Zimbabwe?”

Floyd picked up on that theme.

“Isn’t worst politician redundant? The worst at being a politician was Kevin De Leon who believed his own vote count, made deals like he was the next speaker but couldn’t overcome his . . . reputation and personality. The anti-Kevin forces overcame him while he was measuring the drapes.”

State Sen. Gil Cedillo got smacked for a smear campaign in his failed congressional race against Judy Chu. A reader named Eric astutely noted that one of Sacramento’s biggest problems is that the Dems are owned by unions and the GOP by big business.

And if Yorba Linda Assemblyman Mike Duvall thought anyone had forgotten that he got caught (he didn’t know the microphone was on) bragging about spanking a lobbyist, he would be mistaken.

“How many other ‘family values’ pols anywhere in the nation boasted on TV that they had an extramarital affair? And with a lobbyist who was trying to influence his vote? And then he claimed he made it all up?” asked MG, one of several who called Duvall the worst politician of 2009. “California still is on the cutting edge when it comes to leading the nation with dingy pols.”

Nor have people forgotten Rep. Laura Richardson of Long Beach. Ralph Seifer said she redefined the term “deadbeat” with her loan default issues.

Local legislators got their share of invective too.

Monica G. teed off on Lynwood’s political class. And Peter D. took batting practice on the Los Angeles City Council, saying they “can’t get anything done on regulating marijuana dispensaries, they can’t get anything done on billboards, they can’t get anything done on building structures.”

Not much holiday spirit out there when it comes to L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, either, who was called the worst politician of 2009 by a reader who went by the handle TF.

“Less than a year after . . . labor bosses spent $8.5 million to buy his seat on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, the untalented Mr. Ridley has already become the subject of a federal investigation (according to The Times) for his campaign activities as well as his highly questionable relationship to an associate who’s raked in thousands of dollars in government money,” TF said.

“If that weren’t enough, he is currently trying to remodel his office with $707,000 of government money as the city, county and state spiral into financial ruin. The only question is: how can he possibly top that in 2010?”

In fairness, Ridley-Thomas now says he’s rethinking his remodeling budget. And if it makes him or the other targets feel any better, I got a vote too.

“Close to a politician, and the worst agitator: Steve Lopez for his anti-teacher union bashing ideology and tirades; a creature of the right wing, Hearst-style newspaper he writes for,” said Marc Wutshke, who I’m hoping is not in a classroom anywhere.

I’d defend myself, but it wouldn’t be fair, since none of the other “worst” politicians got such a chance.

Politicians might also like to hear that we voters took some lumps too. RB, for instance, called us “worse than the politicians.” A writer named Pragmatist said we seem to think a Tooth Fairy will save us.

“We pass ballot initiatives with no method of funding,” wrote Brandon Ruiz. “We put our legislature in a straitjacket with a 2/3 vote requirement on budgets and then ask them to fix our state’s problems. We make it easy to cut taxes, but impossible to raise them, meaning that a small majority can deprive the state of needed revenue. . . .

“We killed the dominant school funding mechanism by passing Prop. 13 and then demanded that the state fix it and fund our schools. . . . We want to protect OUR programs and cut THEIRS. . . . We are our own worst politician and our own worst enemy. We, the short-sighted, instant-gratification seeking, detail averse, California public. We refuse to see the difficult choices, nuance, and complicated details of public policy, yet we give ourselves the power to make laws that can virtually never be repealed.”

Geez, what a party pooper, Brandon, but I think you nailed it.

Any interest in jumping into the governor’s race?

steve.lopez@latimes.com