COMMENTARY ON THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM : It’s Time to Address the Issues That Voters Really Care About

The following is an excerpted copy of a letter from Howard Adler, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Central Committee, written this month to Phil Angelides, chairman of the California Democratic Party.

Dear Phil:

Who makes up the categories for our platform? I just received the list. When I read them my eyes glued over. They are so general they will no doubt produce the usual bloated platitudes that appeal to political junkies and then are destined to be ignored.

In my humble opinion the platform means nothing if it doesn’t speak clearly and plainly about what is really going on in California. So what do I think we should be talking about?

1. Gangs and crack. Hasn’t anyone in our party seen “Boyz N the Hood”? Doesn’t anyone read about the carnage every weekend in Los Angeles, Oakland and Santa Ana? The gangs and drugs are everywhere. Except our platform.

2. People are losing jobs, and business is leaving the state. The California economy is on the ropes. What are we going to do to save jobs? You and I are developers. What is our party going to say about revitalizing construction, and building affordable housing? We have a whole generation who can’t afford to buy a house. What are we going to do to keep business in California? Phil, the state is in a recession. Why can’t we say, in a straightforward way, that the state’s economy stinks, and we are going to improve it?

3. There is a drought on. Of course everyone knows this, except the people who write our platform titles. Water policy in California sucks. It’s scandalous. Republicans and Democratic leaders should be blamed, and we should commit ourselves to a program that collects and distributes water fairly, cheaply, and with environmental sensitivity.

4. We pay too much for insurance. The people voted for Proposition 103, and nothing has happened. Why can’t we get behind insurance reform, auto, casualty, and health?

5. What are we getting for our taxes, and why are we paying so much? Why can’t we talk about taxes? Why can’t we talk about waste in government? The Republicans have been running the show for a decade and the state government is as bloated and bureaucratic as ever. It took DMV more than three months to process my license renewal, for God’s sake. Wilson’s tax increases are regressive. Property taxes need to be reformed. The present tax structure stinks, they even want to tax views, and another tax revolt is brewing. Why can’t we understand this and be out in front of it with some decent ideas to help middle-income taxpayers?

6. We can’t afford to pay our medical bills. Two of my employees are in financial trouble because unforeseen medical costs have wiped them out. Both make good incomes, and we provide medical insurance.

Yet, middle-income families are paying more each year in premiums, and the real costs, when you get sick, are not even close to being adequately covered. What are we going to say to all these middle-income families, not to mention the people who don’t even have health insurance?

7. Capital punishment: You want to know why people don’t think government works? For years the people of this state have voted overwhelmingly, every time they get the chance, for capital punishment. Have you read of any recent executions in California? No wonder people are cynical about politics, parties and politicians. Whether some in our party like this policy or not, the people of this state have clearly expressed their will. The Republicans, despite their rhetoric, have been unable to deliver. Our party should commit itself to enforcing capital punishment. In my humble view this has now become as much a confidence-in-government issue as it is anything else.

8. Too many people are crowding into the state and everything seems to be falling apart. How will we deal with growth, particularly legal and illegal immigration, provide services, rebuild roads, restore and maintain environmental integrity, and fund schools and health services without financially killing off the middle class and business? This is the great challenge. Why can’t we talk about it in terms that everyone can understand?

9. No one seems to be satisfied with our schools. We seem to be losing ground, despite all the reform and money that has been invested in the system during the past few years.

Will the people really pay more for education? This is particularly emotional when so many of the problems center on educating minority students, particularly black and Latino children. Can we persuade white, middle-class taxpayers to invest in the same quality of education for kids in the barrios and ghettos, when they see their own children attending overcrowded schools, and wondering how they will pay for their kid’s college education? Even the state universities and colleges are getting beyond the reach of California’s middle class.

Maybe we should finally insist that the political and education community tell us what a first quality education, at all levels, will really cost, and then the people of this state can decide if they are prepared to pay for it. We should also be willing to ask if the folks who are now running the education show in California are capable of delivering the best quality program, and then hold them accountable.

10. Throw the politicians out. Really. Let’s get some leaders and problem solvers.

We talk about reforming the political process at the margins, but nothing really changes, and the public, including me, is frustrated and outraged. Let’s talk about this honestly. Democratic and Republican career politicians appear more interested in keeping their office than in solving problems. The solution is not term limits, it’s electing good people and holding them accountable.

My own feeling is that we should flat-out state that we are disappointed with the politicians, we will commit ourselves to find and elect people who will solve California’s problems, rather than make a career out of complicating them.

As you know I have been a consistent and reasonably large contributor to the party and its candidates for more than 20 years. How can we keep justifying putting money into a process, when most of the people who supposedly are served by it think it is corrupt, unresponsive, and irrelevant? What does this say about the people whom we keep giving money to? If our political leadership is unable to convince the public, their constituents, that they are working in the people’s interest, they don’t deserve to have the party’s support. Maybe we need to all take a lesson from Boris Yeltsin.

Well, Phil, I guess I’ve already said too much. There are other issues, but this letter is already too long, and probably has bored you as much as the party’s platform titles bored me.

It’s damn frustrating being a Democratic county chairman these days. There is little or no leadership (you are the rare exception), and apparently little or no will to break out of the mind-set that has dictated our response to issues.

I just hope the Democratic leadership and message emerge in America before we go the way of the Whigs