Councilman Carl DeMaio distilled the coming fight over pension Reform into a single phrase last Monday night at the Republican Party of San Diego. The 25o in attendance cheered it… and the colorful question echoed around the San Diego blogosphere this week.
Liam Dillon quoted it with interest at Voice of San Diego… (hat tip to Mr. Dillon for linking to SD Rostra, which first reported the DeMaio phrase http://sdrostra.com/?p=14905) . Mr. Lucas O’Connor at the liberal Two Cathedrals blog also took note, labeling Carl DeMaio’s remark a “rabble-rousing question.”
……….. Liam Dillon’s analysis at Voice of San Diego
Liam Dillon got to the heart of things in a succinct manner, as usual, with “It’s looking more and more like local Republicans’ plan to shift most new city of San Diego employees 401(k)s instead of pensions is not just about fixing San Diego’s budget mess.” He writes:
“Are you ready to make San Diego the Wisconsin of the West?” City Councilman Carl DeMaio asked a crowd Monday evening at a local Republican Party event, according to an account on conservative website SDRostra.Com. DeMaio’s comments, of course, referred to the recent protracted battle over collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin. America’s Dairyland became the center of the ideological fight between conservatives and liberals over public employee unions.
“That the local debate over public sector 401(k)s would turn toward larger ideology also could explain why boosters here keep calling their proposed June 2012 ballot measure a “national model” for pension reform.”
Mr. Dillon just gave a clinic right there on how to summarize a subject of mind-numbing complexity into 4 easy-to-grasp declarative sentences. Don’t Try that at Home.
………… The Two Cathedrals View on the Phrase
Mr. Lucas O’Connor took DeMaio to task for coasting past “a robust public analysis of [his] policy,” which may be the first time anyone has ever said that about the famously number-crunching 5th district city Councilman! — http://twocathedrals.com
O’Connor then adds, “By simply paying lip service to the fundamental alienation of most voters in the current political climate, there’s a built-in electoral base independent of content. He can cheer rabble-rousing questions like, “Are you ready to make San Diego the Wisconsin of the West? ‘…. The wide range of serious issues facing San Diego should inspire somber deliberation and debate. And it’s crucial not to allow our civic discussion to devolve into patronizing sloganeering, no matter how well-produced.”
As far as your correspondent can tell, this means Two Cathedrals did not like Carl DeMaio’s Wisconsin question, but does not yet have an effective answer to it.
…………. Let The Discussions Contiunue
Please add your opinions, questions, comments and analyis of this timely topic. This issue is likely to dominate local debate for another 14 months till election day in June of 2012.