Barnidge: There's a reason for legislators' low approval ratings - ContraCostaTimes.com:
"BECAUSE legislative gridlock has become an institutional tradition in Sacramento, it would have been a tall order for Darrell Steinberg to remedy the problem in the course of a 75-minute presentation to the Commonwealth Club in Lafayette last week.
Instead, the California Senate president pro tem touched on the root causes. An unwieldy two-thirds-vote requirement annually turns the state budget into a months-long marathon.
Adherence to party ideology — Republicans' aversion to taxes and Democrats' to budget cuts — heightens partisanship. He also mentioned the 'lost art of legislating,' which can be loosely translated as an inability to compromise.
Add it all up, and what do you get?"
"BECAUSE legislative gridlock has become an institutional tradition in Sacramento, it would have been a tall order for Darrell Steinberg to remedy the problem in the course of a 75-minute presentation to the Commonwealth Club in Lafayette last week.
Instead, the California Senate president pro tem touched on the root causes. An unwieldy two-thirds-vote requirement annually turns the state budget into a months-long marathon.
Adherence to party ideology — Republicans' aversion to taxes and Democrats' to budget cuts — heightens partisanship. He also mentioned the 'lost art of legislating,' which can be loosely translated as an inability to compromise.
Add it all up, and what do you get?"
