California's Never-Ending Elections Take Toll on Voters

From the Assoiciated Press:

LOS ANGELES (July 9) - Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's determination to get a tighter grip on the state budget and reshape a Legislature known for its political extremes will send California voters to the polls for the fourth statewide election in two years.

The collateral damage might be voters themselves.

The cavalcade of candidates and ballot propositions - dating to the October 2003 election that put Schwarzenegger in office - has left many weary of all that goes with them.

In short, "People are tired," said Trudy Schafer, a lobbyist for the League of Women Voters of California.

To many voters, "There is a never-ending campaign," said Democratic consultant Kam Kuwata, who has advised Sen. Dianne Feinstein and former Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn. "People scratch their heads and say, 'Why are we doing this?"'

Polls have revealed as much. Voters are in a cranky mood, with most viewing Schwarzenegger's special election as unnecessary, according to a May survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.

I wonder. Has anyone ever wondered if the Governator really wants voters to be tired of this never-ending campaigning and constant elections?

Here's an interesting scenario: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger certainly wants to push his "reform" packages, which will benefit the Republican Party at the expense of Californians. Some of these reforms--such as appointing retired judges to determine redistricting boundaries, or requiring union member permission slips to allow unions to contribute union dues to political interest groups--have been place on the ballots as initiatives before, and have been soundly rejected by the voters. So how about sending an initiative through stealth? The Governator announces a the creation of a special election touting his reform packages, since he is unable to get his policies through the legislature. Since the announcement, the governor's office takes a publicly low profile on the specific ballot initiatives, but continues to pound on the idea that the Governator is trying to reform the system for the good of California. Since the California voters are sick and tired of the constant election process, voter turnout will drop even lower. This is good for the Governator, considering that the California voters who are sick of the constant election process could be the politically moderate or independent voters, who would oppose these initiatives in the primary or general elections. These moderate and independent voters may just choose to stay home on this special election--a positive for the Governator. The voters who would work hard against these initiatives would be the liberals, or voters whose lives would be affected by the passage of these initiatives. To counter that, the Schwarzenegger would use the Republican Party to target and solicit votes from GOP voting lists, with a major emphasis in direct mail campaigning in Orange and Southern California. So the battle would be waged between voters whose lives would be directly affected by these initiatives, verses the California Republican Party. And the campaigning would take place without any media attention, since greater media exposure to these "reforms" could lead to greater voter scrutiny and opposition.

I wonder if Karl Rove and company are watching how this stealth election unfolds and if it could be adapted to the Republican presidential campaign in 2008?