Many of these ballot questions have left me feeling a bit perturbed, because they're framed in such deceptive ways. Take the insanely named Majority Rules: Let the People Decide initiative. Boy, that sure sounds good, as does the way the question is framed: Vote for this, and a minority of people won't get to decide on tax increases!
The problem: All of this is bullshit. This initiative is a ploy to make it virtually impossible for any tax increase to get voter-approved, pure and simple, as it would make it so that a majority of registered voters--not a majority of people who actually vote--would have to approve tax increases, meaning none would ever have a realistic chance of passing.
The Payday Loan Reform Act has little in the way of reforms and is merely a ploy to keep payday lenders in business. The Stop Illegal Hiring initiative would make it easier to hire illegal immigrants, by offering businesses new legal defenses. The Arizona Civil Rights Initiative would ban race- or gender-based preferences in university admissions and government hiring.
What in the hell has happened to our political process?
One of the goals of our election coverage this season will be to get beyond the bullshit. Stay tuned--and tell your friends to pick us up, too.
