Distrust of lawmakers came through loud and clear

In staunching the bleeding, Democrats shouldn't fret about some of their political patrons -- the public employee unions -- that opposed the ballot props and now have no right to whine when thousands more teachers and government workers are laid off. Ditto other liberal groups that will moan about Sacramento cutting an even bigger hole in the safety net for the poor, including children and the disabled.

The failed props would have provided nearly $6 billion immediately, plus, starting in 2011, $9 billion in restored school aid and $16 billion in continued higher taxes for two years. But the libs opposed the package's linchpin, Proposition 1A, because they feared its modest spending controls.

Similarly, Republican lawmakers shouldn't gripe when their rural districts lose firefighting camps, plus special funding for sheriffs and property tax breaks for farmers who keep their land in agriculture. As the GOP constantly reminds us, the state must live within its means. And the means exclude higher taxes.

"Stop taxing us" was the dominant public policy message from the special election.

"Voters will not raise state taxes," insists Tony Quinn, co-editor of the California Target Book, which handicaps legislative races. "They do not trust the Sacramento politicians to spend the money."

But it wasn't a pure anti-tax message.

"Taxes was the spark," says Patrick Dorinson, a Republican communications strategist. "It was like a room full of gunpowder. You've got a match and strike the gunpowder and the room goes up. The tax increase was the match."

The right and left alike were spinning their reasons for the measures' miserable failure. Liberals contended that many voters wanted to invest more in education and repair the safety net without being slowed by spending limits.

The propositions offered "plenty for anybody left, right or center to find objectionable," says veteran Democratic consultant Bill Carrick. "I would be reluctant to draw any huge ideological conclusions. . . .

"Plenty of voters want to keep services and taxes at the levels they are, even though the math on that doesn't quite work out."

Yes, one could make a case that the electorate opted for the status quo that has been driving California into the abyss: no more tax hikes, no more program cuts and no spending controls. Deja vu. Hardly a revolution.