Would putting the matter to place the issue to withdraw the troops from Iraq serve any useful purpose??
Question: LOS ANGELES, June 1 — California is poised to become the first state to ask voters whether they favor an immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
The Democratic-led State Legislature is expected to approve a bill that would place the question on the presidential primary ballot next February. The Rules Committee in the Senate approved the bill on Wednesday, and it is expected to go before both houses in the coming weeks.
A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the governor would not weigh in until a bill hit his desk. Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has expressed support in the past for setting a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq, and he has been an enthusiastic backer of democracy by ballot measure.
California has a long history of ballot measures, but this would be the first time in 25 years that an advisory question on foreign policy was placed before the voters. Win or lose, the measure would be toothless, but pollsters and political scientists said it could change the dynamics of the primary race here, in part by making it difficult for presidential candidates to avoid the subject while campaigning in the state.
“Voters tend to look at these as symbolic acts,” said Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Field Poll, who cited Proposition 187, a ballot measure in 1994 that sought to deny public services to illegal immigrants. That initiative was passed by 59 percent of voters and, though later overturned in the courts, helped propel Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican and supporter of the measure, to re-election.
“When we polled on that,” Mr. DiCamillo said, “voters said, ‘It is probably unconstitutional and will be thrown out by the courts,’ but they wanted to send a message to the Legislature and the federal government.”
Republicans in the Legislature have expressed displeasure at the proposed war measure.
“It seems to me to be very, very unwise to have state legislatures conducting votes in the manner in which foreign policy ought to be conducted,” said Senator Roy Ashburn, the Republican vice-chairman of the Rules Committee.
Answer:
I t would serve absolutely no purpose at all!
It is a complete waste of time and taxpayers' money . Individual letters from constituents to representatives have much more impact than a contrived nonbinding referendum.
There should be no foreign policy questions on the ballot unless it's a Nationwide federal election. One state at a time should not be holding elections on these matters and our state officials could be wiser in spending our money.
Man do you draw out the question, First as a born&raised Californian now living in exile do to the outragous influx of people,I no longer can afford to live in the bay area (San
Fransico ) Oakland.
Bring back these kids! I was in Viet-Nam and there was no support from the public, California has always been a fore runner.
Great Idea, Let the politicians know how thier constituents feel, one way or the other.
I wish every state had something like it on their ballot. Maybe it could ruled unconstitutional after the vote was taken but I bet it wake up a lot of people and they would start a movement in the U.S. Congress to do something about it and the Democrats could use these acts to elect a number of people to office. GO CALIFORNIA !
The troops now know that the "wars-for-oil" are illegal, that Iraq and Afghanistan did nothing to America, and that Nazi Bush and his 4th Reich of the rich are NWO.
America needs our troops to defend us when the "idiot, insane, decider of evil" declares martial law on America!
Oil war: 23 years in the making
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info...
This war, say analysts, is about power and oil. It's about control of the Gulf states by means of strategic Iraq and, by extension, a final post-Cold War shakeout to give the U.S. more economic clout over China and Russia by controlling the oil spigot.
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