SFSOS, Schwarzenegger, Grover Norquist, the coming attacks on Labor, and Daly’s revenue measure

No one has ever raised taxes and solved the problem, nor will we solve the problem. We don't have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem.

-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

Anti-labor rhetoric is so part of our common discourse that most people don’t even notice it or sometimes even repeat it without noticing. I even see people who consider themselves lefties parroting anti-labor rhetoric.

We tend to think we are an island in San Francisco-that what happens here and what happens nation-wide is not connected. That it isn’t part of a long-term right wing agenda. I disagree. The shift to the right has impacted our dialogue, our discourse, our values, and even what we think is possible. This shift paves the way for groups like the SFSOS (which I refer to as Starve our Services) to make arguments in San Francisco one would never have thought possible.

Schwarzenegger and his political advisor Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, have openly bragged about their desire to “starve the beast.” While SFSOS hasn’t used that particular phrase, they are eager to support privatization, eager to cut vital city services in ways that are reminiscent if not mirroring Schwarzenegger or Grover Norquist.

Unfortunately, the beast in San Francisco sometimes looks like a Public Health Nurse, a medical translator, adequate staffing in the Emergency Room so people aren’t turned away.

There is no question that the Right has shown vision and the left is on the defense. The right has dedicated serious resources to moving their agenda.


The Right’s vision

The economic right created a vision 33 years ago and has been relentlessly implementing it ever since. In 1971, Lewis Powell was commissioned to write a confidential memorandum to take back America by the National Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber was terrified by the Anti-War movement, the Civil Rights movement, and as he put it, “the ATTACK ON THE AMERICAN FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM.”

Powell’s memo has become a blueprint for the economic right that has created a conservative infrastructure. The memo outlined four areas that needed to be targeted and changed: the academe, the media, the political establishment, and the court system. Business leaders like Joseph Coors and others took his memo seriously and created conservative think tanks and policy institutes like the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, the Manhattan Institute, and Brent Bozell’s Media Research Center. In California, the state Chamber of Commerce helped set up the seed money for the Pacific Legal Foundation. All of these organizations have been moving Powell’s vision for the last 33 years. The conservative infrastructure and power has become incredibly powerful and contrary to what most progressives believe, they do include evangelicals as part of their movement.

The Conservative Message Machine

Rob Stein, Ron’ Brown’s Chief of Staff in the Commerce Department under Clinton, has created a power-point presentation of the money matrix behind the corporate counter-attack which has now become a conservative message machine and is taking it on the road. Stein’s presentation is devastating but it offers some powerful recommendations and even hope. He believes that many organizations have the kind of assets necessary to create an effective progressive movement and is doing his best to create it by taking his presentation to large donors who could fund the type of infrastructure we need.

The Coming PR campaign against Unions

But again, we will be on the defensive. As Sasha Magee reported last week, the right is trying to intentionally create a "phenomenon of anger" the LA Times listened in on a call between Arnold Schwarzenegger and some big Republican contributors. The Republican advisors outlined a strategy "based on a lot of polling" to create a "phenomenon of anger" among voters toward public employee unions. Firefighters, police officers, teachers and other state-paid workers have become the governor's harshest critics this year. And probably nurses. Yep. Starve the beast. Privatize. Cut vital Services. Maybe SFSOS will get in on the fun.

"The process is like peeling an onion," Sipple said, describing a multi-step plan for persuading voters that public-worker unions are "motivated by economic self-interest" instead of "doing the best job for the state."
So don't be surprised if in the next few months you start to hear some orchestrated campaigns about "greedy state workers" and the like.

And Daly

On a final note, much has been said the last couple of days about Supervisor Daly’s health care measure. It raises the sales tax by a quarter percent and dedicates it to Public Health. While some are quick to dismiss its viability, I would remind people that Sup Daly moved a sales tax dedicated to Public Transportation that passed handily at a rate of 74%. I know the left cares about Public Health as much as it did two years ago for Public Transportation so I’m confident that he will be able to get groups like the Bike Coalition to support the sales tax just like they did last time. Love him or hate him, few supervisors could reach out to the left like Daly can.

Will Mayor Newsom support it? Time will tell. Some say he won’t because Daly authored it. I think that analysis sells the Mayor short. I’m confident that he will rise above his personal animosity against Daly and do the right thing. If our entire civic family rises above personal differences, we can get it across the finish line together.