☆ Bad Faith Buffy
_-_1.jpg){kind=link}
It was certainly one of the more eye-popping acts of legislative hypocrisy in recent years. East Bay state Assembly member Buffy Wicks on June 29 trumpeted on X how she both wrote and voted for advancing the revised Local Taxpayer Act (2/3 voter threshold for new taxes),while at the same time saying she "adamantly opposed" the bill. Lance Christensen of the California Policy Center and longtime Sacramento watcher unpacks the double-dealing in this exclusive Opp Now Q&A.
Opp Now: What is Buffy Wicks up to? Why is she voting for a bill she despises--then bragging about it?
Lance Christensen: This is how people act when they think that they never have to compromise; they truly believe they will always get their way, that they will always win.
It's obvious that Wicks is unfamiliar with the concepts of negotiations, of conversing with people who do not share her perspective or ideology, of having to give something up to get something back.
It is like dealing with preening teenagers and not adults.
ON: Why didn't she just vote "NO" on the bill then? Why did she contribute to its drafting?
LC: The legislature is full of people who are transactional but not principled. Who are unable to change their mind and see another point of view.
When you give your support to a negotiated agreement, then five seconds later you're opposed to it, it's not just unethical. It's not just immature. It is just deeply, deeply disqualifying.
She gets away with this because she lives in a left wing cocoon that doesn't acknowledge a real world outside their self-promoting prison.
ON: Isn't this kind of a funny way of doing business? Won't she be perceived going forward as a bad-faith negotiator?
LC: This Is not the first time we've seen Democrats go back on their deals with conservatives. In the 2009 big budget fight, GOP agreed to a tax increase pursuant to a commitment to build dams and increase water capacity in Southern California. Of course the Dems never built anything but the tax increases continue on.
The bigger conclusion is that there are no adults left in the state Democrat party. No old, seasoned legislators who would monitor these people who act like they're on some small town City Council.
Buffy Wicks is not a metaphorical bug in the program, she's a feature. With the radical takeover of the CA Democratic party, she is the new norm.
But going forward, no reasonable person will take her seriously as an honest partner.
ON: Does this mean the state Dems will oppose the revised Local Taxpayer Act--even though they just advanced it by wide margins?
LC: I predict moderate Democrats will be quiet, but Wicks and her hard left base will continue to work against the bill they just supported in the Legislature.
Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity
We prize letters from our thoughtful readers. Typed on a Smith Corona. Written in longhand on fine stationery. Scribbled on a napkin. Hey, even composed on email. Feel free to send your comments to us at opportunitynowsv@gmail.com or (snail mail) 1590 Calaveras Ave., SJ, CA 95126. Remember to be thoughtful and polite. We will post letters on an irregular basis on the main Opp Now site.