It may seem that politics are becoming more predictable in California and around the nation.
Republicans and Democrats quickly fall along party lines that becomes more polarized between the Right and Left every day.
However, the debate over Proposition 23, which will be on the November ballot, is transcending party affiliation.
The debate over Proposition 23, also called “The California Jobs Initiative,” is not only confined to global warming, but the future direction of California’s economy.
If passed, the proposition will suspend the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, or AB23, which requires that in ten years, California’s emission levels must return to levels found in 1990–around 25 percent of the 2006 level.
Republican senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina echoed the supporters of Prop 23 when she called AB23 an “unbelievable job killer.”
The group “Yes on 23” says that AB23 is costing California millions of jobs and perpetuating an “unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy.”
The proposition calls for AB23 to be suspended until the California unemployment rate has dropped to 5.5 percent, a rate last seen in 2007.
It is easy to see why Fiorina would support Prop 23. Being a conservative, her priorities lie with creating jobs and a sustainable economic future for California.
Her contemporary, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, on the other hand, has not been as easy to pin down. In an interview with the Los Angeles-based conservative talk radio show “John and Ken,” Whitman remarked, “In all likelihood I will vote no on Prop. 23.”
The strongest support for Prop. 23 has come from oil companies, including Valero, Tesoro and Occidental. These corporations are worried about the regulations that AB23 is setting on greenhouse gas-emitting automobiles and oil refineries.
California Senator Barbara Boxer said in 2002 that “Fossil-fuel based power plants are one of the leading sources of air pollution.”
According to those in the Green Tech industry, AB23 has actually helped California create jobs. The Clean Economy Network claims that “Prop 23 will jeopardize a half million clean tech jobs, 12,000 companies and billions of dollars.”
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who introduced the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, strongly opposes Prop 23. Schwarzenegger has stood by his support for AB23 stating that, “unquestionably, it is good for businesses.”
The California republican party (CRP) is split on this issue. Spokesperson Crystal Feldman has stated that “The CRP will not have an official position on Prop. 23.”
Republicans are weighing the dangers of being associated with “Texas big-oil” with the benefits of being labeled as “pro-business.”
California voters will have to decide whether the immediate concern of the economy is worth sacrificing the long term concern of the environment.
However, they will not be able to rely on party affiliation to make that decision for them this time around.