That "Progressive" Utopia

They called it paradise
I don't know why
You call some place Paradise
Kiss it goodbye.............

From the liberal Utopia aka California..........

Call it the Dance of Death, the Kabuki or the Summer Follies -- the performance they're about to give in California's Capitol is a necessary ritual. But it shouldn't be taken very seriously by the outside world.

Both houses of the Legislature intend to debate the Democrats' deficit-reduction proposal this week. They're the majority party, but their budget plan has no chance of passing intact. It's doomed by nearly $2.2 billion in additional tax increases, mostly on oil companies and smokers but also on motorists.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican legislators have the power through the veto and the required two-thirds majority vote to kill any tax hike, and they'll execute with relish.

Democrats expect to lose but will perform the dance anyway. It's a compulsion, an exercise to reaffirm self-identity and exhibit values to patrons and constituents, such as labor unions. Participants get to preach and shout.

"Everybody dances around the fire. They throw stuff at us. We throw stuff at them. Everybody falls over dead, and we start all over again" is how a senior legislative staffer, Phil Perry, once described the dance to me.

Schwarzenegger calls it "part of the Kabuki." But Kabuki is classic Japanese song-and-dance drama. These legislative act-outs give "classic" a bad name and hold zero drama. Observers will, however, hear some political song and dance.

Around the Capitol, such an exercise is derided as a "drill." The goal of Democratic drill leaders will be to show the party troops that they're fighting hard, even in the face of certain defeat preordained by last month's election.

Exactly how do "progressives" look at California and still believe that their policies are effective. Are you insane or an imbecile?

More.....