Now I remember...

....why I hated having the Republicans in any sort of power. I'll admit, the mirage of finally getting someone without clouds between their ears was pretty alluring, so I voted for a few of them on a local level. My general policy was to vote down anyone sponsored by the California Teachers' Association or the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer's Association of Unwilling Taxpayers Who Wish Civilization Would Pay For Itself but Include Them in the Benefits... the HJTAUTWWCWPIITB.
 Also, if you mentioned any of the following words in your voter's guide blurb:
"Toxic Chemicals" possibly in conjunction with "Our Children",
"Family Friendly",
"Big [industryname]" ,
"Big [union name]", or 
"Big Government" and "Spending our hard-earned money"
I voted your sad ass DOWN.
I'm a moderate. Or maybe a Marxist. I can't decide. You all annoy me.
We ARE in a recession, but everyone has the attitude that cuts need to happen...to someone else! We need infrastructure improvements...but not in my backyard! The same people who demand that we make draconian cuts protest in the streets when we decide to close a firehouse and have 8 instead of 9 firehouses. The CTA demands we cut anything but school funding even though schools and prisons suck down most of the state's budget. 
The conservatives in the wealthy suburb who whine that the liberals are all lawyers who like to sue and hold up valuable construction projects that encroach on the territories of rare earthworms suddenly have a NIMBYfit when we try to build an important rail-line above an existing railline a block away from their boutique downtown. Wonder how much THOSE suits will cost the state....
Fundies like to say that morals in this country started their downhill spiral when we got rid of prayer in school. Or the pledge. Or something like that.
I'd like to propose that this country descended into chaos when we stopped having citizenship classes.  I'm going to sound like a bloody hippie here, but we need to all give a little if this state is ever going to be fiscally stable again.
CTA: No matter how many tenths of a percent we shave off the school budget, you will still be getting off far easier than the crazy, old, and homeless who are always the first people we screw when it comes time to shave off programs. No one wants to hurt the kids.
Suburbia: You don't like your work commute? Stop bitching it when we try to build trains! They're slow, don't go anywhere and you don't ride them. Well, guess what? They're never going to get better if we don't build more and make them go more places. If they get riders they'll get better, so quit bitching about how you are paying for something no one is going to use and set an example by using it!
Can we pause work on the duck sanctuary that the local green club is pushing for? Yes. The ducks can wait.
Can we close one of our eight firehouses? If not, can we have volunteers to help run it as an act of charity to the community?
Can we pay more taxes? We're going to have to, so stop whining and do your part. The Guvmint is not taking your money. You participate in our society and reap its benefits, whether those are social welfare or the provision of a nice stable and fairly free environment for you to do business in. Even if you are independently wealthy, you are still reaping the rewards of living in the US and as such you have received a service for which payment is due.
So STFU and give a little, and I will give a little, and together we will make this place a nice place to live again...and then I might be willing to give a little on your agenda next time it comes up.