California Democrats are so controlled by the public sector unions that they won't even tolerate truth-telling by fellow Democrats, as evidenced by the end of David Crane's tenure as a University of California regent. Crane is a true progressive who argues that one cannot be a progressive without backing pension reform given that pensions are sucking the life out of local and state budgets. Here is his testimony before the Senate. Well, the Senate wouldn't even allow a hearing on a reappointment to the board of regents, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The Chron offered a great edit, in which it argued:
"Crane, a registered Democrat, rankled his party brethren in the Legislature by spelling out in a Feb. 27 Open Forum piece how a 1977 law changed the balance of power in the state Capitol by extending collective bargaining rights to state employees who already had civil service protection. Crane did not call for a repeal of such rights - as some demagogic legislators have claimed in an attempt to demonize him - but he did argue that this imbalance of power was straining the state's ability to pay for vital needs, including higher education."California Democrats would rather punish truth-tellers than wrestle with their arguments.
How interesting that some straight-shooters are punished stating the obvious!