Articles by Mytheos Holt

However voters may feel about the new administration set to take power under former Governor Jerry Brown, it's undeniable that almost everyone in California has at least one reason to celebrate: Arnold Schwarzenegger will be leaving office. Indeed, one can arguably blame Schwarzenegger's titanic incompetence for Brown's victory in the first place - after trying an untried but titularly Republican Governor on for size, voters (understandably, if mistakenly) concluded that Democrats were superior...

Now that the shock of the election has worn off, no subject has earned more print than the by-a-hair loss of Proposition 19, California's biggest chance at a "marijuana legalization" experiment in years. This Saturday's New York Times has already fired a volley in the battle over the measure in an article that contains the following fascinating observation: "'The Prop 19 campaign really did not do anything to help people get over  their fear of marijuana, the substance,' said Steve Fox of the  ...

In a recent article printed by the Wall Street Journal and reproduced at Fox News, writer Allysia Finley opines that California is the "Lindsay Lohan" of states - a washed-up, former politically glamorous state which now is simply too far gone to be saved by anything but a long, hard stint in rehab/jail/bankruptcy. Finley writes: "Listen up, California. The other 48 states—your cousin New York  excluded—are sick of your bratty arrogance. You're the Lindsay Lohan of  states: a prima donna who on...

With the November election in the rearview mirror, Californians now face the daunting tasks of living with a new administration - and a new set of budget rules - with far different implications than the ones prior. Fortunately, even if one was disappointed by Tuesday's elections, it's difficult to imagine how California's economic situation could get any worse, so voters have more reason for optimism than pessimism. Moreover, the passage of two key (if undercovered) measures on California's bal...

For a movement supposedly dedicated (at least in part) to anti-elitism, "Tea Party" was always a strange name. True, the name was meant to conjure up images of the Boston Tea Party rather than demure ladies sipping from china cups, but all the same, the name "Tea Party" was (and is) a strange name for a supposedly populist, neo-Perotista uprising. This is probably because, as Tuesday's election results showed us, the Tea Party is not well-suited to this role. In fact, for the Tea Party to remai...

November’s ballot is dominated by celebrity propositions. Whether it’s Proposition 19, which legalizes marijuana in a limited fashion and yet still attracts massive support and opposition, or Proposition 23, which suspends one of California’s recent environmental keystones, these are the type of measures that make for great news headlines, no matter the result.  Moreover, the intended effects of these propositions are almost completely obvious, with correspondingly little explanation required. V...

While the California Senate race remains a toss-up despite some pro-Boxer winds yesterday, Jerry Brown has become the clear favorite in the gubernatorial contest, in spite of the massive financial advantage enjoyed by his rival, Meg Whitman. Yet, this financial advantage was always a mirage for a deeper problem with the Whitman campaign – that it relied almost entirely on the coffers of its supremely wealthy candidate to win, rather than using fundraising as a tool to reach out and gain support...

Several decades ago, in 1964, unsuccessful Republican candidate Barry Goldwater defiantly declared that “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” For better or worse, the phrase has since gone down in conservative history as an article of faith, and in political history as one of the most impolitic and out-of-touch statements ever made by a professional politician. Yet in 2010, this “Goldwater doctrine” appears to have come full circ...

At this point, it is all but guaranteed that Republicans will hold the House of Representatives come the election in November. Commentators from Nate Silver to Jon Stewart to Karl Rove to Rush Limbaugh for once have reached a consensus on this point, and as of now, the only battle being fought is over the size of that upcoming majority. Its existence has long since been conceded as an inevitability.  But what then? Once the GOP has seized back the mantle of power, what is to come, and how can w...