Would Putting The Matter To Place The Issue To Withdraw The Troops From Iraq Serve Any Useful Purpose????

LOS ANGELES, June 1 — California is poised to become the first state to ask voters whether they favor an immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
The Democratic-led State Legislature is expected to approve a bill that would place the question on the presidential primary ballot next February. The Rules Committee in the Senate approved the bill on Wednesday, and it is expected to go before both houses in the coming weeks.
A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the governor would not weigh in until a bill hit his desk. Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has expressed support in the past for setting a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq, and he has been an enthusiastic backer of democracy by ballot measure.
California has a long history of ballot measures, but this would be the first time in 25 years that an advisory question on foreign policy was placed before the voters. Win or lose, the measure would be toothless, but pollsters and political scientists said it could change the dynamics of the primary race here, in part by making it difficult for presidential candidates to avoid the subject while campaigning in the state.
“Voters tend to look at these as symbolic acts,” said Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Field Poll, who cited Proposition 187, a ballot measure in 1994 that sought to deny public services to illegal immigrants. That initiative was passed by 59 percent of voters and, though later overturned in the courts, helped propel Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican and supporter of the measure, to re-election.
“When we polled on that,” Mr. DiCamillo said, “voters said, ‘It is probably unconstitutional and will be thrown out by the courts,’ but they wanted to send a message to the Legislature and the federal government.”
Republicans in the Legislature have expressed displeasure at the proposed war measure.
“It seems to me to be very, very unwise to have state legislatures conducting votes in the manner in which foreign policy ought to be conducted,” said Senator Roy Ashburn, the Republican vice-chairman of the Rules Committee.

Related Posts:

• No Related Post