Barabak: State Democrats’ attempts to silence GOP lawmaker reveal their arrogance

There are plenty of reasons to dislike Carl DeMaio if you so choose The first-term San Diego assembly member is MAGA to his marrow bringing President Donald Trump s noxious politics and personal approach to Sacramento For Democrats the mere mention of his name has the same effect as nails applied to a chalkboard Fellow Republicans aren t too fond of DeMaio either Party leaders worked strenuously and far from successfully to keep DeMaio from being elected last fall They accused him of criminal wrongdoing Allies spent millions of dollars to boost his GOP rival Republican foes cite his relentless self-promotion his criticism of his party and his tendency to take credit for victories he played little or no part in to help him fundraise and elevate his political brand CalMatters wrote in a harsh January profile Related Articles Will Democrats big changes to landmark California environmental law lower housing prices These new California laws go into effect on July California Republicans ask President Trump to focus immigration efforts on violent criminals rather than non-criminal movers California s new consumer protection laws go into effect July State bill pausing new building codes risks weather change progress None of that however excuses the silly and juvenile behavior of the Assembly s majority Democrats last week when the chamber took up a resolution commemorating Pride month DeMaio the Assembly s first openly gay Republican member rose on the floor to voice his objections Usually lawmakers have around five minutes to offer their remarks without interruption Not this time DeMaio complained that the resolution larded with more than three dozen whereas-es strayed far afield from a straightforward commendation endorsing specific very controversial and extremist positions opposed even by members of the LGBQT group This is not about affirming the LGBT population DeMaio declared It s about using them as a political pawn to divide us You can agree or disagree with DeMaio You can embrace the resolution and its myriad clauses with all your heart or not That s beside the point Incessantly interrupted About seconds into his remarks DeMaio was interrupted by the Assembly member presiding over the debate Democrat Josh Lowenthal of Long Beach who commented he had a very critical announcement to make And what was the pressing matter that couldn t possibly wait a second longer Wishing another Assembly Democrat a happy birthday Cheers and applause filled the chamber DeMaio resumed only to be interrupted a short time later Lowenthal deadpanned that he d forgotten It had been another Democratic lawmaker s birthday just a scarce days earlier More cheers and applause DeMaio resumed and then was interrupted a third time so Lowenthal could wish a very very happy birthday to a third Democratic Assembly member who was marking the occasion the next day The response in the chamber laughter mixed with more whoops and cheers suggested the hazing by Lowenthal and fellow Democrats was great good fun and oh-so-clever It wasn t It was petty It was stupid And it bespoke the arrogance of a super-majority party too used to having its way and bulldozing Sacramento s greatly outnumbered Republicans A sparse things are worth noting here seeing as how California is supposed to be governed by a representative democracy DeMaio s political peers may not be terribly enamored of the freshman lawmaker But he was the clear-cut favorite of voters in San Diego who sent him to the Assembly by a whopping to margin Their views and voices deserve to be heard Democrats may be California s majority party enjoying a sizable registration advantage They hold of seats in the Assembly and of in the state Senate But the state has nearly million registered Republicans There are doubtless a large number of more in California who promotion the party or at least its policies and broad philosophy but choose not to formally affiliate with the GOP They too deserve to be heard Bad for California A not-insignificant number of California residents feel overlooked ignored and unrepresented by Democrats and their hegemonic rule over Sacramento The frustration helped spawn the fruitless and wasteful attempt to recall Gov Gavin Newsom which cost taxpayers more than million and fuels the perennial fantasy of a breakaway rural state called Jefferson To a larger point One-party rule is not good for California When you re competing you ve got to be sort of on your toes noted Thad Kousser a UC San Diego political science professor who s researched the difference between states with two vibrant political parties and those ruled by one or the other When you re solidly in control you don t feel like you need to prove it to voters Kousser went on You can write off certain areas of the state You can ignore legislators in the other party because you don t think the shoe will ever be on the other foot None of that Kousser concluded is good for democracy It s been well over a decade since Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger left office and Republicans wielded meaningful clout in Sacramento The last time the GOP controlled the Assembly was when Bill Clinton was in the White House Gerald Ford was president the last time Republicans had a majority in the state Senate That s not likely to change anytime soon In the meantime Democrats don t have to love their fellow lawmakers They don t even have to like them But at the very least Republicans elected to serve in Sacramento should be treated with respect Their constituents deserve as much Mark Barabak is a Los Angeles Times columnist Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency